[99Sportsman335]

Would those marks on the shifter be enough to not allow full engagement of the gears?

 

[latebird]

Can't say for sure - I usually find loose bellcranks and worn out heim joints on the linkage rods cause most problems - one way to find out is to move the shift lever to the gear you desire and then try moving the shift rod in the same direction as the shifter moved by grasping it with your hand and checking to see if it will move more than the shifter moved it.

If there is marks on the shift box rods that are as bad or worse than the marks on the shift lug, then the cumulative wear may be the cause of the problem.

 

[99Sportsman335]

Can't say for sure - I usually find loose bellcranks and worn out heim joints on the linkage rods cause most problems - one way to find out is to move the shift lever to the gear you desire and then try moving the shift rod in the same direction as the shifter moved by grasping it with your hand and checking to see if it will move more than the shifter moved it.

If there is marks on the shift box rods that are as bad or worse than the marks on the shift lug, then the cumulative wear may be the cause of the problem.

I will disassemble tonight and take pics. The High/Reverse shift rod (in the shifter assembly) is dinged up more than the shifter lug.
I will also see how it shifts by hand on the bell crank. Those are not easy to move by hand. Are they meant to need force to shift the gears?

 

[latebird]

I will disassemble tonight and take pics. The High/Reverse shift rod (in the shifter assembly) is dinged up more than the shifter lug.
I will also see how it shifts by hand on the bell crank. Those are not easy to move by hand. Are they meant to need force to shift the gears?

Yes - it is a short lever (bellcrank) on the shift shaft - you have to overcome the spring loaded detent shift lock to get out of one position before it locks into the next position.

 

[99Sportsman335]

Sorry for the obscenely large pics. I think I may have found my shifting issue. The pictures are of the gear shift lever (the end that engages the shifter rods), specifically the surface that engages the High/ Reverse rod which is the one I am having issues with. The second is of the High/ Reverse rod. It seems obvious in person that the shifter could slide right over the detents in the rod. Question is, where could I find a new gear shift lever or repair this one some how?
Assuming I can find that rod at polaris dealer?

 

[latebird]

The shifter moves the rod from the notch on the end away from the hole - the grooves are where the spring loaded detent pins drop in to hold the shifter in the selected gear position.

None of the parts (9, 25 or 26) are available from Polaris - you have to repair what you have or find used parts or possibly find NOS parts on Ebay.

I question the condition of the detent pins (#14), if they move freely and if the springs (#13) are in good condition.

 

[99Sportsman335]

So it looks like I have been chasing the wrong end of this. I tried using vice grips on the bell crank to go through the gears. The issue is actually in the transmission. from the bell crank, the transmission would not consistently lock in place. If I rocked the bike and push on the vice grips, it would rotate the bell crank further and lock into gear. So it would appear that I need to tear the transmission apart?
On a positive note, my transmission switch is no longer working. it will physically switch but I belive its the electronics of the switch that is pooched. Powered on, it just lights up the reverse light. And to buy just the switch and harness will probably set me back about $200.00

 

[latebird]

So it looks like I have been chasing the wrong end of this. I tried using vice grips on the bell crank to go through the gears. The issue is actually in the transmission. from the bell crank, the transmission would not consistently lock in place. If I rocked the bike and push on the vice grips, it would rotate the bell crank further and lock into gear. So it would appear that I need to tear the transmission apart?
On a positive note, my transmission switch is no longer working. it will physically switch but I belive its the electronics of the switch that is pooched. Powered on, it just lights up the reverse light. And to buy just the switch and harness will probably set me back about $200.00

The switch is NLA, so it won't set you back a dime unless you can find a used one. If the transmission shifts and locks when using vice grips, there is nothing wrong with it. The transmission shafts have to turn either from the belt drive or rear wheel movement to fully engage and lock in gear - you may only need to apply pressure to the shift lever when shifted into gear as you try to accelerate to complete the shift. You may just need a new belt or the clutches may need to be serviced or all of it together. It's over 20 years old and has probably never been properly serviced. It's your now and you get to perform all the maintenance that has been neglected. Have fun.

