Mine is an '02 model. With having a torn inner CV boot, I watched a few youtube videos and attempted the same job. I was unable to remove the shaft from the differential, however. When pulling, the bearing slid out of the cup portion (this is where the torn boot was, so I just pulled it apart) that slides into the differential, itself. I don't know that there's enough room to get a slide hammer between the shaft portion and the differential housing. I'll clean the bearings, re-grease, and put this back together with the new boot, unless there's something I'm missing - if so, please let me know.

1) What is the torque for the center axle nut once reassembled? I marked the nut location before removing, so I can, at least find where it was.

2) What is the proper lug torque for aluminum wheels? I was thinking 60 ft. lbs., but wanted to verify.

 

If the cage pulled out of the drive shaft,just get a cheap new drive shaft from ebay,amazon. Sixity,plus others are cheap. Not worth messing with an old drive shaft.https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk...hafts&_sacat=0 Or just do a google search and you'll also find plenty. The 5 buck service manual can help you on torque specs for the wheels and much more. The 2002/2003 700 manual was basically the same.Plastics was the major difference.http://polaris-atv.brssm.com/2003-Po...ce-Manual.html

 

While I don't mind buying a new shaft if this is necessary, what is the best method to remove the old cup portion that is still in the differential?

 

Push down on one cup side exposing a bearing and remove it. Do the same on opposite side and remove the bearing. Once all bearings are out,the cup can be turned sideways and removed. Usually when this happens the channels in the cv where the bearings ride are worn and grooved. Just get a cheap drive shaft or replace the pair as a set and not have to worry for a good long while. As far as removing the cup,Liquid Wrench,PB Blaster,etc and heat helps. If you're going to replace both,just jerk out the other drive shaft and then use a punch or air chisel to knock out the opposite cup.

 

I have a different Sportsman but my manual says 90 ft. lbs. for the lug nuts on cast aluminum wheels, and 27 ft. lbs. for the 2-piece flange nuts on steel wheels. I knew the torque was a lot higher on aluminum wheels but didn't remember it being that high.

 

If I remember correctly we stopped at 70 on the aluminum rims.Maybe we were being a little cautious. The manuals may say different. The old steel rim nuts got zapped on with an 3/8" air or electric impact like a lot of techs still do.But you didn't hear that from me...Just looked at the 2005 and 2007 manuals and they do show 90,but we still didn't go that high. Guess we were afraid of stripping out the studs.The old steel nuts show 27 pounds on one manual,30 pounds on the other one.

 

I think the the specs for the steel wheels changed when they switched from a one-piece to a two-piece flange nut. Whiz nuts from the hardware store worked great when I used them on a different Sportsman. The only difference between them and the stock lug nuts was that the face of the flange is serrated instead of flat.

I thought the torque on the alloy wheels was 60 ft. lbs., or possibly 80. 90 just seems too darned high. 70 sounds more reasonable.

 

I went back through old emails from when I had purchased my wheels and the dealer said 40-45 ft. lbs., so I put it at 45 ft. lbs. yesterday. That was in 2011 and they've been fine for that time period.

I got the ball bearings back in the cage, inside the cup, one at a time. Then I put the shaft back in and secured the boot. I don't guess I'll replace a boot again, with the price of the shafts being so low, but it still seems strange to me that there is not a good way to remove the shaft, aside from pulling the opposite shaft and beating out from the other side. I was working on the LH shaft and didn't think to look at the RH side to see if it would allow a slide hammer to work. OPT mentioned heat, but I would be reluctant to add heat to the aluminum housing. Did I misunderstand what I should apply heat to?

 

Heat from a propane torch won't hurt. Just keep it moving around the spline area around the diff. People have used pry bars,including myself, along with using slide hammers to get stubborn drive shaft plunging joints out. On some that were basically rusted or frozen,if we could get the other side to pop out,we'd impact the frozen side out. Extra work,but sometimes necessary. You can eliminate future problems if you coat the splines heavy with anti seize. Something the factory should have done to begin with.

 

Thanks for the tips. Anti-Seize is used often on my projects, and I'll coat parts with it if I have it apart again. I'd have done the outer splines, as well, but I think they already had quite a bit of grease from my hands.