I need to change the starter on my 98 Xplorer. I was wondering if anyone has done this before. Any tips to make the job quicker or anything like that. Thanks.

 

You have to remove the recoil start housing. Once you have that off, you can check out the starter drive bendix. This is where most of the 2 cycle starter problems are. Moisture gets in there somehow, and rusts the drive. If you must remove the whole starter, the mounting bolts are reached from the same location. You may have to remove the clutch pulleys, and the inner belt housing in order to get to where the electrical connections are. If you have properly shaped wrenches, you may be able to get at these without taking the inner cover housing off, just by prying it out just a little.
Good luck, if you need more help, just holler!

 

OK, so I took off the pull start assembly, took out the two bolts that hold the starter. I read on here that there are two more bolts on the back, I only can see one. Also, what size is the bolt, I need to bend a wrench to be able to get to it. Has anyone done this without taking apart the clutch assembly too? And if I have to take apart the clutch assembly too, what tools am I gonna need? Will I need a pully puller? Thanks.

 

It is possible to remove the starter without pulling the clutch and housing, you just have to locate both of the starters back retaining bolts and use a little patience. (if someone has already had the starter off, they may have only put one bolt put back in - since the one you are searching for is a royal pain to get to.) The bolt heads you are looking for are a 10mm.
If you feel the need to pull the clutch, you are going to have to have a puller to get the clutch off. The inside of the clutch is threaded to accomodate a bolt type puller - DO NOT try to pull the clutch by an external puller as you will damage your clutch. I have an Indestro adjustable gear puller that happens to have the right sized "bolt" (3/4" fine thread) to fit. I have also seen people use a grade 8 3/4" fine thread bolt with some spacers (wrist pins work good) and a decent sized ball bearing (this gives a pivot to keep the spacers, etc from digging into the end of the shaft) they put in before inserting the bolt.
You might be able to find a "free loaner" gear puller at Autozone with the right sized "bolt" to do the job.

 

I have a puller that my roommate bought to fix his Blazer and it was the wrong one, maybe it'll work for the Polaris. I think I'll just go about it that way since I have other things to fix on the bike too, and that would make it easier anyways. Does anyone know what it takes to remove the housing around the front sprocket on the rear chain? I snapped my chain a while back and busted a hole in it. I did a temporary fix but I think its a good time to fix it better now. Get it all good for the summer. Thanks.

 

Cowtit~

If the starter removal is similar to a Scrambler, removing the clutches iw the EASIEST way to get to the bolts. I had been using a very tight ratcheting wrench from Sears to remove the bolts near the clutch, but it was a pain in the butt! Below is something I posted over a year ago on removing the starter.

I took the starter off my scrambler 3 times today because the dang thing wouldn't work!! I'm not sure if your starter assembly is the same as on my Scrambler, but I am gonna assume it is. What I do is leave the starter on the mounting bracket and remove the 2 bolts that hold the bracket on. To reach the one bolt at the top, I use a craftsman wrench. It's a 10mm with one open side and the enclosed side is a ratchet. It has very tight ratcheting so you don't have to move it much to make it click into the next gear. Perfect for those tight situations! That's the only thing I have found to reach that top bolt...unless you want to take the whole clutch assembly off and then it's right out in the open!! I opt for the wrench. Oh, when you put the starter back in the machine, be patient! It is a real pain in the A$$ getting those bolts back in! If you have any more questions, just keep on asking them!