Any Polaris 4WD Experts? I'm Disappointed With My Ranger 500 In Snow

[SpudHauler]

Are you sure the front diff is engaged, will the fronts pull you ahead if the rears were on ice.

Test, place jack or block of wood under rear so back tires are off the ground. Engage 4wd and lock the front end and see if it pulls you off the jack or block of wood.

Locking system is electric, drive shafts are all permanently attached and turning at the same speed when in 4wd mode.

Can never have different rpm input to the front and rear drives in a 4wd system. It would destroy itself in a few miles.

 

[Milo]

As I say I don't believe the rear fishtailing is caused by the tires, it has the stock tires on the back and front which are still sharp. Under moderate throttle and up the back fishtails but not the front. On the other hand my old Mule had stock tires mostly worn out as do my two ATV's. They don't exhibit the squirrelly rear end at all? On dirt, deep snow, grass, over rocks and what little mud I've had it in no problem.
In 2wd it goes better than the mule in 2wd, but in 4wd the Mule wins hands down. In 4wd with basically new stock tires it doesn't climb steep snow covered hills nearly as well as the Mule did with worn stock tires. Aggressive tread tires would no doubt the Ranger. They would equally improve the Mule.

I should add that in most other scenarios the Ranger with it's independent rear and longer travel suspension, and much more powerful engine certainly betters the Mule.

 

[lilranch2001]

I must say my 2012 Polaris 500 mid-size UTV doesn't go as well in snow as the Mule 610 I had before. Going up the same hill with similar amount of snow the Mule in 4wd never had a problem and seldom even spun. The Ranger in 4wd is always spinning. A couple times I thought I might have to back down and get a faster run but the Ranger eventually spun and clawed it's way up. The other issue is it really fishtails under certain conditions. For instance driving straight on a road covered with a few inches of snow in 4WD the back end is going side to side forcing me to constantly correct with the steering. I thought it could possibly be the stock tires but it's been like this since new and only has 75 hours of wear on them. The Mule always tracked fine from the time it was new to when I sold it with mostly worn out tires. A bit of fishtailing in 2wd is expected since the rears are spinning somewhat to maintain speed. The Mule as well, but not in 4wd.

Just trying to think this through and looking how Polaris has the 4wd set up I'm thinking the rear wheels and front wheels do not spin at the same exact rate when in 4wd on a slippery surface. If the front wheels are pulling at say 20 mph while the rears are spinning at 24 mph couldn't that make the rear swing side to side when I'm trying to go straight? That would also explain why it doesn't climb up hill through snow as well, spinning wheels have less traction than wheels turning at the rate of travel. Polaris says their "special system" allows 4wd to be engaged even on good traction surfaces because the front wheels won't pull until needed. It goes on to say the front doesn't actually engage until the rear wheel turns 1/5 of a revolution more than the front. That's a 20% difference and would explain the rear spinning faster in low traction conditions then once back on a good surface the rear no longer spins and the front disconnects again. Unless the system requires the rear to slip 1/5 revolution then somehow they lock and turn 1 to 1. But then how would it know to disconnect again?

my 570 goes through snow well up until it has too much or too hard snow to push with the axles and have never noticed any fishtailing on snowy pavement
It was brand new last fall
My only complaint as previously mentioned on one of the TBN threads is the failure of Polaris to resolve the 570 fuel injection issue and the total inability to contact anyone in Polaris Customer Service.

 

[CharlieKtractor]

all 4X4's--tractors or trucks-- the front wheels spin faster than the rear--they are designed that way

 

[jdjdjd]

I have been following this topic with interest. I have a 10-year old Ranger that has been trouble-free except for the normal maintenance stuff. When I started looking at the new Rangers I discovered their "new and improved" 4-wheel drive system.
I understand how it is supposed to work but it seems that it will be shifting in and out of 4-wheel drive constantly. Even the dealer acknowledges this.
I need 4-wheel engagement frequently and I am concerned about anything that engages and disengages under load continually. Most people I talk to with the newer Rangers do not even use the 4WD very often so it has been difficult to get any useful feedback.

Milo, have you heard of any work-around fix to keep the front wheels engaged all the time while in 4WD?

 

[DIRTROAD]

There are videos on youtube of Rangers with different gearing front and rear which would cause the problems that you describe. Apparently some rangers were assembled near quitting time on a Friday and the wrong differentials were installed. Might be something to check anyway.

 

[pwright]

I need 4-wheel engagement frequently and I am concerned about anything that engages and disengages under load continually. Most people I talk to with the newer Rangers do not even use the 4WD very often so it has been difficult to get any useful feedback.

My understanding is that it won't disengage while it is still under load. Going by what it feels like when driving up steep hills I would hazard that is true.

And, yeah, I don't often have mine in 4wd unless going up particularly nasty hills or really loose hills.

Milo, have you heard of any work-around fix to keep the front wheels engaged all the time while in 4WD?

There are some people on the PRC forum trying to figure out how to do that but I don't know if they have a solution.

 

[pwright]

We'll agree to disagree on that statement. It may prevent you from getting stuck when the rear wheels start spinning and it's certainly better than 2wd.

Yeah, I reckon so.

Does anyone know if all Polaris ATV/UTV have this kind of 4wd?

All recent Polaris UTVs use this. I think some of the others like the Yamaha Viking go full lock in 4WD.

I've seen one other guy on the PRC forum that had the problem that you are having. I don't remember if a solution was ever found. There are tons of Alaskan Ranger owners on that forum and I haven't seen any reports like yours from them.

Perhaps there is an issue with yours. The suggestion of putting the rear up on a jack/blocks and seeing if the 4WD will pull it off might be a good one.

 

[Rod in Forfar]

jdjdjd:

My 2004 Ranger is a 2wd, but my friend bought a 2002 500 4WD a couple of years ago. With 1750 hours on the clock we didn't expect a whole lot from it, but we drove it extensively on the frozen lakes and across rough areas between lakes where trails were non-existent. I was skeptical of the Polaris system (It was the same in 2002.) until this trip changed my mind. The Ranger was as agile over obstacles as my dad's old army surplus Jeep. After a couple of hours of ragged-edge winter off-roading and many hours of ice driving last winter, I couldn't find anything I didn't like about the Polaris 4WD system on that old Ranger.

 

[jdjdjd]

jdjdjd:

My 2004 Ranger is a 2wd, but my friend bought a 2002 500 4WD a couple of years ago. With 1750 hours on the clock we didn't expect a whole lot from it, but we drove it extensively on the frozen lakes and across rough areas between lakes where trails were non-existent. I was skeptical of the Polaris system (It was the same in 2002.) until this trip changed my mind. The Ranger was as agile over obstacles as my dad's old army surplus Jeep. After a couple of hours of ragged-edge winter off-roading and many hours of ice driving last winter, I couldn't find anything I didn't like about the Polaris 4WD system on that old Ranger.

Thanks for the input, that is more than I have found so far.
I went to a different dealer Saturday to look at new Rangers and discuss the 4WD system. He quoted me the same stuff I had already heard about how it engaged. When I asked about how it disengaged he said "whenever it no longer detected rear-wheel slippage". This is simply not a satisfactory explanation to me. He did admit that it will be continually shifting in and out of front-wheel engagement.

I have owned several ATVs and I like the fact that 4WD is 4WD when I want it. My current Ranger stays in 4WD with the front wheels engaged until I disengage it. Maybe the new system is smarter than me or maybe i am just old-school but I am still researching answers.