I just purchased a 2003 700 Sportsman with about 2000 miles on it. It shifted very hard when I picked it up, but when I got home and rode it a little it will not shift when or when not running. The linkage will actually bend if I get to rough on it. I was told I would have to split the tranny from the engine and emory cloth the shaft, but I see in similar problems they recommend check the clutch housing and cleaning. I can't believe this will fix it. Help!

 

i'd try changing the trans. fluid and cleaning the drive clutch ,first before jumping into splitting the cases

 

unhook the shift linkage from the tranny, spray some penetrating oil where the shift lever goes into tranny,get some channel locks and see how hard it is to shift manually if its hard while its shut off its the tranny, while running usually the ebs washers in primary clutch

 

check for broken or a loose motor mount bolts which could be causing misaligning of clutch...

John

 

Thanks guy's I will look for and try all the above. I was planning on taking all the plastic off anyway to cover with camo vinyl skin. I purchased all the fluids front, rear, tranny, motor, plugs, drive belt, air and oil filter. I want take it to Colorado next year elk hunting, but it was abused by a farmer. Runs excellant, but needs serious attention. Already know it needs a CV joint, wheel bearings, front ball joints and Speedometer sensor. WINTER PROJECT! If you guy's can think of anything else to look for, let me know. THANKS!

 

Is it cold where you are? If so, then you might have moisture getting in the shifter housing on the tranny and freezing. Polaris did a crappy job sealing them. My 09 800 only had a tiny bit of silicone. I took the housing off, cleaned/greased the gears in there, and made a gasket for it which I sealed with anearobic silicone. Also, there should be o-ring seals on both shafts inside the housing(mine was missing one from the factory). Pretty simple job and it shifted with ease after that even in below 0 weather.

 

But it will not shift evening in a heated garage. I spoke to a mechanic at my Polaris dealer and he said to try the same thing you mentioned first, because it is such an easy fix. Another mechanic at another dealer said it could be the shaft in the tranny is rusty. But I will have to split the tranny from the motor to get to it. I will try yours first and let you guys know what I find. Thanks again!

 

Is the foot brake pedal soft? I had an issue with my '03 600 that after I bled the rear brake, it firmed up the pedal and allowed it to activate the realese spring easier for the shifter. Also, I took the shifter housing off to see about a nail head size of lube from the factory. Once I added the extra grease it also helped with the shifting.

 

I just noticed the rear brake is not working. I will try to bleed it off and see if that will aid the shifting problem.

 

take the cap off the little resevoir while bleeding, those can be a bugger to bleed,