92' TRX300 Shifting w/ Stator cover off

16947 Views 29 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Here 2 help, 1 mo ago

DallanC

Discussion Starter · Dec 5, 2018 (Edited)

Greetings folks, long time lurker / learner here. This place rocks, its an invaluable source of TRX repair info.

So maybe this will be a simple question for someone. First quick background: I'm chasing a no-spark issue that after replacing CDI, Coil etc ... lead me to examine the stator and pickup coil. While they tested within limits via the wiring, I still cracked open the side case to remove the stator.

Here's where the question comes in, while I had the cover off and testing the stator, my 18 year old thought it would be interesting to see how the shifter assembly works so he stuck the shifter petal back on and yanked up on it. He said he felt / heard a "clunk" inside :surprise:

Soooo when I came back and heard this (after biting my tongue), I rocked the atv and it freely wheels around. I tried to shift it down, shift it up... nada. It seems fairly stiff. I've never been inside an atv transmission, nor the TRX300 specifically. Is it possible he could have tweaked something shifting it with the case off? I don't see anything on the exposed linkage that is preventing it from potentially shifting. I would expect it to drop into gear easily...but its obviously not doing that.

The neutral light isn't on... but I don't know if its shifted out of neutral or if those lights wont come on with the stator / pickup coil removed. Is there something on the right side of the bike that the shifter shaft connects to that could have gotten out of wack?

I really dont want to reassemble the stator side if there is something inside that is now broken or out of index or something weird.

Thoughts?

-DallanC

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Here 2 help

· #2 · Dec 5, 2018

I presume it's a TRX300, but what year and is it an EX, FW or what? What's the VIN? I'll try to walk you through this - the pic is a great help, looks like everything is in place so together maybe we can figure out if there is anything wrong. Steve

DallanC

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 5, 2018

I snapped the model # as I ran out the door headed to work. If you truly need the VIN I can dig that up. But, the bike is a plain 1992 TRX300 2wd. Its been a great bike, not abused... it just lost spark hence starting to dig in.

What I'm trying to figure out is if i need to pull the clutch cover to see if that linkage is setup. I ordered a gasket just in case last night.

Tonight, I think I need to partially disassemble the gearshift linkage / shift drum and see whats up with that.

All actual gear shifting is driven from the Stator side right? The shift shaft only drives clutch disengagement on the clutch side?

-DallanC

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· #4 · Dec 5, 2018

OK - the shifter should work from what I can see in the pic - all the parts are there - get the rear wheels off the floor - you should be able to shift the transmission by rotating the rear wheels and shifting in the direction desired. If the shift shaft is pulled out too far (more than about 1/4 inch) it can be disengaged from the clutch release lever and then the right side would have to be pulled off to re-engage it, but I see no reason it won't shift as long as the engine or rear wheels are turning.

DallanC

Discussion Starter · #5 · Dec 5, 2018

Thank you!

I'll dig into it a bit more tonight. Freaking cold this time of year in the garage so I bought a propane torpedo heater. The bike will roll easily, but I'll jack up the rear and spin the wheels a bit more to see if I cant get something to engage.

I wonder... wonder if the shifter shaft pulled out a bit, and when he tried to shift it, it bound up the clutch linkage into a "released" state, so it is in gear but the clutch is free spinning. Either way, sounds like I need to pull that other side /sigh

What a pita... and I still dont know if the new pickup coil will solve my spark issue LOL.

-DallanC

Here 2 help

· #6 · Dec 5, 2018

I don't think the clutch could be held in release - if the shaft was pulled out, it would either bind up trying to push it back in, or it would simply not disengage the clutch which would affect shifting with the engine running, but it shouldn't affect shifting when the engine is not running

DallanC

Discussion Starter · #7 · Dec 6, 2018

Ok so I took off the gear shift linkage, dogs, plate, detent etc. Everything there looks good. The shift hub seems to have alot of play... IDK if this is normal or not.

Apologies for semi crappy video... but it gets the point across. Also apologies for the noise, its 20degrees right now and I had a torpedo heater blowing on me

https://youtu.be/sTc6A6H0EDc

I put all the shift linkage back together, the shifter shaft inserted all the way in easily. I stuck the shift pedal back on and put quite a bit of pressure on the shifter both up and down, nothing moves in the tranny. Rear wheels still free spin. I tried turning over the crank by hand via the flywheel (spark plug is out so it turns over semi-easily) and working the shifter but no go. I really dont want to put a crazy amount of force on the shifter yet. Still kicking around if I should crack open the clutch side cover.

