Honda Rancher Teardown & Rebuild thread

[TCracin440ex]

well the teardown has begun on my rancher. i went and picked it up from my dads house today and started working on it. in hindsight if i would have known it was this muddy and needed a bath that bad i would have pressure washed it before i started tearing it down. but i knocked most of it loose and what was laying on the frame i sucked up with the shop vac

anyways here are a few pics i snapped in the process of taking it down

i started with this
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0733.jpg

side plastics, tank plastics, tank, etc all removed
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0735.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0736.jpg

airbox removed, floor boards removed, and part of the mud flaps

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0737.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0738.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0739.jpg


head pipe, and muffler removed. i been fighting both of them plastic engine covers. both allen head bolts are stripped.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0740.jpg

like i said still fighting them darn plastic side covers.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0741.jpg

and on a side note does anybody know how to fix this? the screen for the gps is totally frigged up u cant see anything

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0742.jpg

[JR3]

You try hammering a torx head into the stripped allen key heads? shouldnt be that much torque on the allen keys because they are just on a plastic side cover.

[Quad18star]

Like he said ... try hammering a torx.

Or you can use my method which involves a lot of cursing and a rubber mallet.

[TCracin440ex]

ill get them off if not ill just grind the head of them off and get it off that way.

[Quad18star]

Originally posted by TCracin440ex
ill get them off if not ill just grind the head of them off and get it off that way.

Rubber mallet is a whole lot more fun .... but if you feel more comfortable doing it that way , then go ahead. :p

[TCracin440ex]

im still wondering what to use to fix this dash/instrument cluster up. i dont know if it would be worth trying to sand down and buff back to a shine or what

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0742.jpg

[Quad18star]

It's messed up right now so you have nothing to lose. Try getting ahold of Honda and see if they sell the face plate before trying to restore it.

[Scro]

If they don't sell it anymore, you might could try a headlight restore kit to clear it up.

[TCracin440ex]

Originally posted by Scro
If they don't sell it anymore, you might could try a headlight restore kit to clear it up.

i was thinking sand down with 400, then go to 1000, then 2000 and then take and try to buff it back to a shine then spray it with a few good coats of clearcoat. this is a budget quad, but if i cant fix it with some good ol fashioned elbow grease ill break down and just buy a new cover, the screen cover itself is replaceable its like 30 bucks from honda plus 4 and some change for another rubber gasket to seal it up

[Scro]

Originally posted by TCracin440ex
i was thinking sand down with 400, then go to 1000, then 2000 and then take and try to buff it back to a shine then spray it with a few good coats of clearcoat. this is a budget quad, but if i cant fix it with some good ol fashioned elbow grease ill break down and just buy a new cover, the screen cover itself is replaceable its like 30 bucks from honda plus 4 and some change for another rubber gasket to seal it up

That's basically what it is. Different grit sandpaper, with a compound to buff the shine back into it.

[jesshamner]

Yep. If you wanted to get really cheap and had plenty of time and arm strength you could use toothpaste.

[TCracin440ex]

well today i started working on the rancher some. i started out by removing front bash plate, then fallowed by the unbolting of the front diff.

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0749.jpg

with the front diff slid foward i was able to get the front driveshaft un hooked

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0746.jpg

after fighting for a few hours later i manged to get everything un done and got the motor out of the frame.

here she is in all of her glory. this guy never cleaned this quad. i dont even believe he knew what soap and water were

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0750.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0751.jpg

heres the quad with the motor out of the frame. you can see how nasty this thing is i plan on giving it a good pressure washing before reassembly

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0752.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0753.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0754.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0755.jpg

i also drained the oil today and pulled the filter as well and noticed the oil was pretty clean but it had metal flakes in it. the oil kinda looked like liquid glitter. the shavings werent big as nothing but you could still see them oil

go buy some eagle one etching mag wheel cleaner and cover that thing in it, it will remove all of those stains,

[ridehonda400ex]

Subscribed. Its cool to see a 4x4 build on here

[TCracin440ex]

Originally posted by honda4life818
go buy some eagle one etching mag wheel cleaner and cover that thing in it, it will remove all of those stains,

i am. i plan on taking the whole thing and pressure washing. i kick my self in the arse now for not pressurewashing it before i started.

far as the engine and whats wrong with it i plan on tearing into it sometime this week to figure out whats wrong with it. also for a lil cheap insurance i plan on re ringing the piston, and rehoning the cylinder. i do want to take the head to be checked out and see if everything is ok with it. id like to get the combustion chaimbers cleaned too.

[TCracin440ex]

well i started wrenching on the rancher motor today, and i imediately hit a snagg. i tried and tried but i couldnt break this bolt loose. so i gave up on it until i can get the motor to someone who has an impact or can help me get it off



this is as far as i got today on the motor wise. i did take the side case bolts loose tho.

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/rancherteardown001.jpg



can anybody shed some light on how to get this bolt broke loose



http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/rancherteardown002.jpg



with that bein said, i was sitting arround bored and wasnt ready to go in the house yet so i searched arround my shop and found a plast-x kit with the buffer. i rode up to the hardware store up the street and got some 400 grit sand paper and wet sanded the dash, then used the plast-x polish and buffer and got the dash 100% better then what it was. here are a few pics before and after



before

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0742.jpg





after

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/rancherteardown003.jpg



http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/rancherteardown004.jpg



http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/rancherteardown005.jpg

[JR3]

looks like a new screen bro great job i work at a autobody shop and we have to refinish a lot of head lamps we just ues meguiars super duty its a heavy duty buffing compound with a lot of pumice in it it will take tree sap off and fresh paint lol

[TCracin440ex]

thanks, i hope it stays like that. if not then ill order replacement screen from honda.

i still believe i could make it shine even more. i only used 400 grit paper if i woulda went from 400 to 800 to 1000 then polished it with that plast-x kit it probally would have shined alot better.

