That's what I figured. Looks like the local shop sells both the AGL and Demand fluids for fair prices so I'm going to go over there tomorrow and grab a quart of each.

I'll probably have to remove the plow mounting plate to get to the drain plug but that's not big deal.

From my reading in the repair manual...does 19oz sound right for the 4wd models? The hubs don't seem to take a whole lot of oil but I'm not sure about the transfer case. I don't remember coming across that amount.

 

Throw in 16 ounces and check the dip stick. Usually around 20 ounces in most instances. Remove the 3/16" plugs in the hubs and drain.I always filled at 12 o'clock position to get all the air bubbles out,then turn hubs to 4 o'clock position to drain the excess oil and replace the plugs. Won't hurt to have a tad extra on the hub fluid.

 

The quad looks really good for it's age. It looks like it still has the original Goodyear Tracker P tires too.

 

So I managed to get some AGL and some Demand Drive plus today. I got home and things commenced. I enlisted my father in law for extra hands.

I did the front hubs with ease. There was absolutely no fluid in the front left hub. Bone dry. Which leads to a question found below. I filled them, spun them around, and checked the level again. All is well in the hubs now. Sweet.

I drained the transaxle fluid, but here's the catch: it was gear oil that was in there. Thick nasty milky looking gear oil. Like differential fluid gear oil. The AGL was much thinner it seemed and it was purple...am I missing something or did some idiot put the wrong lube in there?

This leads to my next issue. Once all the fluids were in, I decided to jack up all 4 wheels to check out the 4wd. It seems that the front corner that was bone dry is awful weak. Like, when on the throttle, I can stop the wheel with my foot. I can't do that on the other side which did have hub fluid. Is that corner toast from going dry?

Also, found a few other grease fittings to hit. Took care of them...

Can someone point me to the counter balancer so I can check that?

Annd last but not least, the plastic case covering the belt setup is making noise while idling. The clutches inside must be rubbing the plastic. I can shift the plastic with my foot but it moves back and still makes noise. Any way to help that out? Maybe shim it or adjust something?

Overall today was very productive.

 

Either the po used gear oil or even agl if hasn't been changed in a long while can be nasty looking and thick.May have gotten water in through the vent line if really milky color.If one hub was dry and was driven this way for any length of time,bad on the bearings,plus can cause excessive wear on the face of the coil sleeve and armature plate area,not allowing the roller cage to engage forcefully enough.I'd tear it down and check the bearings,plate and face of the sleeve. Possible the hub seal and strut seal are leaking. Just check around the back of the strut and behind the rotor for any oily seepage. Coil sleeve and strut seal are shown here.Items#13,24. Dirt Cheap Yamaha & Polaris OEM Parts & Accessories – Cycle Parts Warehouse Roller cage,armature plate,hub seal Items #8,9,11.http://www.cyclepartswarehouse.com/f...1994&fveh=5383
Plus there are several helpful videos on you tube. Counter balance fill/dip stick is located under the carb. Common problem on pre 97 model clutch covers warping/melting and hitting the front clutch. Later model covers can be found on ebay and solve this problem. Any cover from a later model 250 ,325,400,etc would work. Later model bulbous 500 covers would also,but you have to use an adapter sleeve to use your vent.Plus best to have a manual on the hubs if work is needed.http://www.ebay.com/itm/CLYMER-POLARIS-SCRAMBLER-SPORTSMAN-400-SERVICE-MANUAL-/270973292049?pt=Motors_ATV_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f17444e11&vxp=mtr

 

Well I managed to finish things up on the quad. Got the reverse override switch overrode..? Haha. There were 3 black wires all near each other on the circuit board. I managed to do some trial and error with that and just picked one to unplug until the override switch didn't kill to quad. I took a couple pictures to help some others out.

This is what I seen when I pulled the plastic apart.



As you can see, 3 black wires all clumped into the same corner of the circuit board. I tried one, didn't work. Tried the next one and it worked! Shifts into gear without needing to press a button. Forward, reverse, etc.

This is the one!! Far upper left corner on mine...this is a 94 Sportsman 400 4x4




I know I know, all of that needs some cleaning for sure! Maybe I'll do that once it gets warm out again.


