'05 Kodiak 450 CVT Squeal
 

Just picked up a 2005 Kodiak 450 that was sitting in a barn for a while. Motor runs great, but I'm guessing the CVT compartment ended up being a mouse condo. It squeals sporadically, mostly just giving throttle, not while idling. It just sounds like a typical bearing squeal, and is causing no loss of power that I could tell, but I didn't try to run it fast due to the noise. I'm no mechanic, but thankfully I have a really good one who's going to run through the whole bike. He has more experience with the older semi-auto models, so I thought I'd ask for any seasoned insight you guys might have. When we pulled the cvt drain plug, it was covered with apparent varmint fur / nesting material AND metal shavings. Could the shavings be from the retainer bearing? Any guesses on what I should advise him to look for specifically. Thanks!

Nothing especially difficult in Yamaha CVT boxes. I don't take the driven pulley apart as it has a pre-loaded spring, and never seems to give trouble (except on Kawasakis). The main thing is to get everything clean, they are always full of filthy dust, and check the components for wear.

Ok thanks merryman. Sounds encouraging that it's probably not a major expense money wise then. Do you recommend any particular supplier online for any components I might need to replace? I've searched some, but I'm completely new to the Yamaha quads.

Here in the UK we mostly use ATV City for aftermarket stuff like belts and bearing kits. Some parts will only be available from Yamaha. I have just bought a front prop shaft for a Honda from Partzilla, Genuine Honda, half the price our local Honda dealer quoted (trade), including the postage to the UK, and shorter delivery time.

Wow good find on Partzilla! That local price you found gives credence to the term "stealership". Thanks for the tip.