The last couple of days when the start the SP I can't get it in to gear. It's been fairly cold 0-20F, and I been using it to plow snow.
However I cannot get the stick(high/low/reverse) to move...at all.
So today I had to use a torch to heat up the box, and finally it moved. What gives? Anyone else had this problem?

TIA
Jeremy 99 SP500

 

Could you by chance have water in the shifter housing?

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Kevin Gowdy aka Kagey 1999 Polaris Magnum 500

 

Kagey,you hit the nail on the head with that one.Here is your problem I think.Remove the green plastic cover from the right side of the quad,the one that the shifter goes thru.You will find some hex type screws on the top of the shifter housing that worked themselves loose and allowed water to enter the shifter housing.It freezes,then you cant shift until you heat the shifter housing and melt the ice.I took mine back to the dealership for cleaning and tightening as it was warrentied.I got it back pretty quick that time.Good Luck=====BILL

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Thanks guys that what i was thinking too. As a matter of fact when I first got the quad, I was out riding and the damn shifter came apart, the bolts on top had come loose. So at some point H2O must have gotten in there. If I take it apart, whats in there? gear oil, grease? motor oil?

Thanks
Jeremy

99 SP500 1100 miles

 

It is probably what Kagey said, water in that shifter box since when you heated it up with a torch it freed up. Another thing that happens to the Sportsmans quite often is the shift linkage comes out of adjustment. This is because the frame flexes somewhat, but most of the time when it comes out of adjustment it is from extreme usage. When this happens, it won't go into gear. Sometimes the shifter won't move if it's out of adjustment bad enough, or it simply won't go into gear.

 

It seems as if sometimes the long linkage gets out of adjustment as well. You might check that too. I don't think that it takes very much to get it adjusted right.

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Andy Bassham *(1999 Arctic Cat 500 4x4, 1989 Honda 300)*

 

Ummm .. a propane torch isn't gonna fix a linkage problem.

Ice is the obvious culprit.


Tim Bundrick

'98 Polaris Sportsman 500
'00 Yamaha Kodiak
E-mail: http://marina.fortunecity.com//victory/272/index.html

 

I must agree that a propane torch wouldn't do very good things to the linkage. I just added that because the linkage does tend to get out of adjustment from time to time due to its length.

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Andy Bassham *(1999 Arctic Cat 500 4x4, 1989 Honda 300)*

 

I have found when you get water in the shifter take it off the machine and clean the shifter with brakecleen or equivelant. If the switch is removed be sure it gets back in the hole on the shift shaft properly. Polaris uses the 4 cycle synthetic oil filled to the level of the 2 horizontal shift shafts but any oil will work. Use a little flexible gasket sealer to seal it. Some loctite on the cover screws wouldnt hurt. Charlie

 

JeremyB, if you take the gear shift apart. You want to make sure you lift the cover of the gear housing carefully and vertically to avoid damage to the internal gear selector switch,which can be easily damaged. The oil level should be one half(1/2) the height of the selector slides.

Merry CHRISTmas to everone

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Harold Cowley



[This message has been edited by hc (edited 12-24-1999).]