On another note, while returning the quad to it's resting place in the shed, I decided to reverse it in and on my way in it slipped out of gear for some reason? It made me also think about the issue it has going into reverse. When I pull the shifter back, sometimes it doesn't really engage so I have to really yank it into gear. Is this normal? Is there an adjustment of any sort?

 

Yep it's nasty.. Pulled a bunch of these black wires to defeat the over ride module.On the shifting you can try to adjust the linkage,but a lot of times it's the slack in the shift box causing the main problem.Plus check that the transmission levers(belcranks) are tight and linkage ends don't have a lot of play. Shift into neutral,loosen the 10mm lock nuts on both linkage ends at the shift box levers. Remove the 10mm nut holding the linkage ends to the levers. While on neutral see how much forward/rear slack you have on the shift lever without the linkages attached. If it's a lot, adjusting may or may not help,or may help for awhile. Turn the linkage ends to where they fall straight into the shift box levers with NO resistance then tighten the lock nuts. Replace the two 10mm nuts on the levers and see how it shifts.Hopefully will help on reverse. If it doesn't and you have a lot of play in the shift lever,the box parts may need to be replaced.Dirt Cheap Yamaha & Polaris OEM Parts & Accessories – Cycle Parts Warehouse

 

Hey there guys! Did my first plowing with it last night. This thing is a BEAST! The snow was light though, and I don't have my chains in or on it yet, but it still did fairly well. My only issue is this:

Although I pulled a black wire to bypass the override switch for my "dying while shifting in rev" problem, I still have to depress the switch in order to have 4WD in reverse. Is there something else I need to do in order to make this an all time 4wd thing? No matter what gear or speed, if the red button is depressed and 4wd is on?

Thanks for all of the tips! So far, I'm thrilled to be plowing instead of snow blowing or shoveling this crap!


Going to add to this:

I noticed since it dropped so cold it hasn't been wanting to turn over and start so I've been pulling it. Only had it out twice so far and the winch seems to work fine along with the lights, but I am going to load test the battery per OPT's post and will throw a charger on it over night to see how that helps.

My question is this, is there an "upgrade" for ATV batteries on these machines? Can I get larger capacity battery for a "better" one? Maybe fit two under there wired in parallel so the voltage is still 12v? I'm thinking about adding some amber strobe lights to the quad and some better lights for out front and I don't want to put too much a strain on the electrical system. LED's are on my mind of course, but I still worry about over working it.

Let me know your thoughts!

 

Here's what some have done to bypass the over ride button to have full time awd drive in reverse.
"TRACE WIRES FROM THE OVERRIDE BUTTON(GRAY/WHITE AND GRAY/ORANGE) CUT THE GRAY/ORANGE AND TAPE UP BOTH ENDS. CUT THE GRAY/WHITE AND TAPE UP END WHICH GOES TO THE OVERIDE BUTTON. CONNECT THE OTHER END OF THE GRAY/WHITE TO THE RED/WHITE (IGNITION SUPPLIED 12V) YOU WILL ALSO NEED TO TRACE THE PURPLE WIRE WHICH COMES FROM THE HANDLEBARS AND SIMPLY CUT AND TAPE BOTH ENDS."
Guys that plow snow can advise you on what they've done as far as extra batteries,etc..

 

Thanks for the reply OPT.

I checked out the battery the other evening. After a couple of hours on the charger (12v 2amp charge) The thing fired right up. It hasn't started with the push button since it got cold. So I put my volt meter on and ran the starter, it dips down close to 10v and then as soon as it starts its running around 14v or so. It did level out closer to 12.5 or so. I keeping saying "or so" because I didn't have my digital meter handy so it was somewhere around 12.4-12.8v showing on the old analog.

I was at Sams Club the other day and seen they have 14ah atv batteries there for around $50 but I'm really wanting something "more" than the standard. I'm shopping around for LED hazard lights to mount on the racks front and rear because I live on a main road and I want all of the idiots to see me when I'm out there during a storm plowing. Also, when operating the winch right now, the head lights dim quite a bit and I'd like to eliminate most of that.

Anyone out there have any suggestions for the battery?