'94 poplaris 400 sportsman 4x4 rear end slippage???

[thenipster]

I have a bit of a problem with my quad. I recently had work done to it. I replaced the starter and voltage regulator had my carb replaced and crankcase oil changed. A week ago I took my quad into the bush, and went through some water and mud......for the most part it was great, doing what a quad should do. As I continued throught this "slew" and about 4 - 5 minutes of this great quading ....I started to slow down and it seemed like my rear end was slipping! As I "gunned it" to get out of this mud and water hole (8" - 10" deep) i looked behind me and saw what appeared to be smoke .........not steam but a smoke! It was coming from the rear chain drive around the rear axle! I continued to crawl out of the water and mud trail and on to dry land. After I got onto the dry land I was able to get traction again and no slipping occured anymore. What could have caused this? PLEASE HELP.

[DirtDemon]

I don't think anything was slipping, if there was actually smoke coming from the rear end, I would guess that your axle bearings are going out. If there was actually something slipping, it could only be becuase of stripped splines either on the sprocket hub, wheel hubs, or the axle where those 3 things are mounted on it.

[GEARHEAD01]

was your engine revving high. if it was i would look at your belt and primary clutch. if the weights are dirty and gummed up it will cause you quad to slow down but still revv.

[DirtDemon]

Agreed, clutch or belt slippage is way more likely than rear end slippage. The belt could have just started slipping a bit when it got wet, and when you got out of the water, started to grab again. I would definately take Gearheads advise and take a peek at the drive belt and clutches, they are easy enough to get to.