To start off I'm not complaining about anything but......

Here is a list of Polaris Quad's I've owned

96' trailboss
97' 300 xplorer
98' Sportsman 500
99' Xplorer 400

I've been happy with all the ATV's, the Sportsman my 4 wheel drive stopped working but they replaced the hub under warranty and all was fine. However, the 99' Polaris Xplorer 400 has had huge problems.

My 400 has 600 miles on it, and on that 600 miles I've had the entire frame replaced, and just last month my engine seized, along with trashing the entire transmission.

Anyone else have this much damage done to their quads and all be replaced under warranty? With the Frame replacement I was crusing though a field about 30 mph and my entire swing arm broke loose and came up on my right side. Because of the speed that this happened it twisted the entire frame.

 

I used to have a 400 Xpress that had engine problems. It seems that for some reason the oil injector pump blew a gasket & pumped oil on the ground instead of into the injector. To make a long story short, the engine siezed, but not before a chunk of piston wedged between the rod and crankcase, cracking the crankcase. Needless to say I wasn't very happy about it, but at 6500 miles, I figured I DID get quite a bit of use out of it.
My dealer really went to bat for me, telling the factory rep that part of the problem was the injector, and that if it had been working right, I would still be driving that machine. Well, the rep must have been the kind hearted sort, as between the factory and dealer, they would have sold me a factory-rebuilt engine (with warranty) for about half of going rate, (and about half on labor, too) or else give me about that much $$ off of a brand new machine. I decided 4WD would be a good idea, which is why I have my Xplorer.
Even though the machine malfunctioned, the dealer and factory both went out of their way to do what they could to make it right. That is what makes me a loyal Polaris fan.
Yes, you can make arguments that 'big red' builds them a little better, but I personally siezed 2 of their engines, and all I ever got was dirty looks of how that could happen. In fact, the dealer told me that he NEVER saw a siezed 'brand H' engine before, that the one I brought in was the first he had ever seen, when I know full well he is the same guy that was there when I brought in my first siezed engine 2 seasons before.
By the way, the Xpress engine is holding out much better than the other brands for what I use it for. I credit the water cooling preventing it from overheating.

 

That sounds exactly what happened to my quad. If you hook up the oil line to the oil pump the oil pours out of the oil pump out of the side. I told him what would happen but he didn't believe me so now he has a puddle of oil in his parking lot. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

I had no choice but to drive it home like that. You can't pull the cord, the starter won't turn. Ugh... it's pretty bad. I think I trashed a gear on the inside that turns the oil pump because the tranny is all screwed up too.

Does the tranny gears drive the oil pump anyhow? So Hopefully I'll get a new engine instead of a rebuilt one. I'll give them another week before I call them, I don't like to pressure the guys especially since it's a bad case.

 

Yup, oil leaking on the OUTSIDE of the engine instead of going INSIDE of it where it can do any good.
My Xpress engine was also locked up tight. I managed to get it broken loose by pulling as hard as I could on the rope with one hand, while hitting the starter button with the other. It just wouldn't turn over with the starter or rope alone.
The reason I was happy with a discount on a rebuilt engie was that my warranty was expired for over a year, so they really didn't owe me anything. On top of that, they were willing to warranty the rebuilt engine for 6 months, unlimited miles, at no extra cost. It has been my experience that the Polaris company really does stand behind their product, and wants happy customers. As long as your machine isn't obviously abused, and your dealer will stand behind you (the last one is probably the most important), I am sure the company will treat you right.

 

PS.
The oil pump is driven off a gear in the engine. The shifter part of the tranny (hi, lo, reverse) is in a seperate housing, so it should be OK. Mine was anyway, on the old Xpress.

 

Do you have anymore info on how the Oil pump is driven? I'm trying to get the most information so I can call up the warrany company and tell them how it is. Any information would be helpful. The drive that turns the oil pump broke, Which I would guess is an "internally lubricated part" and should be covered under warrany right?!
There're saying the drive that broke caused the failure and since it's a non-covered part the failure of the engine isn't covered under warranty.


Since it didn't have any oil I sent a rod though the side of the block and it's trashed. So it's going to be a $2000.00 job because I can't even use the block as a core charge.

 

I am not for sure on this, but in my opinion, the drive would have to be an 'internally lubricated part' as the gear is inside the crankcase, just as much as the crankshaft or piston is. The only way I could see around this would be if the drive failed somehow on the pump end of the shaft, instead of the gear end. Then, TECHNICALLY, if you wanted to be **** about it, it might possibly be considered an external part.
Either way, though, I would think it should be covered, as it is a part crucial to engine operation.