# How many of u broke ur front diffs and how did it happen?



## JHR (Jan 29, 2010)

Im just curious of how many of you learned the front diff lesson like i did. The 2nd day i had it i was playin around on my driveway and i pulled down a little hill and couldnt back up it. It was on dry ground so i just put her in 4wd and gave it a little gas in reverse. then POP, i was like oh #### what happened. My honda never did that. I thought that the front end actuator just hadnt engaged yet so i rode it around in 4wd for a sec then i jumped off in a hole beside my driveway. Then it would pull the frontires fine but would pop every few seconds. I then pulled the front diff and had 2 broke 10t spider gears and a cracked carrier housing. Lesson learned.


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## zacksbf (Sep 11, 2009)

I am still on the orginal and hope it holds up. I have heard it pop a time or 2 when pulling out of rutted up holes or in peanut butter mud but I use thumb control and never had it give out. I hope it is just the noise of it sending power from the right to left tire I hear and nothing serious.


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## Swampgriz (Feb 27, 2010)

Is the diff a common problem with the brute? I'm thinking of getting a new brute soon to replace my 660 grizzly but some of the stuff I read about on here scares me. Like the diff and engines blowing up for example.


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## JHR (Jan 29, 2010)

my front end was in pretty bad shape when i got it. Had 160 hrs on it when i got it. U just never engage it while ur stuck or when ur back tires are spinning and ur front ones arent.


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## Swampgriz (Feb 27, 2010)

Is engauging it when your stuck what causes it to break? Do you just roll a mph or 2 so it locks in? Does it slam in 4 if you are stopped and hit the button then gas it? Is this what takes them out? A friend of mine has a 06 brute With over 2000 miles on it with 28" outlaws and he always puts it in 4 before he gets in a hole and he has never had a problem with his diff.


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## JHR (Jan 29, 2010)

ya thats it. U gotta engage it before u need it.


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## Colten_rainwater (Dec 14, 2009)

looks like a grenade went off in mine case is shattered where the actuator is mounted at im guessin it is bc i always just cram it in 4wd an mash on it but dont really kno


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## Swampgriz (Feb 27, 2010)

Ok. If that is what causes all the damage that's not to big of a deal. Just gotta be careful with the engaugement.


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## brutus750i (Nov 17, 2009)

always stop to switch or if your not fer sure then lock her in first roll a foot or two an let er eat!!!


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## Heath070707 (Oct 12, 2009)

I had to rebuild mine. I ran mine with water in it for about 500 miles! Had to replace center case, cross shaft, and all bearings and seals. Locked the front wheels together like a locker does when cross shaft broke. It will hit your wallet hard too, I have over $600 in mine. If the ring and pinion breaks thats about $550.


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## chris01 (Jan 13, 2010)

i have 4800km on my 08 650 brute an i'm really hard on it! so far no problems


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## brutus750i (Nov 17, 2009)

Heath070707 said:


> I had to rebuild mine. I ran mine with water in it for about 500 miles! Had to replace center case, cross shaft, and all bearings and seals. Locked the front wheels together like a locker does when cross shaft broke. It will hit your wallet hard too, I have over $600 in mine. If the ring and pinion breaks thats about $550.


 got lucky with mine caught it early,parts were all berrings an seals,cross shaft,locking pins.


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## Heath070707 (Oct 12, 2009)

brutus750i said:


> got lucky with mine caught it early,parts were all berrings an seals,cross shaft,locking pins.


 Did yours lock the wheels together to?


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## JHR (Jan 29, 2010)

my front end parts finally came in today. I did the cross shafy mod and i put my carrier back together with my new spiders and crossshaft and housing. Now im letting it all soak in gasoline overnight to get all the crap out of the bearings. I checked all the bearings and they were all tight and smooth so imma cross my fingers and hope for the best. I should have it back in there tomorrow and running. i found a really easy way to remove the front diff. After a few tries it gets easy. Cost me 254 $ for parts and shipping and i got it about a week after ordering it through dealercostparts.com.


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## brutus750i (Nov 17, 2009)

Heath070707 said:


> Did yours lock the wheels together to?


no sir.


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## Stogi (Feb 24, 2010)

Big tires + Big Logs + Heavy Thumb = lots of small pieces and a huge hole in the bottom of the case.... LOL:rockn:


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## 07 BRUTE (Jan 27, 2010)

the front tires have to spin 2.5 rotations to engage the 4wd thats the only thing i dont like ab my brute everything else i can live with


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## bruterider27 (Apr 29, 2010)

I have a 2010 brute so far no problem I had a king quad and crack the diff from the bottom to the top. What size tires did you have that broke the diff on the brute?


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## BleednGreen68 (Apr 19, 2010)

I got over 300hrs on mine and no probs. Just keep that fluid clean is all. If you do a lot of water and mud check it more frequently and make sure you are barely movin when you engage it and you will be good. All the horror stories you hear are from user error or they ride the crap out of them and dont take care of them. Maintenance is key! No matter what kind of bike it is.