 

[99Sportsman335]

Yeah I am currently looking to bypass the switch for now. Transmission engagement - When I shift say from neutral to forward, the bell crank moves but does not seem to go all the way unless I spin the wheels, then you can hear it lock in gear. If it's running when I put it into forward, and it doesn't "lock", if I hit the gas it just spins internally and you can hear the gears almost mesh but then they just grind when trying to force it into gear. Same goes with reverse. It could be something to do with the belt/clutches because when in neutral and turn the bike on, the secondary clutch spins and is not easy to stop. I will take the cover off tonight and have a look and see if I can get it set up so that the belt doesn't spin unless its in gear. Honestly I dont know how you guys figure this stuff out - there is so many things it could be...
BTW _ can get a transmission switch but it will cost me 200-300

 

[99Sportsman335]

So kind of differrent topic and yet related; I decided to bypass the transmission switch by pulling the grey/white wire (coming out of the awd switch to the circuit board) off the circuit board and attaching it directly to a hot red/black wire to give the awd switch direct 12v. I placed one probe on the brown ground in the awd switch and one on the grey/white coming in. Got 12.9V
I turned the awd switch on and placed one probe on the brown wire inside the switch and the other probe on the yellow wire inside the switch, and the grey wire inside the switch and each read 12.9V
I then dismantled my hubs, ensured that the armatures were allind with the clutches (in the hub)
I turned the awd switch on and the magnets were definetly grabbing the clutches - no question they had power. I put the hubs back together, filled them with fuid, started the bike, put it in gear (all 4 wheels off the ground, ensured rear wheels were stopped. I hit the awd switch to on and rev the engine a few times and... Absolutely no action from the front wheels. How is that even possible?

 

[Andy123456789]

So kind of differrent topic and yet related; I decided to bypass the transmission switch by pulling the grey/white wire (coming out of the awd switch to the circuit board) off the circuit board and attaching it directly to a hot red/black wire to give the awd switch direct 12v. I placed one probe on the brown ground in the awd switch and one on the grey/white coming in. Got 12.9V
I turned the awd switch on and placed one probe on the brown wire inside the switch and the other probe on the yellow wire inside the switch, and the grey wire inside the switch and each read 12.9V
I then dismantled my hubs, ensured that the armatures were allind with the clutches (in the hub)
I turned the awd switch on and the magnets were definetly grabbing the clutches - no question they had power. I put the hubs back together, filled them with fuid, started the bike, put it in gear (all 4 wheels off the ground, ensured rear wheels were stopped. I hit the awd switch to on and rev the engine a few times and... Absolutely no action from the front wheels. How is that even possible?

I’m not familiar with the setup, but did you spin the front at all with your hand to see if it needed to lock into gear? Thinking maybe that under normal use, it may need a small amount of movement on the front to engage the front. Just an idea

 

[99Sportsman335]

From what I've seen on videos, if operating properly as soon as others start the bike up and turn the switch on, the front wheels start turning on their own.
Also want to note, through all of this, the awd light does not come on.
I am confused though; if the armature plate magnetizes when awd switch is on, how are the hubs not engaging? if the hilliard clutches are pulled by the magnetic force (I grab one and tried to spin it when hub was engaged and it wouldnt spin because it was stuck to the armature plate) then why dont the wheels spin? I would think that if there was incorrect voltage or something mechanical, why would the hubs magnetize and hold the hilliard clutches?

 

[Andy123456789]

Did you check the plug connection at the handlebars? I’d investigate wher the power comes from on the light. I think the AWD plug has a white/red hot and a gray that goes to the hub. I would check the switch by checking continuity between those two wires with the switch open vs closed. Not positive of the wire colors but I think that’s right. Highly suspicious of the plug at the handlebars.