So wierd, there has never been a tranny issue with this machine in the 15 years we've had it. IDK why it would go south on me now while chasing the electrical issue.

-DallanC

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· #8 · Dec 6, 2018

I think you are going to have to take the right cover off - there is a bolt on the right end of the shift drum that holds the reverse lock in place and limits the movement of the drum - I'm going to guess the bolt is loose or broken or the shift drum is broken or some other anomaly has occurred - you will probably have to remove the clutch to see what has happened - I doubt it was caused by your son, it was most likely a coincidence

DallanC

Discussion Starter · #9 · Dec 6, 2018

Thank you for the advice.

I am working on this as I find a spare hour here and there. I got things ready to take off the clutch side tomorrow evening. Will post an update when I see what that looks like.

If that doesnt pan out... I'll have to figure out how far down the rabbit hole I want to go. I've rebuilt alot of engines but I've always drawn the line at trannys. Tooooooooo many small parts lol. Splitting the case makes me mighty nervous. LOL

-DallanC

Here 2 help

· #10 · Dec 6, 2018

I understand - I am replacing a broken mainshaft in a CR80 at the moment - it broke the crankcase half behind the clutch where the bearing supports the shaft - I think I can fix it for less than $1000 - found a used clutch basket for $50 (OEM is almost $220) and a new case half for $120 - it didn't damage any tranny parts other than a snap ring - the only reason the clutch basket needs replaced is because the gear climbed the pinion and broke some teeth

Where do you hail from? I'm in Central Illinois USA - our temps here are in lower 30 to mid 40's and we are below average this year - we had 6 inches of snow in Nov and an outbreak of tornadoes on Dec. 1 (27 - a new record for Dec, but only third largest outbreak - largest outbreak was over 30 in 1958 and second largest was in 2006 - both 1958 and 2006 were in the spring) - historically we have had tornadoes in every month of the year

I have a waste oil furnace in my garage - it's "free" heat, but high maintenance - waste oil is dirty and the burn chamber has to be vacuumed out each year - takes the biggest part of a day to disassemble, clean, reseal and reassemble and it's noisy, but I don't have to pay a fuel bill to keep my garage 65 to 68 degrees all winter long - I also have gas heat, but it rarely runs - I got to have heat as I have a bathroom in my garage

Let me know what you find wrong as you progress with this project - you might want to cure the spark issue before working on the shifting issue

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DallanC

Discussion Starter · #11 · Dec 6, 2018

Here 2 help said:
Where do you hail from? I'm in Central Illinois USA - our temps here are in lower 30 to mid 40's and we are below average this year - we had 6 inches of snow in Nov and an outbreak of tornadoes on Dec. 1 (27 - a new record for Dec, but only third largest outbreak - largest outbreak was over 30 in 1958 and second largest was in 2006 - both 1958 and 2006 were in the spring) - historically we have had tornadoes in every month of the year

I'm in Central Utah, nearly the ATV capitol of America lol. Winters get pretty cold but very little humidity so it doesn't really sink into your clothes. Once it gets below about 10F it doesn't matter... 10F or -10F its about the same with a good coat. We do alot of ice fishing in the winter, snowmobile in... its usually around -15F to -20F when we unload.

This last storm dropped 46" of snow in a few spots.

Let me know what you find wrong as you progress with this project - you might want to cure the spark issue before working on the shifting issue

I've considered that, I don't want to button up the stator side though only to have to take it back off to work on shifter stuff. Also, the neutral light is off so IDK the alarm box will let it spark, even if I jump the solenoid. I feel like I'd be chasing false leads with neutral switch etc etc. Maybe I give it a try though.

I'll give it a few more hours of work over the next couple days and see what I can find. Saturday morning I gotta run down for an elk hunt. If the clutch side doesn't pan out, i'll pull the entire motor out of the machine later that day.

Thanks again,

-DallanC

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· #12 · Dec 6, 2018

Do you have a service manual? The alarm box is for the hot oil indicator - it does not cut off the spark - if the neutral light is off the electric starter won't work unless the LH lever is pulled in. The ignition is DC CDI, so you have to have power on the blue/wht wire at the CDI unit or you won't get spark under any circumstance. The exciter wire from the alternator is yellow/white - as long as the stator is good, it will provide AC voltage of 20 to 45 volts (or more) to the CDI unit - dark green is ground - black/yellow is the feed to the coil, with a peak voltage tester you can read DC voltage of appx 100 volts to the coil - there is one other wire (green) that goes from the CDI unit to the 'clutch diode' - on the other side of the diode is a green/red wire that changes to a green wire at the multi pin connector - the green wire is ground for the reverse light. I can scan and attach the ignition circuit wiring diagram if that would be helpful

DallanC

Discussion Starter · #13 · Dec 6, 2018

I do have a service manual, I just haven't dug super deep into the wiring other than running continuity and resistance tests on the various wiring to test components.

