Coleman UT400 shift issues , grinding .

[Bryan g]

I have done both, the bolted extension and welding , Just had a new claim for shift issues come in , new machine and it had the updated shifter from factory . Somebody listened , lol . I had to extend this shift lever another 1/2 inch .  Inch and quarter from original. Few cable adjustments and works fine now .   Also see lot of brake squealing noise complaints . Jack up wheel , grab top and bottom, wiggle. If it moves wheel bearing is loose and  will let rotor just touch brake pad and make noise . Pull Cotter pin, tighten axle nut to next  pin position . Usually fixes it .  Coleman rep said they were moving warehouse or some BS . Parts wont be shipped for few weeks yet as of 7/23 /23 . I got tired of waiting and just mod the shifters myself and bill coleman for it now .  Cant have stuff sitting for months.

[Rainman]

1 minute ago, Bryan g said:

I have done both, the bolted extension and welding , Just had a new claim for shift issues come in , new machine and it had the updated shifter from factory . Somebody listened , lol . I had to extend this shift lever another 1/2 inch .  Inch and quarter from original. Few cable adjustments and works fine now .   Also see lot of brake squealing noise complaints . Jack up wheel , grab top and bottom, wiggle. If it moves wheel bearing is loose and  will let rotor just touch brake pad and make noise . Pull Cotter pin, tighten axle nut to next  pin position . Usually fixes it .  Coleman rep said they were moving warehouse or some BS . Parts wont be shipped for few weeks yet as of 7/23 /23 . I got tired of waiting and just mod the shifters myself and bill coleman for it now .  Cant have stuff sitting for months.

Great info - thanks. So just to clarify, the new models coming in with the updated shifter still had to be extended? If so, that would be the inch and a quarter you mentioned, but is there enough room under there? Seems on my 2021, adding 3/4" is going to get the mod fairly close to the top of the firewall.

I am having my son-in-law do the mod for me tonight or tomorrow by cutting the shifter and adding an additional piece in the lever. Since it's a 2021, should I tell him to do the 3/4", as others have done or go to the inch and a quarter? Maybe the newer models are different than the 2021 and needed the extra 1/2". Advise please and thank you.

Yes, mine is squeaking like a mouse in heat 🤣 so I guess I will have to check out the wheel bearings next.

[Ted in OK]

Bryan G:  Thanks for the good info! Appreciate knowing that warehouse may ship out repair parts out soon (we've been waiting months). By carefully shifting F<>N<>R, we can get into the desired gear about 80% of first attempt times. The general squeaking is annoying, thanks for the tip about checking the wheel bearings!

[Rainman]

On 2/17/2023 at 8:13 PM, Ted in OK said:

There’s a Coleman solution to the UTV400/Outfitter 400 gear grinding problem. At least for me as my UTV is still under warranty (still less than 10 hours on the runtime clock).

I started with a trouble ticket on the Coleman Powersports website. “Sergio” responded via e-mail that day and asked for the vitals in a different order. I complied. This morning (17 Feb 23), he sent me two e-mails, the first establishing a Case Number, the second saying he’d phoned my Local Authorized Service Center essentially to tell them I’m coming to them.

Due to previous contacts, I already knew of that Center: Mr Jim Morris (Navy Master Chief Petty Officer, Retired) of Bridge Creek Small Engine Repair in Blanchard, OK. So I called him. He has received the official ‘How To’ instructions from Coleman and is waiting for the parts to show up. The authorized fix sounds like the clever DIY solutions other members have shown on the Board here: Add three-quarters of an inch to the cable end of the gear shift with a bolt and a spot weld.

The first e-mail from “Sergio” indicated I had to deliver my UTV to Mr Morris within 5 business days. Considering that he doesn’t have the authorized repair parts yet, that displeased me. Upon my asking for clarification, Sergio wrote “the 5-day time frame is in place in order for customers to get in contact with the service center and schedule a drop-off date.” Sweet! I set up an appointment in the long future with a promise to get me in earlier when possible.

Looking forward to getting my machine running better than new!

I know there are a few posts on this thread talking about warranties and such, and I hope you all have had better luck than me. I too was in communication with this "Sergio" person that Ted was and Coleman refuses to give me any warranty on my UTV, even though I've only had it for 2 weeks.

This Sergio character stated that even though I just purchased it in the last 2 weeks, and it was sold to me as a new UTV, taking into consideration it had missing keys, missing gas cap and a couple reflectors missing, and that Tractor Supply discounted the price because of this, that Coleman's would NOT honor the 1 year warranty.