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## bigblackrancher (Jan 18, 2010)

Yep^ also i have engaged mine in 4x4 while stuck but just flip the switch and barely give it gas until it fully goes into 4x4 then nail it, probably wouldnt work in really thick stuff but like if your bottomed out or something its fine


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## hoover (Apr 3, 2010)

BleednGreen68 said:


> I got over 300hrs on mine and no probs. Just keep that fluid clean is all. If you do a lot of water and mud check it more frequently and make sure you are barely movin when you engage it and you will be good. All the horror stories you hear are from user error or they ride the crap out of them and dont take care of them. Maintenance is key! No matter what kind of bike it is.


Thread should stop with what this man said


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## BleednGreen68 (Apr 19, 2010)

I've rebuilt one guys 09 brute 3 times with the same prob, he totally busts the front diff case. When it first started comin into our shop it was only 6months old and it looked like a 10yr old machine. Plastics all broken, missing screws in the plastics, rims all bent up, bumper bashed in. Under the seat would always be caked with mud. Couldnt even see any of the electrical wires and connections. Just used and abused machine. I know he would either get totally stuck and just put it wide open throttle and give her hell. Or pop wheelies or ramp it in 4x4 mode and just bust the front end. If yer gonna treat an atv bad go get a beater atv and quit wastin yer money on an expensive atv that you aint gonna take care of. A bayou 220 or 250 can mud with the best of them i've seen it hahahaha.


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## brodaddy1075 (Mar 30, 2010)

Mine is in the shop right now. Climbin a muddy hill and had the yellow lever pulled. Front end came up tires spinning and as soon as it came down and grabbed I heard the dreaded pop. Didn't crack the case tho.


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## BleednGreen68 (Apr 19, 2010)

Yer definately a lucky one. I mean you will hear a pop sound when the lever is pulled and yer really in thick mud. When Im at mud runs I have that lever pulled hard and wide open throttle bouncing off the ruts in the pit. I would hear pop sounds every once in awhile. More frequently if its really thick gumbo mud. It pops cause the mud cakes on the wheels and makes each wheel a different weight. One side takes more power to spin throwing off the balance of the wheels making them turn at different speeds. Just the gears in the case jumpin teeth or binding up. I guess if you do it enough you could definately strip it out. Time will tell. Just when yer done check the oil and if you dont see metal shavings yer good to go. Maintenance is key.


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## brodaddy1075 (Mar 30, 2010)

Will it was popping under a lil throttle in 4wd without the lever pulled and was hard turning at real low speed. I took it straight to the shop before i tore up more.


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## brodaddy1075 (Mar 30, 2010)

It was popping in 4wd without the lever pulled and was hard to turn when taking off. I took it straight to the shop.

oops didnt mean to post twice. slow loading today.


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## BleednGreen68 (Apr 19, 2010)

Yea somethin is goin on. I just had a 700 prairie in the shop. Was complainin about the 4x4 not workin. I rode it and when you would really get on it it would pull very hard to the left and the diff lock wouldnt work at all. Well i went to check the diff oil and there was NONE! Prob one of the seals leaked and they didnt check it at all. By the time it came to me it was too late. I started fillin it to see if it would leak or work any better. Well I found a leak. There was a big hole in the case under the propeller shaft. About 3" by 2". It wasnt a 4x4 anymore, it was a 3x4. It would spend one wheel haha. It was driven a long time with the hole in it cause there was mud and sand all caked around and in the hole. They didnt want to fix it so I guess its comin back in the winter. But its gonna take pretty much a whole new diff rebuild. Or get a used one from ebay.


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## 09limebrute (Oct 26, 2009)

well mine is doin the same thing... heard a loud pop about 6 months ago and its been popin out ever since so imma bout to quit ridin it and break it down lol


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## brodaddy1075 (Mar 30, 2010)

Ya prob a good idea. I only took mine to the shop cause its warranty work. My buddies 09 rzr started doing the same thing and he let it go for a couple weeks until there was nothing left. Cost him 700 bucks.


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## BleednGreen68 (Apr 19, 2010)

Ouch, yea catch it early so you dont break a case or somethin. Usually the spider gears break.


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## Texas_Sportsman (May 12, 2010)

well i had to have a factory warranty take care of my front diff.. not sure what happened to it though.. maybe using the ADC. anyway, i had to have it replaced. was sounding like total grinding when i was engine breaking.


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## BleednGreen68 (Apr 19, 2010)

Warranty is a good thing especially when yer doin major work like diffs and engine. Did you buy extended warranty?


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## 09limebrute (Oct 26, 2009)

well my warranty expired about 3 weeks ago... i told the dealership about when they TOTALLY resealed my engine in October... But they said the 4x4 worked fine and there was nothin wrong with it... So its comin out of my pocket now lol


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## BleednGreen68 (Apr 19, 2010)

**** that sucks. Wonder if you can find a used one on ebay or somethin? Of course you dont know what shape that one is in either.


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## 09limebrute (Oct 26, 2009)

well i got the diff broke down this weekend... bearings and and all the gears look fine... the slip collar and the coupler that it slides into looks a lil worn and a tad bit rounded on the edges... but other than that everything looks fine... so im guessin that its the slip collar and the coupler...


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