96 polaris sportsman 500 tranny problems

[treecowboy67]

I got a 97 sportsman 500. just bought it worked fine, then cant get it into forward or reverse. Low forward works fine. Shift linkage seems to move fine. Any ideas, can do most work myself but this is the first atv i have owned. please help. Or should I just take it back. Got it for $800 w/newer plow, am on a limited budget (child support). Thanks for any help.

[GEARHEAD01]

if i am not mistaken thier should be a ball and socket assembly on the bottom of the shifter lever. when you split the housing in half their is a what looks like a ball with little pins front and rear. those break off and then you cant select a gear. i would start there.

[treecowboy67]

thanks will give it a look

[Ajmboy]

* Added year, make, and model to thread title.

[treecowboy67]

I had posted before that I had no forward or reverse, but had low range forward. Now after loading and unloading it, it is stuck in reverse no matter where the shifter is. I disconnected the shifter and using just the shift rods it is still stuck in reverse. Could it be the forward- reverse fork is bad and it just got stuck in reverse.

[DirtDemon]

Another problem within the same problem does not necessitate a new thread. It is actually more helpful to have all of your posts the responses in one thread. Diagnosing a problem over an internet forum is difficult, the more info available to someone, the better. I will merge this thread with your old one, so everything is together.

That being said, I am thinking that there is something physically broken or damaged inside the gearbox, a shift fork is possible, so I think you are on the right track. Unfortunately, this would mean taking the gearbox apart, however, from there it should be fairly easy to see your problem. Good luck.

Edited January 26, 2011 by DirtDemon