Tells me he almost wrecked his 4-wheeler, said he was running it down the trail and the right front locked up on him sending him off trail. The place where they bought the ATV no longer sells or services, so he asked me to take a look at it. I say sure, he's 81 and I help him out when I can.

So I tear into his 2013 Artic Cat 450, and the drive belt is shredded!

Largest piece.


Average size of the rest.


I asked him, have you ever replaced the drive belt? He said he didn't think so. I told him he got his moneys worth out of this one, I guess 10 years isn't a bad run. I also inform him I can't find any major issues (needs break pads) on the right front, but the left front wheel bearing is bad, and also I'd need to rebuild the front drive pulley.

All the parts arrived today so I slapped it all together with this laundry list:

Rebuilt front drive pulley
New Drive belt
New brake pads and rotors all around and replaced brake fluid
New front wheel bearings
Oil and filter change
Front and rear differential oil change
New spark plug
Cleaned and oiled air filter
Replaced stopper in coolant tank with correct cap and topped off coolant
New seat
New plastic rivets to mount the body panels
New rubber mounts for the front rack

Rebuilding the front drive pulley is pretty simple just eight weights, and four polymer guides.



Front wheel bearings were surprisingly easy as well.



Got it kind of back together for a quick test ride.



New vs. Old saddle!



All buttoned up and ready to roll another 10 years.





Not bad for six solid hours of work. Still need to fix some other minor things, but its rideable as is.

Nice work! Your Dad's a lucky man.

I'm the lucky one, I'm glad he's around to ask for me for help.

You DONE GOOD!

Think of the money you saved him.
Hopefully you were able to work together/shared time during the project.

Well done. SALUTE!

Unfortunately not, I live 60 miles and two counties over. I dropped it off at his house this afternoon. It was good to spend time with Mom and Dad on a Sunday. Cost Dad $575 in parts, and a week without one of his ATVs.

Picked up the next one to tear into a Polaris 570 efi. I need to figure out why it dies after a couple of miles of riding and takes 20 to 30 minutes before it restarts.

That one sounds like something's overheating. I can't even guess what it would be.

A1 in my book Brother👍🏻😉