Honda Foreman Forums banner

02 Foreman 450 ES need help.

4K views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  KMKjr 
#1 ·
First off I am brand new to this group and I am a first time 4 wheeler owner. I have been riding 4 wheeler for years but I have always been just borrowed rides from friends. I finally decided to get one myself. It helped that I was able to get (what I think) a great deal on a fixer upper. As the title says I bought a 2002 Honda Foreman 450 ES 4X4. The good is it seems to run good, the ES works, the LCD screen all works, it has like new tires, the plastic is in great shape, and I can drive it around while in 4WD. The bad is that is only drives in 4WD because it appears the rear axle or ring gear is striped. I can look in the differential fill plug and see the ring gear spinning while the thing is in gear but not in 4WD and not moving. It also has the recoil start that does not work. You can pull the rope and it will recoil but it will not turn the engine over. Also, the front brakes are not working. The previous owner said when he pulled the 4 wheeler out of the garage after it has been sitting for a while he pulled the front brakes but when he let go, the cable never released. The front brakes appear to be stuck. Also, it needs front wheel bearings bad. And it has a broken rear taillight.

I work on cars and tractors all the time, so I am pretty good wrenching on things. However, I have never worked on a 4 wheeler so I know I have a lot of learning to do.

I have several questions I am hoping someone can help me out with so I can get this thing back on the trails without breaking the bank. I found a guy who is parting out a 2003 Honda Rubicon 500 4X4 and he says the rearend is in great shape and it will fit my Foreman. Can anyone verify a rearend out of a 03 Rubicon 500 will fit my Foreman 450?

Second, what would be causing the recoil starter to not engage?

Third, what are just some general tips to do when you get a 4 wheeler like this that obviously has not been kept up on it maintenance (at least lately)? I am going to start with changing the oil and probably running some injector cleaner through it.

Any help, tips, tricks are greatly appreciated.



 
See less See more
2
#2 · (Edited)
first welcome to the site
next, and best suggestion I can give you is GET a service manual, they can be had in free downloads, or can be had in hard paper copy format, I prefer the paper one's
over downloads, but I'm old school so?/

next, as for rear ends swapping , I cannot confirm 100%, but I know many guys have used 450 rear ends to swap into 500, due to there a little longer and will allow for larger tires, I don't think, many go the other way, so, it won't be a gain here for you swapping a 500 onto this 450, it MIGHT make it use able again, but? better off I think finding a 450 or just fixing this one!
others here are way better tool turners than me to add better info

as for other things, I would start with basic,s
if motor runs, I would be doing a compression test, I see atv has a snorkle, which HIGHLY increases the odds this thing could have been sunk, all the brakes being frozen, shows, mud use and little to no PM's on old owners side of things
as if compression is low, no point in fixing drive train before fixing motor?
I would drain oil and see what it looks like, if its milky or find crap in it, thats a HUGE red Flag, to soon to have deeper issue's and repairs!

others sure to add more and better info?
good news is these 450's are great platforms for rebuilding, they were very solid atv's and still loved by many!
so rebuilding it, a dn do it right and you will have a very long lasting atv on your hands!
good luck!
 
#4 ·
Thank you for the advice. I am going to have the guy with the 500 rearend measure it so I can compare it to the one currently on my 450. I would really like to get it drivable again before I go tearing into the engine. It seems to run good so I am hoping I don't have to put rings in it for a while.
 
#3 ·
Welcome to the forum.

What Mrbb said. I would add that you can swap disc brakes off of an 05-14 Rubicon or an 05-11 Foreman 500 onto your 450 and get disc brakes (much better than messing with the drums)

I'm 99% sure the early Rubicon rear ends will swap into a 450 without issue. The ring gear is the same so I know the gear ratio is the same, and a lot of people swap the 450 swingarm onto the 500's to stretch them, so everything there points to the rears being interchangeable.

Bearings are easy to replace but do NOT buy All Balls. Get Boss, Pivotworks, or OEM bearings.

Pull start just pull it off and check it. There are only a few 8mm bolts holding it on.
 
#6 ·
I can fully understand about not wanting to tear into it, and that;'s why I said do a compression test and see where your at
as if its full of crap from being sunk, and you DO just drive it AS IS< your only going to make for a bigger repair and more costs to you, so was trying to save you from doing that

also a weak link on these Atv's is the left rear axle wheel bearing's and seals, when they GO< they let water into the axle tube which then leads to the splines on the axle rusting and stripping REAL easy,
the bearings are like 50 bucks, for whole rear axle, and easy to swap out
NOT replacing if even a LITTLE worn, can lead to a 200 dollar axle needing replaced
so heads up there
better to change if old looking or any play, and KNOW your good, as your going to be into that rear diff anyhow, and odds are that water got in there and ruined that too
increasing the odds them bearings and seals and on there way out if NOT bad now

common problem on these honda's design??
left side has just 1 bearing right side has 2, thus it wears out faster on left side?
 
#7 ·
Update: I just wanted to give an update because I hate when I find forums that have good information but there is no follow up. I bought the 03 Rubicon 500 Rear end and was able to make it fit. I did not come with the drum or dust cover so I had to use the rear drum brake assemble from my old rear end. Also, one issue was the mounting point for the swing arm was in a different place on the right side axle tube. Therefore I had to also use the right side axle tube off my old rear end. After swapping the right axle tube and the drum assemble, the rear end bolted right on and worked great.


I also unbolted the recoil starter and it was just a little rusty inside. a little sand paper and some oil and it works like new again. However, those two issues were just the start of what I found. As I was replacing the front wheel bearings, I found that 3 of 4 wheel cylinders were total froze. The brake shoes were down to nothing. The right side tie rod end was junk. The front right knuckle was completely wore out. When I went to install the new wheel bearing it almost dropped into place. I put it back together and the right wheel would wobble just as bad as it did before I replaced the bearing. Also, the rear brake cable was also froze up (needed lubed up bad). The choke cable is froze up. I have been fix pretty much everything except I still need 1 right side wheel cylinder and the choke cable is froze up. I need to pull it out of the carb to find out if it is just the cable or if the choke if froze in the carb. I have been able to take it on a couple rides and it run and rides great now. However, I just recently found water in the front differential and when I tried to remove the drain bolt it broke off. Now I am going to have to figure out how to drill it out.


So, if anyone has any advice for how to go about doing that, let me know. I am also not sure if the fan is working or not. Also, does anyone know if you can buy replacement OEM decals for an 02 Foreman. I think it would look so much better with some new decals that are not all tore up.

Thanks again for the help and suggestions.
 
#8 ·
#9 ·
just to say if the bearing in the knuckle is loose, it could be the bearing being under sized NOT all are made right to correct size, have heard of others that bought new one's and were too small
RIDING like that will just make things worse on you and can even at some point get dangerous, so I would suggest correcting that, have heard of folks making a shim out of a beer can??
quick fix, ?
broken drain plug?
OK, once the head comes off they tend to be easier to get out, NO more load on treads, try a small pointed punch and see if you can unscrew it that way, go easy, if not, maybe a left handed drill bit?
or an easy out?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top