 

[99Sportsman335]

Plot Twist
I just couldnt get my head around what was going on and then I suddenly asked myself - How does the front diff play into all this. After some research I now understand that while the bike is in motion or at least the rear wheels, the front driveshaft spins at the same rate as the rear wheels. The hub is independent of the axels.

For some reason, my front driveshaft does not spin. Even in neutral if I grab the driveshaft where it comes out of the transmission, it will not spin.
With the bike running and in gear, the driveshaft does not spin. So the hubs are actually engaging but since the axels are not spinning, the hubs are grabbing an axel that is not moving...
Any ideas as to what the problem is?

 

[99Sportsman335]

So disconnected the prop shaft from the front diff and the prop shaft spins freely in the transmission.
Started the bike in gear and the back wheels move but the prop shaft still does not spin.
After removing the front diff, axels and diff spin freely.
Is this an internal issue with the transmission?

 

[Andy123456789]

So disconnected the property shaft from the front diff and the property shaft spins freely in the transmission.
Started the bike on gear and the back wheels move but the property shaft still does not spin.
After removing the front diff, axels and diff spin freely.
Is this an internal issue with the transmission?

@latebird is probably the best one to answer this. Without having any experience with that system, and not being there to see it, it’s hard to conceptualize. That said, latebird said above “The transmission shafts have to turn either from the belt drive or rear wheel movement to fully engage and lock in gear - you may only need to apply pressure to the shift lever when shifted into gear as you try to accelerate to complete the shift.” I don’t know. Good luck with it though, wish I could help. Let us know when you get it figured out.

 

[latebird]

OK - this is what's there and it will take gear box disassembly to figure it out

Shaft #19 is not turning - the shaft is driven by bevel gear 17

First possibility; the shaft is broken where the gear mounts - if this is the case, removing the snorkel (#21) will result in the shaft coming out.
Second possibility; bolt 25 has come out and the shaft spins freely in the gear
Third possibility; there is another internal problem within the transmission (possibly indicated by the shifting problem)

Beat solution: remove transmission, disassemble and assess the problem and then decide on the course of repair.

 

[99Sportsman335]

Well that was strange. I really didn't want to pull the transmission so I figured if I took that inspection cover off that sits directly under the front shaft, I might be able to see something, and I did.
Sorry for butchering the terminology but here goes:
The out put shaft is connected to a large gear. Nothing was missing or damaged but there was nothing for it to turn against. It just spun freely. Confusing until I looked deeper, there was a ring gear? The 2 were not meshing, the output shaft was too far out of the transmission for the 2 gears to spin on each other.
I spun the snorkel until the 2 gears meshed, spun the rear wheels and the front shaft spun! Reinstalled the front diff and axels and they now spin!
Winning!
Ran out of time to reinstall the hubs so will tomorrow

 

[Andy123456789]

Can

Well that was strange. I really didn't want to pull the transmission so I figured if I took that inspection cover off that sits directly under the front shaft, I might be able to see something, and I did.
Sorry for butchering the terminology but here goes:
The out put shaft is connected to a large gear. Nothing was missing or damaged but there was nothing for it to turn against. It just spun freely. Confusing until I looked deeper, there was a ring gear? The 2 were not meshing, the output shaft was too far out of the transmission for the 2 gears to spin on each other.
I spun the snorkel until the 2 gears meshed, spun the rear wheels and the front shaft spun! Reinstalled the front diff and axels and they now spin!
Winning!
Ran out of time to reinstall the hubs so will tomorrow

Can you post some pictures? Are you saying a male spline needed to be pushed into the female? I’m a little confused by your post. Either way good work getting it back functional. Before you finish you should figure out how to ensure it doesn’t come out again.

 

[latebird]

Winning!

Not winning yet - the shaft is held into the gear with bolt 26 and washer 16 - I believe if you look closely, the bolt is at least loose if not missing.