Reverse gear adjustment

[Hookmaster]

I'm looking at a used Polaris snowmobile and the seller says the reverse gear needs adjusting. Does this raise any red flags or is it something that is easy to do?

[Gus]

Adjusting the cable is really not a huge deal, however I would pull the chain case cover and have a look at the gears inside to make sure they are not chewed up. Not a big project to just inspect, just messy. If they were ground enough by the cable being unadjusted long enough you may have problems. The bracket that holds the cable is mounted right to the chain case cover and sometimes you will see the bolts holding it on strip out. This could have the same symptoms as an unadjusted cable so watch for that too. Nothing that isn't replaceable or repairable, but possibly an issue if you want to buy a turn key machine.

[Hookmaster]

What would be the worst case in terms of repair and cost if I did it myself or had a mechanic do it?

[Gus]

Couldn't tell you on cost of having a shop do it. It's not all that hard to do yourself though. In my case, I did have the bracket strip the mounting holes in the chain case cover. I simply drilled and re-tapped them. It's held up for 6 years now I think. No other issues. Just an afternoon's worth of wrenching on a sled. I didn't have any damage to gears and only a few shavings in the lube. All the lube gets changed when you pull the cover to inspect it anyway so that job is done. If it really is just a cable adjustment, it's no worse than adjusting a bicycle brake cable. Only on a slightly larger scale. What year and model machine?

[Deep_Sinker]

I would say a shop could do this in 1-2 hrs plus the cost of parts. I think it is worth the risk on buy the sled. If you could get the seller to put up a couple hundred bucks, I'd think that would cover the repair.

[Hookmaster]

It's a 1999 Indy Sport Touring. The seller is dropping 200 bucks off the asking price. I'm interested more in this one than another identical sled because this one has electric start.

Thanks for the responses.

[Gus]

Some of my friends call me funny names, but I sure like having electric start too.