Rear Drive Line / Suspension

Many riders contact us here at Everything Polaris Ranger complaining of strange noises coming from the driveline of their Mid-Size Polaris Rangers. Generally speaking, if your Ranger is making noises, that means its running. And even the most unnerving of noises don’t necessarily mean something serious is broken inside your machine -- let alone the machine’s driveline. If your Mid-Size Ranger starts to clatter a lot more than usual, the first thing to check is the belt, as it may have burnt out. If the belt is good and working order, check your secondary spring and rollers and make sure your primary weights and rollers are not rubbing the spider. Make sure the primary roller bushings are intact and not worn and make sure the tower buttons are in spec as well. Create a habit of blowing the clutches out and cross-hatching them with scotch brite every time you throw in a new belt. After you’ve done all of this and the chatter still persists, you may indeed have an unbalanced driveline, worn out carrier bearings, or spent u-joints. Instead of replacing the prop shaft with an entirely new drive shaft, it is far cheaper to only replace the damaged areas. If your rear driveline is the issue, your rear carrier bearings and rear u-joints are likely the culprits.

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To replace the rear carrier bearings and rear u-joints on a Mid-Size Polaris Ranger, first, start by knocking out the roll pin on the front prop shaft and take the front bumper off. Take the right front tire off and take apart the hub assembly where you can remove the CV axle, doing the same on the driver's side. Next, move the differential to the side and loosen the two bolts on the carrier. Pull the shaft out the front and the rear part with the carrier will come out the bottom. Don't waste your money on the pillar-block style bearing carrier, just get a factory style. Pick up some 338 greaseable u-joints and simply complete the above instructions in reverse. You don’t have to mark the shaft, as Rangers have a master spline. This may sound a bit daunting for novice mechanics, but it's not as bad as it sounds. All you need is a 15mm and a big enough socket to go over the u-joint caps. A small sledge hammer is useful to have as well. You can replace the carrier bearing with the stock Polaris part, but we suggest the MOOG u-joints. They’re a bit of a pain to install but definitely worth it. While your Mid-Size is apart, you may as well replace the roll pin on the front diff input shaft with a bolt to make future replacements much easier. And when it comes to replacement parts for the driveline, we would advise avoiding anything stock. Companies like Sandcraft make front and rear driveline components for the Mid-Size Ranger that are at least three times stronger. If you have any fitment questions or need advice on the best replacement parts for the rear driveline of your Mid-Size ranger, don’t hesitate to give us a call or shoot us an email!

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