'01 Sportsman 400 --As mentioned a few posts ago my shft lever was getting pretty loose & intermittent. Had over 2 feet of snow this week & was plowing when the atv wouldn't go in reverse so I jammed the shift lever as hard as I could to try to get it in gear because I was stuck in the middle of the road (dangerous) and couldn't go forward anymore. Well the final outcome is that the panel indicates I'm in reverse ('R' lit up) but the machine goes forward & the reverse speed limiter is activated. Nursed the machne back to the house but now the gears won't not move & I think it's in neutral because it doesn't move in either direction when I hit the throttle. Still indicates it's in reverse. I need advice on how to get the gears in the right sequence so I can move the atv. I can disconnect the shitting linkage but where do I go from there.

Can the shifting box be repaired or do I need to buy a new one?
Where can I get the info on how to set up the shifting linkage correctly?

Any other advice will be appreciated.
headusher

 

I could see myself slamming it into gear too, especially sitting in the middle of the road. I'm certain my vocabulary would have been rather foul at the time.

Anybody have any ideas here for headusher.....

 

to say the least

 

I might try to unhook the linkage at the trans and move the lever on the trans by hand and see if it does anything.

 

I didn't see ur previous post but I had a similar problem with my 01 500. I had to unhook the shift linkages and manually shift the trans to get it home. I ended up pulling the shift box apart, replacing the O-rings on the sliders in the box, the oil would leak out and cause hard shifting and sticking in gear when plowing. Once I changed those, refilled the oil and adjusted the linkage rods things are good again. Just a suggestion but I'd seriously look at replacing those.

 

Thanks for the reponse arrowhunter. It's been pretty cold here & the ATV is sitting outside because I can't move it. As soon as it gets a bit warmer I'll try what you say - hopefully this weekend. I assume that rebuilding the shift box is an option???

All I need is info on where the two trans levers should be positioned. I guess I can move them around to fine reverse, neutral, forward but just want to make sure.

 

When I disconnected the back linkage I noticed a lot of metal filings where the trans lever (bellcrank) attached to the transmission. It turned out to be that when I jammed the gear shift I rung the teeth on the bell crank which forced the linkage all the way forward and bound up the gear shift box not allowing the gears to move. Once the linkage was disconnected I was able to move the gears where they were supposed to be (with a little help from a hammer). I was then able to re-attach the linkage & gingerly move through the gears to get the ATV into the garage. What I need to do now is rebuild the gear shift box & get a new bellcrank. I took it for a ride and it appears to be running OK. Was able to move the shifter through all the gears & they appeared OK also.

Hopefully this will help someone else in the future