Replaced the transmission last winter with a used one off of Ebay. Old Polaris Tech was a huge help with getting everything done right. I rode it maybe 3 times and now it's popping out of reverse and high. I've tried adjusting the linkages and it is still the same. When I go into reverse it will stay in for maybe 2 feet then pops out. It's always the same amount of distance it seems. Maybe one wheel rotation worth. Any idea as to what I need to replace or do?

 

Pull the linkage arms from the gear shift box and manually place it in forward and reverse. If it doesn't jump out of gear then the problem can be in the linkage ends(too much slack) or in the gear box slides,etc.You can rebuild this box but new one are still available to my surprise. Here's the parts involved,plus cost of a new complete box is $135. Dirt Cheap Yamaha, Polaris, Suzuki & Kawasaki OEM Parts & Accessories – Cycle Parts Warehouse Even cheaper at Partzilla for $127 if this is what you think it is and you don't want to rebuild it. Plus see if there is a lot of play on the shift lever itself when in neutral (back and forth) when the linkages are removed. If so this is usually a tell tale sign that parts are worn and it's not able to get a good forward or reverse engagement from the box and linkage to the gear case.

 

I just took it for a drive and when it pops out of gear there is a lot of metal noise coming from the trans. It sounds like something is loose inside. This is a huge letdown to me at this point. I've got nearly 2k in the engine rebuild and transmission and now the transmission is junk I do believe. It's almost like I am in it too much money to consider selling it, but don't want to keep dumping money into a 15 year old machine. I guess I can tear it open and see what's making all the racket. I guess the noise that I hear could be the gears barely touching since it's probably not popping all the way back into neutral. I guess I won't know until I split the case. I might call my local dealer and see what they will want to do it. I'm just too busy with projects to have this quad tore down again.

 

Don't set fire to it yet! Just disconnect the linkage and shift the belcranks in to reverse and forward with a pair of vice grips and see how it does. It may not be gear case related causing it to jump out of gear..

 

Okay, so I will go out and undo the the linkage and shift it into reverese. Maybe I will get lucky. I will be back in 5.

 

Went out and took the linkage off. Put it into gear with a pair of vicegrips and it popped out of reverse in about one wheel worth of travel. Something is not right.

 

Well we tried... When this happens it can be a worn shift fork,engagement slider gear dogs or the mating gear which in your case would be reverse. Or a combination of all three. Even a circlip that's jumped the shaft groove can cause engagement problems,but the only way to tell is to tear it down,inspect the parts, which I know you're not in the mood to hear right now.

 

I will think it over tonight and see how I feel in the morning. I hate to give up on it. I have a 2000 Scrambler that needs started too. I have two other Xplorer 400s that have blown two strokes. I'm thinking about putting all 4 biked on CL for 3500 and moving on to a newer quad. I hate to say it. Does that price seem unreasonable? I have a low time 2 stroke to go with the scrambler.

 

Just my on this. All the old 2 strokes that show up here for repairs kinda give me the ******* at times..If you can get a package price out of all of them,I'd jump at it as some parts for the older ones are starting to become NLA as time passes.I was really surprised that the shift box assy was still available. And several on the forum have had problems on getting some gear case parts. Yes they're fun and fast,but can be a pain when time to pay the piper as two strokes just don't have the longevity of 4 strokes. A later model dependable 4 stroke and you can't go wrong. I'd leave the old 2 strokes to the addicts that love to smell burning oil..

 

Yeah I think I will see if I can get any bites. A nice newer 500 sounds just fine. 4 strokes seem to do much better in the trails anyway.