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Good work. I like that you cleaned and inspected the drive system and didn't just condemn it out of hand, and then you got it working. Even if it does need a bit of work after a while it lets you test everything else. It's important we use our discretion when choosing what needs replacing. That's good work..

Well after driving it around a bit and having to replace a stuck thermostat it seems to be running well and has good power I have noticed gear oil coming from the front diff pinion seal area so I guess I'll be exploring that issue sooner than later.

When a carb starts backfiring it's normally because the mixture is too lean. It can be caused by badly retarded ignition timing or tight valve clearance, but mostly it's a lean mixture, especially if it does it more as you open the throttle more. The flooding out the overflow is a different problem..

Well the circumstances should be considered here.. It takes about 20 minutes before the trouble starts manifesting.. A blocked fuel tank breather could cause problems like that. A blocked vent normally causes a fuel shortage as the tank starts to get a vacuum in it and the fuel stops flowing. It can happen though that a blocked vent can cause the carb to flood, but it's normally when the bike gets parked in the sun and the tank pressurises. It is possible though that in this case a blocked vent, despite the fuel being taken out of the tank as the engine runs, is actually letting the tank pressurise as the engine or sun warms the tank up. Check the fuel tank and the carb breather hoses are attached to the right place, and that they are clear.

I've since switched to another carb,I've read online a lot of people switched to smaller carbs due to flooding issues. This worked for me . Switched from the original vm34 to a vm32 from my 85 2wd bike. It was running perfectly, UNTIL, get this : Bike runs for 15mins or so till it gets hot. Then it backfires a bit and makes popping noises through the carb. Then it spitters and cuts out like it don't wanna run . Let it sit for a bit to cool down then starts back up like nothing happened. don't know if this is a fuel pump issue or some sort of electrical or mechanical issue? Man I thought I finally had this bike ready to take on a run. Guess not

it is the coil. Had this happen to me and had a second unit to swap parts. Did everything except for the coil as you need to drain the oil to replace it. If I remember correctly,the coil sent that much.

Thanks for the update! Good work! Glad it s running and driving. Always glad to hear a project getting back on the road.

New belt installed and also did a 25 year overdue service on the primary drive, it was really nasty and corroded. It's working good now. Took it out of the shop yesterday and did some riding around the yard and it seems to be running well. I did track down another electrical issue that I'll take care of this evening. It would lose power to the main switch intermittently and I finally traced that to a terminal in the connector that plugs into the starter solenoid. I'm also going to flush the cooling system and install some antifreeze

Yeah could be that Ww. If the carb's just been off then, yup, the rubber could be split. Good idea. Most of the time though, bad vacuum effects the idle more than it does an engine at revs. If they will start and idle, (even with a vacuum leak), then they will generally rev up and run pretty much as normal. There are exceptions though, such as the carb moving in the rubber, or the rubber flexing and letting air in.

lean pilot....

intake leak check the intake boot between the carb and the head, check that seal

awesome

i was always a fan of the razrs or razr2's....

check all of your grounds and cant forget to check the fuses...

I think there's a manual in here called "Polaris 1999-2000 Service Manual" that does all the models, including that Magnum 500.. If I didn't get it from here, let me know and I'll upload it to the service manual section.

You might try manualslib.com i have good luck finding manuals there.

Good call, the Red ones always run better. Worked on both also very rarely never major problems so i also never paid attention to the difference between the models.

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I'm looking for a service manual for a 1999 Polaris Magnum 500 4X4. Thank you

haha.. I'm not a mechanic that remembers model specific details.. I keep finding that a name in one year, or market, can mean something different elsewhere or in another year. You know what I'd say though.. manual transmission, suspension/drive as simple as your riding will tolerate, carby... japanese. Red is good.

Not speaking to Greg or Gw here, because I can see and know they are both thorough and logical, but for those that do struggle with electrical problems.. A "voltage drop test", is the way to find bad connections. Look it up and understand how it works. We have to look for the bad connection with full load on the connection. We can go around watching milli-voltages, or checking resistances, and never find the bad connection (and associated voltage drop), if we are just depending on our super precise digital meter.. And for the same reason, most of the time it's best to use an old fashioned test light (with a bulb that uses a bit of power), to quickly trace power, rather than the digital meter. And the other thing that I suspect causes a lot of difficulties and reluctance to do all the tests needed, is people try to work on their quad with all the body work on it. Most body work comes off relatively easily if the bolts are greased. Whenever a quad needs some work under the body work, it's nearly always worth taking the few minutes to pull the plastics off. And it's true of electrical as well as the fairly mundane, such as valve adjustment.. And it's a good time to check the wiring for chafing etc..

You guys know a lot about Hondas, i have an older one 87 great machine and am looking to get a newer Honda something newer early to mid 2000s, what is the difference between the Rancher and the Foreman and why would i pick one over the other.

Thats great news! Good work finding the loose ground sometimes they are hard to track down.

Yeah.. I put heavy loads on front and rear, and can still lower myself down, or back up, on hills to steep to trust your footing on. That's one of those old fifteen speeds with three reverses.. haha.. It is a bit excessive but I have really steep land and it's brilliant.. And I've tried other quads here as I worked on them.. Hard to beat the creep along speed. The dairy farmers though on rolling land, and all the guys at the beaches, they all love hondas..