I will throw the stator side on and run a spark test. With the new pickup coil. There is a chance the replacement CDI was also bad so I have a 2nd one I will also try. That was all unrelated to the shifter issue though.

-DallanC

Here 2 help

· #14 · Dec 6, 2018

I understand the two problems are not related, but in my book the ignition needs to be fixed first and the shifting second - keep me posted. Steve

DallanC

Discussion Starter · #15 · Dec 7, 2018

2

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY DAYZ!!!!

I yanked the clutch cover off and a bunch of linkage was obviously out of wack. Nothing is broken or bent. The 3 ball retainer / thrust bearing thing had fallen and was jammed up down on the clutch lever. With the cover off, linkage off... the shifter easily shifted down into 1st, up into 2nd, back down into 3rd easily. So yea, the problem was due to the clutch linkage getting jammed up.

Very pleased its only going take some careful reassembly (and a pita of a time getting the old factory gasket off). Clutch gasket will get here hopefully Saturday so I can reassemble it that evening or Sunday.

Thanks so much for the help. We'll get this thing running sooooooon

-DallanC

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· #16 · Dec 7, 2018

Good deal - most problems end up being simple

DallanC

Discussion Starter · #17 · Dec 17, 2018

Crap.

So i had to shelve working on this for a while due to other things that cropped up. I came back to it this weekend, hooked up everything correctly according to the manual as well as youtube. Put the cover back on, then hooked up the reverse cable. I wanted to test to make sure I had it adjusted properly before filling it with oil so I worked the shifter, it shifted one direction several times then I heard a odd sound and its again locked up shifting back the other way. Soooo I guess I gotta pull the clutch side back off and see whats up. I really dont understand how this can be happening. This wasn't a atv with any kind of shifting issues before loosing the spark.

I think I'll pull the cover, pull the reverse lever and kick start, put the cover back on and see if it still has shifting issues. Kind of process of elimination I'm thinking. Also, If I get it back into neutral, I'll crank it (spark plug is out) to see if the pickup coil fixed the spark issue.

I've always loved hondas, and the TRX300s... but man this thing is a PITA. My other two machines are TRX400FW's (97 and a 00), and they never have hiccups... just run like dreams.

-DallanC

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· #18 · Dec 17, 2018

Dallan - you can check the shifting with the clutch cover off and with the shift shaft removed and it might help find the problem

What I do is remove the shift shaft and the shift pawl mechanism so I can turn the shift drum with a 12mm socket - now as you gently rotate the rear axle, you can turn the shift drum and watch the roller 'lock' drop into each detent - it should be able to be shifted into reverse with the RH cover off

If it shifts all gears with the RH cover off but not on, then the problem is with the reverse lockout or the manual clutch operator - not that the neutral detent is rather shallow - there is a neutral between each gear but only the neutral between first and second or between first and reverse is indexed

DallanC

Discussion Starter · #19 · Dec 17, 2018

Here 2 help said:
Dallan - you can check the shifting with the clutch cover off and with the shift shaft removed and it might help find the problem

What I do is remove the shift shaft and the shift pawl mechanism so I can turn the shift drum with a 12mm socket - now as you gently rotate the rear axle, you can turn the shift drum and watch the roller 'lock' drop into each detent - it should be able to be shifted into reverse with the RH cover off

Don't you mean the stator cover to get at the shift drum?

If it shifts all gears with the RH cover off but not on, then the problem is with the reverse lockout or the manual clutch operator - not that the neutral detent is rather shallow - there is a neutral between each gear but only the neutral between first and second or between first and reverse is indexed

I think this is all tied to the reverse lockout personally. With the clutch cover off and everything unhooked on clutch side, the shifter (with stator cover installed) worked fine. It shifted up through the gears and back down into neutral.

So I'll pull the clutch cover tonight, and see if it shifts fine... if so, I dont see any need to pull the stator cover. At that point I'll concentrate on the reverse lock mechanism. Thats really all that would be left to be the culprit at this point.

I'll take and post some pictures.

-DallanC

Here 2 help

· #20 · Dec 17, 2018

Actually, I was talking about having both covers off

Did you press the reverse shift lock lever down as you installed the clutch cover? You are probably right about the reverse lock being the problem.

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