LATE 90's BAYOU 300 4x4-BENT SHIFTER REPAIR COST?

[OldDawg]

Hello-

Not certain of model year here-was plowing snow and when I went to reverse, nothing...no bang, no grind no whine, motor just kept running smoothly but no gears either direction.

Took it to recommended local mechanic and his diagnosis [after ~ 2 hr of shop time] is bent or broken shift fork.  

Estimate of 33 hrs of shop time to replace [@ $95/hr] + parts [~ $500?].   Says he won't install used parts and couldn't find any OEM.  I THINK I located some OEM for ~ $75 apiece-without the machine handy I can't check ser # to be certain they are the correct ones.

I realize I'm still living in the last millenium in many ways, but this just seems waaay out of line to me.  I was prepared for maybe $1200 quote but $3500-4000 seems nuts.

Anyone who has done [or paid to have it done] this particular job want to chime in? 

I'm not real anxious to tear into to it myself but I do have tools and have done rebuilds on ancient Datsun trucks. 

No way I'm shelling out  that much $$$ on a machine this old even if it has been babied for much of it's life.

 

[OldDawg]

45 views, zero replies so far...

[OldDawg]

45 views, zero replies so far...I'm guessing that maybe bent/broken forks are just not an issue with these machines?

[OldDawg]

91 views now, nobody has an opinion or experience to share?

 

 

Edited December 13, 2021 by OldDawg
Fat fingers...

[MarkinAR]

You posted the question late in the day on Friday and then reply 3 times over the weekend that no one has replied?  Calm down and give us a bit, some of us only look at this forum when we're bored at work.

I can't say if it's a shift fork without seeing it, but if it is, those parts really can be hard to come by.  The better option is to pick up a similar year Bayou (I think all of the 300's are the same regardless of year but can't confirm) cheap that's trashed and use it for experience tearing down and as a parts bike.  Those were extremely reliable machines (as were the 250 2WD) so finding spare parts is pretty tough.  I bought one a couple years ago for $500 complete but trashed and it took me a couple of weeks to refresh it and sell it on again reliable and ready to rock.

[OldDawg]

TYVM for the response, appreciate it.  Realized I couldn't download a manual w/o 10 posts so decided to spam my own thread to build up the post count.  Apologies if I came across as impatient.  One of the chainsaw forums I frequent often has folks falling all over themselves to respond to noob questions so I probably had unrealistic expectations.

I guess what I was really asking without realizing it at the time is-does the mechanic's diagnosis of bent/broken fork sound plausible or are there a number of other possibilities [that would potentially be less $$$] to eliminate before pulling the whole thing apart?  If that is a common issue with these machines I'd like to know, and if it isn't I'd still like to hear about it from the guys with a lot of experience. 

Me, I'm just a 70 yr old guy who needs to be able plow snow again pretty soon without shelling out 4 grand...rode one of these things exactly twice before I bought this one a couple of years ago and know nothing beyond basic mechanics of staying current with the maintenance, keeping things tight, ground connections clean, etc.

Thanks also for the reliability vote on the 250-wife has one of those back in KY-she's been talking about selling it since she is there so infrequently.  I'll try to talk her out of it now!

 

[MarkinAR]

No sweat, most people spam random posts to get to ten.

I would visually check the shifter shaft in the middle of the shifter lever moves when you step on it, sometimes they strip.  If the shaft is moving, then yes, you may have a shifter fork issue.  That's pretty rare on these machines, but I guess possible as anything metal wears with time.  It's a tough one, because you really don't know until you pull the motor and split the cases to get to the gears.

[spock58]

I agree that you don't know much until the motor comes apart. That estimate of 33 hours seems excessive - maybe the guy just doesn't want to do the job. The most it would be, I'm guessing is 20 hrs. depending on the condition.

Removal of the engine isn't that bad, just some grunt work involved (engines are heavy, even in mid-sized quads).  Possibly removing the engine yourself and taking it to someone who's experienced could be considered.

[OldDawg]

TYVM, spock-had not considered that he may not want the job.  Came as a recommendation from retired small engine guy but really know nothing about him.  Gonna go see him Friday and find out exactly how he arrived at his conclusion of bent/broken fork.

Knowing zero about how these things are built, it is odd to me that there was NO warning and no noises-if a shift fork broke, seems like that piece would be likely to hit something spinning, and if bent if seems like I would have had to be doing something dodgy at the time of the bend. 

I'm pretty easy on equipment because I know how much work it can be to fix stuff.  I don't bang gears and I don't shift from forward to reverse without a full stop in between EVER.

I have a cherry picker so I should have no problem pulling the motor, just dreading having to clear off the entire workbench so I can lay stuff out in order of disassembly.

Thanks for the suggestion about pulling then taking to someone who knows what they're doing-I'll ask for his guesstimate about what THAT might cost when I see him.

Edited December 15, 2021 by OldDawg
Fat fingers...