[7ROLLS]

01 Rubi making an awful grinding noise while coasting, usually 4mph and less. Other than this it runs great. When its doing this you can goose the throttle and it will catch and stop making the noise.

I'm guessing its the hondamatic, or the oil pump.

My neighbor had an 01 also that we nearly bought at the same time, his did the same thing a couple of years ago. Cost him $2600 to have it fixed. He told me to get rid of mine then.

My rubi has only 225 hours / 1500 miles so I am a bit upset.

Oil changes every 30 hours with Honda products.

Has anyone had any luck getting Honda to help fix these out of warranty, it seems like every forum I read the Hondamatic has problems, especially the early models.

 

[Codman]

Honda's are not as reliable...Most of them anyways,I have a 06 rubi,and its a POS,no power,always dies...and now is doing the same thing yours is doing,with only 1100 miles 132 hours.I wished i would have shopped around brfore i bought mine.Im gonna give it up for a Canam 650 outlander.Good luck with yours,Mine is going into the shop on monday to see whats wrong with it now.I will let you know.

 

[Honda Mechanic]

I would first check the sprag clutch (one-way clutch) on that bike ..

 

[hondaman5002002]

I am going to go with honda mechanic on this it is mostly like the sprag bearing going bad. there not that hard to change will cost you around $80.00

 

[7ROLLS]

Thanks for the suggestions, I hope this is the problem.

I was at a family christmas party today and my wifes cousin who had heard my Rubi do this said he thought it was something with the clutch.

 

[joelukex4]

Mine was doing the same thing when coasting down between 12 and 8 mph. This happened after a day of plowing my fields before planting. See earlier post "tranny or front end". I thought it was the tranny and many people thought it might be the sprag bearing. If I kept my finger on the throttle slightly while braking the noise was not apparant. This was probably because I was still slightly loading the clutch or tranny while braking. Did you check to see it the noise is there in D1, D2 and ESP? I could control it easily in ESP mode. Interestingly enough the noise went away after about three months. I only use it on weekends to work my fields or check out hunting land. Have had no problems since except for the ECM going out, been about 300 miles.

 

[7ROLLS]

It does it in D1, D2, or ESP. If I'm going faster than 8mph it won't make the noise. Usually only does it when coasting down to a stop or creeping along at 4 or 5 mph.

It runs fine at speed and will shift up and down through the gears in any mode.

My neighbors Rubi just flat wouldn't move when his did this.

I can make it stop by doing what you did. When I hear the noise I goose the throttle and keep giving a little gas while braking.

 

[joelukex4]

I thought mine was going to be the tranny, was going to run it til it stopped and decide whether to fix it or part it out.

It only did it on coasting. It was really bad from a fast slow down or when coasting down hill. I would never goose the throttle, only apply a light pressure while slowing down with the brakes from 15 to about 5 mph. It doesn't take much. I don't know if this kept the oil pressure up on the pump or the tranny engaged but it seemed to work and there was no noise. After a couple, three months the noise disappeared. I did change oil but that was not the cause. I just don't know. It could have been some blockage in the oil pump, at one point I thought that maybe I grooved or scored the swash plate while plowing or spun the sprag bearing but it eventually went away.

 

[7ROLLS]

Well, being an old farmer I usually drive around in D1 about all of the time. So I thought I would play with it some more to try and isolate the problem.

It only makes the noise in 1st gear at about 4 - 6 mph, coasting or creeping along. Noise seems to be coming from right around where the shift control motor is.

If I put it in ESP I can shift into 2nd and putt around all day and it makes no noise. The moment I shift to 1st I get the noise, accelerate or shift up to 2nd and the grinding noise stops immediately.

We were out hunting this weekend and got my 2wd truck stuck, put the Rubi up on some solid ground with a long chain, put her in low range and brought the truck right out. No lack of power or slipping.

If the sprag clutch were going bad wouldn't it make the noise even in ESP in any gear as it coasts down?