Just bought this great ATV a few months back. Haven’t ever worked on these before, I had little knowledge on basic "repairs and maintence". This forum has helped me tremendously with information regarding carb rebuilds and cv axle rebuilds. Thanks in advance for all the great help!
I now have a new problem. While riding today, I noticed a loud popping sound coming from the rear end. I had figured it was the rear differential because when I first got this, the axle nuts were backed off a good 2-3 inches from the case and brake drum! I tightened them back up before the ride. Everything seemed fine until the end of our journey when the popping began. I tore the nuts back off to check the bearings and I believe they are shot ( at least on the far left differential side) I was hoping a simple bearing replacement is all that is necessary and that I would to replace everything up the the pinion. What are your thoughts?
The first two images are of the differential bearing and the brand new oil. (Oil was flushed four different times before the problem because what I found beforehand was a muddy gritty goup.)
The second is the break drum seal. Not sure if it looks alright or not.

Sorry for lengthy post but I felt the need to be thorough.

Attached Thumbnails