Redid the top end on my 96 300 4x4 and while I was it it replaced the kickstart assembly cause it wasnt working....it would just kick down and not spin the motor.....upon reassembly when i start the bike the ratchet mechanism is clicking really loudly until i put it in gear and then it stops. Only does it in neutral and not in gear although i have not ridden the quad yet. Any ideas on why this might be happening? thanks in advance for the help!
kickstart trouble..help needed
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Welcome to the forums.
I doubt if anything was wrong with the kickstart assembly. What usually causes the engine not to turn over when trying to kickstart, is the one-way clutch bearing goes bad. It is located on the inside of the centrifugal clutch. It is also what allows you to have engine braking.
Sounds like you put the kickstarter assembly in wrong. Those are tricky to put in if you've never put one in before. It's easier to put the kicker back on the kickstarter shaft to put it in and then you can take the kicker back off to put the side cover back on. You have to hook the big spring and then wind it clockwise just a little before pushing the shaft down into the hole where it seats and meshes with the gear. It's hard for me to explain, but there's a piece bolted just to the right of where the shaft goes, it's called a ratchet guide. There's a ratchet that sticks out toward the right on the shaft that has to catch on the ratchet guide and then when the spring pulls the shaft back the ratchet rides up on the ratchet guide and raises the teeth up on the shaft so the teeth don't hit the teeth on the gear all the time. That is what's happening when you hear the clicking. Then when you kick the kickstarter, the teeth go down and catch on the gear and it turns the shaft.
thanks for the fast response. I think what i didnt do is align the ratchet with the ratchet guide. Is this what you were saying? And for curiosity sake...why doesent it do this when in gear....sorry....dont really know the theory and operation of the mechanism.
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The one-way clutch bearing, #27 in the diagram below, is what's causing the kickstarter to not turn the engine over. It also allows you to have engine braking. Have you noticed that you have lost engine braking when going downhill? Usually when they start going bad, when going downhill, the ATV will fill like it jumps out of gear and it feels like it's in neutral. When it does this, you can bump the throttle and it will catch and hold back again.
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Yeah, the teeth are staying engaged all the time. When lined up properly the ratchet guide will hold the teeth up away from one another and it only lets the teeth on the shaft and gear engage when kicking the kickstarter forward.
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What are you calling the output shaft? Are you talking about the shifter shaft?
On the left side of the motor. The back end of it connects to the driveshaft. The motor end has a shaft that goes into the motor and has many gears on it. I believe they are the gears of the transmission. I pulled the unit out about 8" from the motor and when I pushed it back in, the kickstart is no longer working because I am sure I misaligned something. I may just take it to the mechanic at this point because I can't see an easy way to get at the gears.
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OK, you were correct in calling it the output shaft. I was hoping you were talking about something else. When you pulled that shaft out, the gear that the kickstarter engages, probably fell off the shaft and down into the crankcase. If that's the case, the crankcase will have to be split in order to put the gear back on the shaft.
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