2000 Suzuki LT-A500F Quadmaster; wont move

[JPEDRO]

So I was out playin in some mud yesterday. was a good ol' mud flinging time. but i have a 2000 Suzuki LT-A500F so what happend was i got stuck and i heard a grinding noise, as if the front diff hadnt engage fully. so it went away i was spining the tires to get out and immidately i noticed black on the ground..... was engine oil. shut it down ( didnt loose very much by the time i noticed) motors safe still. anyways i looked into it. the seal around the front drive shaft where it goes into the motor blew out theres my problem. i added oil to start it up and move it a couple hundered feet so i could load it up. and it made that awful grinding noise again and wouldnt move. engine runs awsome still no problems there something to do with drive train. is it cause theres not enough oil in the motor and it having a shot seal or is something horrible gone wrong with it now:aargh: . please tell me its nothing major. i pulled the clutch cover off everything is ok ther so it is something internal if it is.

[DirtDemon]

I assume it won't move in reverse either. If it only makes the grinding noise when you put it in gear, then I would guess that your drive bevel gears are the problem. These gears are inside the engine case and drive the shaft that comes out the front and rear of the engine case. The clutch would be easier to deal with, so I would make sure it isn't the problem first. Unfortunately, a grinding noise is more likely going to be caused by stripped gears or splines.

[GEARHEAD01]

the transmission output shaft to the front diff has a spine system inside the trans. the spines always shear off there. this is a very common trait of the quadmaster 500 4x4. any way you look at it you need to pull the transmission and engine out to repair. let me know how you make out. if you have any questions i have the factory service and repair manual.

your friendly neighbourhood mechanic.

[JPEDRO]

is that a fairly pricey item to get fixed in a shop or is it do able at home.?

[GEARHEAD01]

it is going to be expensive to get it done in a shop and can be done @ home depending on your experience and if you have a factory manual. just pay close attention to the location of things and take alot of pictures of things as you tear it down so you know how it goes together. just be confident when you do it and make sure you have a factory manual. (approx $70 canadian)

[DirtDemon]

The front output shaft is where the the shaft bevel gear sits, if the splines stripped there, the macnine would not move, the rear shaft slips on to the rear splines of the front shafts. The shafts are about $130 a piece, the bevel gears are about $130 and $100 each. Hopefully you only need to replace one or two of the parts and a gasket set to get everything put back together. If all went well, you could get it done for under $500 at home. You could easily double that price or more if you have a dealer do it.

[JPEDRO]

So i recentred the drive shaft and it will move under its own power again but i found out that the bearing on the front shaft is pooched so is that easily changable or is a motor pull and block split required

[DirtDemon]

Pull the yoke off and remove the seal. You should be able to tell if the bearing can be removed from the outside. My guess is that you will need to split the case halves to get to the bearing. This may be better anyway because the reason that you heard that grinding noise is because the bevel gears were not meshed together and they were grinding against one another. It is most likely that those gears were damaged, so it would be best to inspect them for damage. The bearing being tosted like that allowed the drive shaft to move around pulling the bevel gears away from each other. I would strongly suggest getting a repair manual. You can go the cheap route and get a Clymer manual from ebay, or you can spend a few more $$ and get a factory repair manual. The factory manual is alot better and has more information, but the Clymer will be better than nothing and should help you get the job done.

[JPEDRO]

ive got the actual suzuki repair manual for it, and ive read it over a few times and seems to me ill be pulling the motor and spliting the halves in order to replace the bearing so ill keep you posted on what ive got going on. thanks for the tips guys.

joe

[GEARHEAD01]

yes according to the suzuki manual you still need to pull it and split the case half.

[DirtDemon]

Take a good look at those bevel gears while you are in there. Good luck.

[JPEDRO]

so tonight i pulled the motor and going to take it into the shop to be repaired but was thinking what do think on a scale of 1 to 10 this project would be for me to tackle my self worst is pulling the clutches i would think, ive read threw the book, it doesnt seem so horrible. i think i could do it just not sure what you think? or what would the rough shop time be on replaceing the bearing on the front drive shaft and that seal on the front there any ideas? just as a rough idea?

[GEARHEAD01]

it is probably a 6out of ten for hard level and about 4 out of ten for skill level. my younger brother is not a mechanic but he decided to get his prissy hands dirty and rebuilt his with a manual and a couple of questions to me. just follow your factory manual and put it in order of the way it came out on a bench. when you put it back together reverse the order. i have seen some journeyman mechanics who should not have thier licenses from stupidity do this with some minor guidance. give it a try. if you find you are to deep then take it down. there is no harm in trying. if you need some assistance or some confidance building do not be afraid to message me or get a hold of me for my email and will be glad to assist you in any way possible.

[DirtDemon]

A shop will rape you of your money. If you think you can do it yourself, you might as well try. As long as you have a good manual, and a mechanichal inclination, you should do ok. The most important part is keeping track of all the parts and where they go.

[JPEDRO]

Sorry i never replied for so long i did get my bike all fixed up it cost me a total of 3600.00 for parts and time and boy she was worth every penny thanks for all your adviseguys i need snorkel help now but ill start a new theead for that