[TCracin440ex]

well today i ran the motor by the local honda dealer and they zinged the bolt off with an impact. so i got cracking and pulled the cover. and got to inspecting arround and immediately noticed the cam chain was mighty loose. i got to looking arround some more and noticed the cam chain tensioner is actually broke which should be an easy fix. now all i need to do is get the fly wheel off to get to the tensioner so i can take it off and replace it. no big deal.



you can see how loose the cam chain is

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0768.jpg



here is the little piece of tensioner that broke off



http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0769.jpg



http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0772.jpg



now for the bad news of the day:



i know if i done this or what happened to it. maybe moving it arround so much it broke it or what but maybe somebody can tell me how much of a pita it is to replace this. i think the parts website called it an angle sensor



http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0771.jpg



also bein in a good mood today i decided to do some cleaning on the quad to get some of the crud and stuff off of it.



purple power works wonders

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0773.jpg



http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0774.jpg



i cleaned the trunk out today as well too. i found like 3 hands full of .22 bullets. they were funky and corroded so i threw them away. i wont too happy foolin with them things cuz from my experience it dont take much to make a .22 bullet go off

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0776.jpg



after i got done spraying it off and gettin most of the dirt and crap off of it i took and blew it off with some compressed air. i took brakeleen and sprayed in the oil cooler and blew it out with compressed air too. it shouldnt take me much more or longer to get this thing back up and running



total investment so far:

quad= 500.00$

gas to go get it= 40.00$

sand paper to fix dash= 1.46$

dealer bolt removale= 8.00

[blacknblue#2]

awesome investment so far man, i cant believe your dealer charged you 8 bones to take a bolt out tho. First few times i put crank bearings in 450Rs I always took the cases to the dealer and had his press them out for free. Either way though your quad has come a long way already

[TCracin440ex]

thanks man. i been jus working on it bit by bit. the plug on side of the motor that i broke myself is going to cost MORE then the cost of the original problem. that plug is 72 bucks. the tensioner is 15 bucks. im still going to have to take the motor back to the honda shop to have them pull the flywheel for me in order to get to the cam chain tensioner. after that ill set the timming the way its supposed to be set. i shouldnt have no more then 700 dollars in the quad, and imo 700 bucks for an 04 model 4x4 400 rancher isnt a bad price at all. man how i love these little projects.

[bens250ex]

Originally posted by blacknblue#2
awesome investment so far man, i cant believe your dealer charged you 8 bones to take a bolt out tho. First few times i put crank bearings in 450Rs I always took the cases to the dealer and had his press them out for free. Either way though your quad has come a long way already


a dealer tried to charge me 20 bucks to put the little clips that hold the valve in on a 400ex.. i laughed and walked off

[exrider12]

any updates..?

[TCracin440ex]

yea few updates.

i orderd all the parts i needed and got them in the other day, i did manage to get the flywheel pulled off at the stealership they done it for 11 bucks which wasnt too bad. ive been very incredibly busy with the new baby so i havent had much free time to work on the motor to put the new parts in but i did take a few pics of what i did discover

here you can see the cam chain tensioner arm towards the left of the crankshaft is broke.

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0880.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0882.jpg

now i did notice another problem that could be major if i cant fix it but the place on side of the motor where the oil cooler goes has a crack in it. i am going to try and jb weld it back together and hopefully it will hold if not ill have to buy a new side case

you can see the crack in the below pics

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0886.jpg

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0885.jpg

and here you can see the crack a lil bit from the outside. like i said i hope a lil jb weld can fix er up cuz i dont want to have to buy a new sidecase

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0887.jpg

[CJM]

Do not JB weld that, I wouldnt trust it b/c its to critical a part and sometimes JB weld doesnt hold up-specially on oily surfaces.

Find a good welder and they will fix it better than new. Should run you maybe 50 bones.

before you go bake that sucker in the grill at 250F for awhile to make sure all the oil comes out of it so they can weld it good. Failing that use a propane torch.

[TCracin440ex]

the pic i took of it the part looks big but its really small crack. idk if even the best welder could reweld thats mall area in that small hole and get it cleaned up.

[CJM]

Sure can weld. Its AL right? Tig welding is great for that, and very possible to do.

[TCracin440ex]

yea its alu.

[TCracin440ex]

well a new update i got a few minutes of spare time today so i went outside and turned some wrenches on the rancher motor. i got the new tensioner arm in and the cam chain to me appears to be stretched. i hope its not but i noticed its still mighty loose.

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0907.jpg



http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0908.jpg



http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0909.jpg



http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0910.jpg



also the place where the oil cooler line goes finished breaking off. i think its def time for some jb weld now.



http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0911.jpg



http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0912.jpg



http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z254/OneBaddAssZ71/DSCN0913.jpg

[blacknblue#2]

I know this aint prolly what you want to hear but IMO its not a bad idea to replace the timing chain any time your that far into a motor just as a reassurance

[TCracin440ex]

yea the timing chain aint but 24 bucks so imo just a little cheap insurance.