It snowed about a week ago, and some friends and I decided to play around in it, since it happens once a year and all.. Well, After about 2 hours of somewhat hard riding, my Banshee wouldn't shift. I had it in 2nd, and shifted into 3rd, but it wouldn't go below 2nd, or over 3rd. We quit riding for about an hour, and went inside to warm up, and when I came back it shifted/ran perfectly. I thought the problem was solved. Yesterday, I was playing around on our dirt track oval, and it locked up again! I had been riding MAYBE 15 minutes. I don't think the clutches are bad, but the only other thing is the transmission.

What do you guys think? I am trying to sell it, and only ride it once or twice a week. Also, do you think it would be worth me paying for it to be fixed, or drop the price dramatically? Thanks

 

It sounds like the tranny gets stuck when it heats up.. Is the clutch still easy to pull or does it get stiff?? How is the tranny oil?? Maybe drain the tranny oil and see if there is metal filings or chunks in the oil. That may give you an idea if something has come apart

 

The clutch pull never gets easier, or harder. I'll drain my oil when i get some time off.

Any other ideas?

 

Well, I just drained the oil. No metal shavings what-so-ever. I discovered that the previous owner of the quad wrapped teflon tape around the dipstick, and it looked as if it had dissolved. If some of that got on the gears, I guess it would lock them up?

I dont know if I've made the problem clear or not. It is stuck in 2nd gear, and it will let me shift into 3rd, but when I'm in 3rd, the gear shifter will not move anymore. I can shift down into 2nd, and it wont move into 1st. I dunno what the problem is.. Any suggestions?

 

A common problem on the Banshee is for the shifter shaft to go bad. There is a "star" on the end of the shaft that sometimes gets bent, or needs adjustment. When this happens, as it did to mine, the tranny doesn't want to shift. Mine locked into 3rd, and 4th. I replaced the shifter shaft and things are back to normal.

Regards,

Rog

 

Do you happen to know how much a new shifter shaft is? Where did you get yours from? Does this require the cases to be busted? Also, is there any way to tell if what you say is messed up, without taking the motor out? Thanks

 

Your local Yamaha dealer can get you the shifter shaft. I don't remember how much they cost, because I also got some YZ 490 clutch springs (stiffer than stock - to keep the clutch from slipping on a modded motor) to install while replacing the shifter shaft.

The motor doesn't need to be pulled to replace the shaft.

Regards,

Rog

 

Another very common problem is 4th gear welding itself to the main shaft... when that happens it will not let it upshift or downshift. I have rebuilt a few banshee trannys that have done what your describing and everytime it was a gear welded to the shaft.

good luck

Mp350

 

How exactly can I fix that? I'm not a big fan of payin $40 an hour for some disgruntal shop employee to wrench on my quad. What will be required for this job? The 2 opinions I have gotten sound like it will require the engine to be removed.

 

The easiest way to fix it w/o going crazy is by tipping the motor upside down (leaving the top end in place) Split the cases by removing the low engine case, replace the bad shaft(s) and gears. Reassemble. You will have to remove the engine from the frame to split the cases. If you want to sell it bad enough then drop the pirce... but keep in mind that you will get more for it running correctly than w/ a bad gear/shaft. Splitting the cases isnt that bad of a project. The cost of parts and a days time will be much less than what you will lose by dropping the price.

Good luck

Mp350