mga

i'm game....like i said in about two weeks i'll get into it. I'll let you guys know how it went. thanks again!!!!

i'm going to hate this job......but, what's the worse that can happen? LOL

2000 Big Bear 400 4x4 so, what you guys are saying the axles should pull out of the front yoke with maybe a little tugging? The axle is just held in there with that ring clip? My next question is will it go back in ok and how will i know if it went all the way in and locked? I'll be doing that in about 2 weeks. I have to finish yet another remodeling job for the old lady I appreciate all the feed back!!!! I see a pair of them, right and left, on ebay for $98. should i take the risk and buy them? It's the axles with the boots, clips, washer and nuts.

you mean they can just pull out of the front differential? Nothing holds them in there except the wheel hub?

I have to replace all 4, how much is involved? Will they slide out of the front yoke? Or, do the boots just slide over the wheel end?

this is the one i bought. since it works so good. i'll probable buy the more sturdy one: https://www.amazon.com/Control-Shifter-Lever-Universal-Motorcycle/dp/B09R979Z8L/ref=sr_1_3?crid=31NQJ5OCRPWSL&keywords=yamaha+hand+shifter&qid=1700919147&sprefix=yamaha+hand+%2Caps%2C100&sr=8-3

no...i have to turn the switch for reverse. just sometimes if i push it into that position, it's still in reverse (light on) i replaced the foot pedal with an arm, so i just go back and forth and it comes out of reverse. doesn't happen all the time...just once in a while. maybe it needs more spring pressure to release the reverse cable.? I'm going to play around with it this weekend. ( the foot linkage had a lot of wear/play in it, making it hard to find gears, so i went with the side shifter instead of replacing the foot linkage...my cheap way out lol ) right now, i've been using it to drag logs out of the woods that i cut a couple of years ago. gotta say, that thing has the power to pull them out and some were big logs.

mine does that sometimes. i just kinda rock it a little and get it back in neutral. but....it also will go into reverse by itself if i accidentally push past neutral into reverse mode, so maybe it's not going out of reverse? I'm thinking i need to adjust the cable tension looser. (?)

just out of curiosity, how is the shift linkage on the foot shifter? is it tight or is there any play in it? Mine was always hard to find or shift gears because the linkage from the foot shifter to the shaft was real sloppy. Once i put a hand shifter on it, it shifts perfectly. just my 2 cents worth.

no follow up on this?

it's definitely not slipping. could i have adjusted it too tight? then again, i don't want it slipping either....maybe i should just leave well enough alone. lol i gotta say, that side hand shifter is great...man, i love that thing, it shifts so much better now. I think the problem was the foot shifter linkage was just worn too much and had too much play in it.

anyways, back to the clutch adjustment....i noticed when going up a hill, it bogs down unless i keep downshifting...not sure how normal this is. I felt for a 400 it would have a little more balls. It doesn't sound like the clutch is slipping, it just really bogs down. would that be normal for an atv?

amazon....$13. i bought a cheap one to try it out. ugh..hard tail. we did a fund raising ride..500 miles round trip....i rode a sportster on the way down, then a custom bike that was hard tail on the way back....never again!

fixed! a couple of bad connections i found following your diagrams. light works now thanks a million!!!!

it simply attaches to the shift shaft same as the foot linkage. I left the foot linkage just in case i didn't like it. but, i'll remove it. with the hand shifter it takes little effort, however, i could see a problem if you're into fast rough terrain riding and you need to shift gears and hold on.

i tried looking at many manuals for this issue, they all seem different. But, i saw on a diagram when i followed the wires supposedly for my year and make, there is something called a "oil temperature indicator light checker" near or in the main switch on the handle bar. I jumped the oil temp switch earlier and the fans turned on, but the light never did. supposedly it's supposed to light up when the fan goes on. Is that oil temperature light checker a real thing? i can't seem to find any info on that

thanks...that makes sense...i'll be playing with it tomorrow

is there any way to test these? i know the fan works if i jump it, and i believe i heard it turn on once when driving, but the light has never come on. the bulb is good ( i checked it on the bench) is there a way to test the sending unit for the oil temp?

so, i bought this cheap hand shifter from amazon and it actually works much better than the foot shifter. I'll upgrade it to a much better one in the near future. (the wires you see are for my 15 gallon sprayer mounted on the back) don't pay attention to my seat...lol..atv is used as a work horse only....not going in the auto show

clutch adjustment. I loosened that nut, but if i loosen it too much the screw turns a lot. If i just loosen the nut a little, the screw hardly turns. So, i guess my question would be what's a good starting point? Should i turn the screw in all the way then back out a little, then tighten the nut? Or, should i back it out all the way, and tighten it slightly, then tighten the nut? I guess what i'm asking is where is the "sweet spot" for that screw?

i took a measurement from the rear axle nut to the front axle nut. The Right side measured something like 47", the left side (the bad side) was about 45 3/4". So, that bend in the frame pushed the wheel back maybe that far. If i can make up at least 1 inch of that i'll be happy. I still have to figure out why the right wheel's camber is so far off. (maybe the frame twisted?) But, i also feel the lower A frame mounts might be off a little too. So far by playing with the idler arm, i got it to run fairly straight and it's not pulling to the left as hard. This will be my winter project when i can strip it down, stand it up on it's rear and take some measurements before i pull on the frame.

so, what exactly does that screw do with the clutch? I'm trying to get a visual as to what it's doing inside the cover. And, how much do you loosen that nut up? I can turn the nut out a lot and that screw will turn out with it. It seems like the nut is holding the adjustment screw at whatever setting i make it. If i removed it and put the adjustment screw back in, what harm will it do? dumb questions, i know, but, like i said, if i had a visual in my mind..i'd feel better knowing what i'm doing

it'll be a while before i tackle that project. I don't really use it much right now, so, i'll let it be. When i do i'll post back and let you guys know how it turned out

seems like i'm not the only one. I searched Youtube and watched a few videos of fixing bent ATV frames. The best one was they stood it up on it's rear, cut the frame and pushed the front side upwards until it would be in the correct position, then they welded a piece of tubing to the frame to make up the difference. Nice idea, but, i'll have to get a welder first, or someone around here who knows how to weld. My other option is a porta-power to force it back out. My last option is the tree idea....which is what i'd probably do anyways with a 4 ton come-along. ha ha

i was thinking of doing that. i've done that with trailer frames that were bent. I think i'd need two trees. One to hold the good side and one to pull the bad side out. At this point, what do i have to lose...right?