4wheel drive question

[Roy Anderson]

I have had a 2002 Suzuki King Quad 500 for almost a year. This is a question I’ve posted before, but likely missed the answer due to being new to the site. Here’s the issue. When in 4 wheel drive, especially in low range, especially when pulling a load downhill, I hear a lot of clanking in the front end. As if the front drive shaft was binding then unbinding. A friend who had a 1987 Dodge 4x4, told me all the noise his front end made when in 4 wheel drive was entirely normal. So, is this something I should worry about? I have all the bodywork and tank off right now doing a valve adjustment and carb rebuild. If I gotta do something, I’d like to do it now. Lastly, I’d love to find a carb tuning guide for this era of Mikuni. Haven’t tracked one down yet. Any thoughts of where to find one? Great forum. Have really enjoyed it so far.

[Roy Anderson]

The question shown above, about the noise when in 4 wheel drive, is the last thing, as far as I know, that I haven’t solved. The noise is a loud “ clank”, when in 4 wheel drive, and going down hill. I can watch the front drive shaft when it makes the noise, which is about every 4-8 seconds, or so many revolutions of the drive shaft, but can’t tell if it’s the u- joints, or internal to the front differential.

[davefrombc]

Do you know if a previous owner had any problems with either differential? I'm wondering if one of them  has been replaced with one with a slightly different ratio.  Another thing that could cause  a binding and unloading is  replacing the stock  wheel sizes with another .  Gear ratios and wheel  diameters are inter-related . If there is a mismatch  between the front and rear you  can get binding that might be the cause of the clanking sound as it binds and releases

 

[Mech]

Hi. If it's the diff or the front cv on the axles, it will probably be a muffled noise because of the oil and diff housing, or the grease and rubber boots. If it's a clear sharp noise I'd guess it's the front driveshaft universal from the engine to the front diff. The tone of the noise should give some indication which it is.

The driveshaft universals don't have the protection of rubber boots and are the ones to wear out most often too.. I'd suspect it's the driveshaft. The driveshaft universal is easy to get your hands on. Just reach in there and try rotating the shaft a little, or push and pull the shaft to the side of the bike and check for sidewards play, there should be none.

The universal is a bit of a bugger to do because you need to dismantle it in place, then put it together in place again as well.. unless you have a special dealer tool to undo the bolt to take the shaft away from the gearbox. The good news is that the universal joint is an excellent design and as far as universal joints go, it's almost foolproof.

Most uj you need to be very careful as you put the cups into the yoke  and onto the cross because it's really easy to dislodge a needle roller. On these crosses you can slip the cup into the yoke and onto the cross without having to press the cup far in, and then the other side cup goes in and onto the cross before it has a chance to drop a needle.. If you've done a car universal you will know the normal problem that requires you to press the cup a long way in till the cross is poking out the other side, then get the cup on the second side and press the whole lot back to the centre of the yoke. You don't have to do that with these ujs.  The hardest part is getting the circlips on and off. The cups also seem to slip most of the way into the yoke too before you have to start tapping or using a g-clamp on it.

They look daunting, but are a lot easier than it looks.. If you've done a uj before you should have no trouble.

Good thinking Dave.. could be wheels..