Been away from 4 wheelers for a few years, wife went and had some kids so I had to sell the wheelers. Decided it's time to get back into it, bought a handful of fixer-uppers last week.

Mine is a 98 Sportsman 500. I was told it sounded like it was overheating last time they drove it, could hear bubbling sound and shut it down. I checked and the fan does work, however it's on a toggle switch on the left fender, not factory. They said they got it this way, but I really think it oughta be an automatic fan with a sender. Don't know where to start, maybe thermostat, water pump? How do I check the water pump to see if it works? It runs and drives perfectly, test drove it for a few minutes with no problems, so I figured anything else can be fixed.
Both racks are busted, it appears to have been flipped or rolled. None of the lights work, and the speedometer, really the whole pod, nothing works. Could it just be fuses, or is it likely something is seriously damaged? Like I said, it runs and drives great, so I figure everything else is minor and can be fixed. Just don't know where to start. I tried reading a few hundred pages here looking for similar problems, but got a little overwhelmed.

thanks

 

I'm new at this and just learning but I would buy a Haynes book on it and just start at section 1. I'd also go with fixing/replacing the fan first the cosmetic stuff can wait. Just my newbe 2 pennies

 

Sounds like your going to be putting a lot of money into this to get it up and going. Can we say money pit

 

did I mention I got it pretty cheap? And that it runs and drives great? I think anything else can be fixed, I just want to try to fix as much myself as possible before having to get professional assistance and really spending some money at a shop. I have already found some used racks and tires, so cosmetically I can fix it pretty quickly. I had a lot of overheating problems with my 02 Sportsman, but so far not from the same issues as far as Ican tell. My 02 had to have the waterpump machined so it would seal flush, it came from the factory warped. Then my temp sender failed and a plastic tee in the radiator line exploded. Had an engine problem with that one too. And that was a $7500 brand new machine. Not going that route again. So while this one may be a money pit, I got it with the intent and understanding that it would need some work and some money invested.
But thank you for your kind words of support, it was very helpful.

 

make sure it's not a bad head gasket(from overheating) as well as i have heard that that will cause a bubbling form the air. just a thought. it would be nice to have a manual if you can get one. maybe one of the members has a down load pdf file for ya. good luck.