# Brute Force Front Diff Rebuild Feedback



## Finest Racing (Feb 17, 2015)

Hello everyone. I have been doing a process of elimination to narrow down the problem of not having 4wd. I have a 2009 Brute Force. If I pull the lever, I have the front left tire spinning. The right tire will not spin. 

At this point I feel I need to remove the diff and rebuild. I don't see an oil leak which is good. 

Can anyone that has removed and rebuilt a front diff jump in here and give me some tips and advise? Where to order parts other then local dealer. If we have sponsors/vendors on the forum to buy from.

Thanks in advance.


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## camshaft (May 26, 2014)

You're gonna spend a little more using OEM parts, Mine was a little over $300. But its worth it over using a cheap after market kit. Much higher quality bearings and seals.
As far as not having 4x4, you're saying front wheels won't engage until you pull the locker lever? Start by checking to see if both axles are fully splined into the diff and in place. Then I would pull both axles out, jack the bike up off the ground, engage 4wd, give it throttle and see if the diff is spinning through the axle holes


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## Finest Racing (Feb 17, 2015)

camshaft said:


> You're gonna spend a little more using OEM parts, Mine was a little over $300. But its worth it over using a cheap after market kit. Much higher quality bearings and seals.
> As far as not having 4x4, you're saying front wheels won't engage until you pull the locker lever? Start by checking to see if both axles are fully splined into the diff and in place. Then I would pull both axles out, jack the bike up off the ground, engage 4wd, give it throttle and see if the diff is spinning through the axle holes


By pulling the lever, the front left tire will spin under a load in the snow. When I have the quad on jack stands in 4wd, the left front tire will spin. No load since it is not on the ground. If I try to stop it while it is spinning slowly - I cannot stop it. If I release the brake with my foot on the left front tire, it will not spin. It appears that any load on the left front tire will prevent it from spinning. This would make me think the clutches are bad. 

Curious to know if the lever is activating the clutches. The spider gears are working when the lever is not pulled in? I hate to bring it to the dealer when I have mechanical skills. They would rape me.

Thanks camshaft, I can't tell you how much time I have involved in trying to figure out what is wrong here. I am taking it slow and starting from the ground up. I went through the whole electrical system to make sure there were no issues. No issues there. the actuator is working when it should be. The slide in the diff is sliding. I am running out of options before I pull the diff.

The problem started after I went off road for the first time two weeks ago. I only used the quad to plow snow for 5 years. My friends bought quads, I went out and got stuck in mud/melting snow. I was not gently trying to get out. I had her screaming with the lever pulled in.


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## camshaft (May 26, 2014)

Releasing the brake with your foot? The foot brake only controls the rear brakes if i'm not mistaken. And the lever you're referring to is the yellow locker lever on the left handle bar? With the lever not pulled in the spiders are still actuated, they're still spinning with the carrier. The only the thing the lever does is compress the clutch pack and lock the diff together as one solid unit. I'm still thinking you could have an axle not fully seated in the diff. Pull both front axles and See if you can see the spiders moving through the RH side of the diff when on the throttle in 4x4. Either that or you damaged the spiders. The RH axle Should spin unlocked. And with the bike off the ground, and not in 4x4, what happens when you spin the right wheel one way? does the left spin the opposite?


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## Finest Racing (Feb 17, 2015)

camshaft said:


> Releasing the brake with your foot? The foot brake only controls the rear brakes if i'm not mistaken. And the lever you're referring to is the yellow locker lever on the left handle bar? With the lever not pulled in the spiders are still actuated, they're still spinning with the carrier. The only the thing the lever does is compress the clutch pack and lock the diff together as one solid unit. I'm still thinking you could have an axle not fully seated in the diff. Pull both front axles and See if you can see the spiders moving through the RH side of the diff when on the throttle in 4x4. Either that or you damaged the spiders. The RH axle Should spin unlocked. And with the bike off the ground, and not in 4x4, what happens when you spin the right wheel one way? does the left spin the opposite?


The right front wheel spins free. When spinning he right wheel the left one is not moving. When I release the brake, I am releasing the brake lever to apply brake to all 4 wheels. When I pull the yellow lever in, the right tire will not spin. When I pull the yellow lever I am making the front diff into a spool/locking the diff as I have noticed in the past. 

I will remove both axels tomorrow to see where I am. Good idea to remove and inspect. 

When I spin the right tire by hand either forward or reverse, one out of 15 times the left tire will grab and spin an inch and then stop while I am still spinning the right tire. 

When I replaced the fluid the other day it was bad.


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## camshaft (May 26, 2014)

Sounds like you may have damaged the spiders. Using the locker lever definitely speeds that process up. Lemme know what you find out when you remove axles


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## Finest Racing (Feb 17, 2015)

Today I spent 90 minutes removing the axels and the column is almost read to pull up. Next will be the brake lines and the diff bolts. Then she will come out. After I removed the axels, I was not able to see the spider gears. I did see the bottom of the drain pan after the diff fluid separated over night. It appears to be clutch material on the bottom of the pan. I do not see any metal. The end of the axels look fine, no damage to the splines.









---------- Post added at 09:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:07 PM ----------

From the front


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## Finest Racing (Feb 17, 2015)

Update: I was changing the fluid today and I noticed metal in the oil. Time to tear it apart again. Everything was working great this past weekend. I flushed the diff three times and I still had a whole lot of metal coming out. 
Anyone know of a kit that would be an upgrade for this repair?


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