Picked up a ’95 TRX300FW that’s in sad shape to restore/rebuild. Poor thing had been well abused, rode hard and put up wet!! Wish people would take better care of things, but that’s another story..
Got the whole thing torn down to bare frame. Of course, EVERY bearing except the front diff has to be replaced (steering bearing was completely gone, except for the outer ring which was still in the frame), no brakes, brake drums were still full of nice, brown, muddy slush-water as was the rear diff. Engine had no compression, bent intake valve because it kissed the piston. Believe it or not, the bore mic’s well in spec, and isn’t bad at all. Rings were stuck, and the stock piston and pin were worn out. Bottom end seems to be in great shape, considering everything else!
First question I have- the cam that is in this engine measures 1.420" tall side/ 1.189" short side, for a valve lift of 0.231". Service manual says it should measure 1.3901-1.3964 on "lobe height"..yet I got 1.420. Is this the right cam?? Only casting marks on the cam are an "H" and a "K". To me, lobes look pretty worn, but possibly still useable, if it is in fact the right cam.
Timing chain doesn’t appear to be stretched, but the timing chain guides are worn out. I checked the cam timing before I took everything apart, looked like it was timed properly, and even though the cam guides were worn the cam chain still had nice tension, so I don’t think it jumped time. I’m thinking someone either put in the wrong camshaft, or maybe overrevved it causing the intake valve to hit the piston? Valve springs are shot, btw..
Second question..I’d really rather have a 2wd than a 4wd. Don’t do much mud riding, caused too much damage! Torn down too many that were killed by mud, and I’d rather trail ride anyway..a little mud I can handle, but I’m not into trying to cross stuff Bigfoot would be scared of! Would I be better off parting this thing out, or just part out the 4wd parts, swap the side cover and drive/drive housing and a-arms/knuckles for 2wd stuff, or just rebuild it as a 4wd and live with the hard steering and 4wd handling?
Was thinking about a 420 Rancher knuckle-disc brake conversion if I converted it to 2wd..
Anyways, if any of y’all have any other input, I’d appreciate it! This is my first utility quad restore, I’ve done 3 LT250R Quadracers, 3 Warriors, a Blaster (disposible ATV haha), and a couple dirt bike restores over the years..I enjoy bringing them back from the dead!
Thanks in advance!