This is totally unfair to me, as I was not asking for these parts to be replaced, nor should a discounted price have any play in this, as Colman's got their money from Tractor Supply. I should still be getting a warranty, but after responding to Sergio a few days ago, neither he nor anyone else has gotten back to me.

[Rainman]

Does anyone know what the distant should be after the mod, center-to-center, from the sleeve to the rod where the cable seats? I didn't take a before measurement to make sure the final fix was 3/4" longer.

What happened was, the individual who did the work for me as a favor, followed a photo I gave him of what Dan did, which I thought would be the best route to go. But after cutting the shifter and dropping in a 3/4" plate, he welded it with the rod going the wrong direction, facing the passenger side instead of the driver's side.. He had to cut and weld it again, but with the 2 cuts, I think that took away from the overall length needed. Mine measures out, center-to-center 2.75", but I think from looking at photos, it should be 3", so the extension might only be a 1/2".

I'm putting it back together tomorrow for a test run and he said he would add another piece to extend the shifter if needed, so we will see. Hopefully it will be okay, since I really need to get this up and running. But I was just curious if anyone had done a measurement after the mod was completed.

[Rainman]

UPDATE - Shifter Lever: Well, I got everything back together and it was a humdinger getting those plastic bushings to fit back into the shifter sleeves, even though they were cleaned up and greased. Got the cable adjusted, as per Coleman's recommendations, but the cable adjustment maxed out, which got me concerned. Did the first test run and it was worse than ever. Backed off on the cable adjustment in the only direction it was able to go and SUCCESS. So far, and we will see, no more grinding or slipping out. Now I have to use it around the property and give it a real test.

Note: I would think that with the extended shifter piece I would have had to adjust the cable more towards the firewall, but instead, I had to adjust it and pull the cable more towards the front of the UTV, which maxed out the threads. But after adjusting it back slightly towards the firewall, it works, for now. We shall see.

UPDATE - Squeaking Noises: Well I raised up the rear first and checked for play, as per Bryan's suggestion. There seemed to be a very slight play left to right, but not top to bottom. Tried to adjust the nut axle nut to make sure it wasn't loose, but it wouldn't move, so I reinstalled the cotter pins. The squeaking had been pretty loud, so with nothing left to do, before putting the rear wheels back on, I cleaned the rotors real good and they were dirty. So I put the wheels back on, took it for a spin and again, SUCCESS. No more squeaking. I guess in my case, it was just a matter of cleaning the rotors.

UPDATE II (8/14/23) - Squeaking Noises: Well, the squeaking noises are back and Annoying as ever. Seems like cleaning up the brakes helped, but it didn't last long. I don't think the brakes are the problem because if I put the gear in Neutral it will slightly roll, so there doesn't seem to be any drag. Then again, it may stop rolling if it hits a spot where there is contact. Need to look into this a little more.

[Jerry Poythress]

I have a coleman 400 utv that I use for hay for cows. It grinds in reverse bad. How can I get part to fix this problem. Currently only can use in forward. Adjusted cable bunch of times. It either grinds in forward or reverse. So I adjusted it for forward use. So aggravating.  Wasted $10,000.00 . Should have spent $3,500.00 more dollars and bought a Honda,Kawasaki, Yamaha, Kubota, kioti,etc. . Please advice is needed.

[Ted in OK]

Jerry -  Check Bryan g's and Dan_Lockwood's posts. It seems they have been successful machining modifications that allow the gear shift linkage to work reliably. I went the warranty route. I'm still waiting (5 months or so) for Coleman to deliver their warranty repair newly-designed (so it sounds) parts to my Coleman-authorized repair shop so the shop can perform the repairs.

Just FYI:  It appears the shifter cable on my unit must be right in the center of adjustment possibilities: I can mostly get it into the desired gear the first time...but that also means it sometimes grinds in forward as well.

Good Luck!

Ted in OK

[Robert B]

On 7/30/2023 at 2:14 PM, Jerry Poythress said:

I have a coleman 400 utv that I use for hay for cows. It grinds in reverse bad. How can I get part to fix this problem. Currently only can use in forward. Adjusted cable bunch of times. It either grinds in forward or reverse. So I adjusted it for forward use. So aggravating.  Wasted $10,000.00 . Should have spent $3,500.00 more dollars and bought a Honda,Kawasaki, Yamaha, Kubota, kioti,etc. . Please advice is needed.

If UTV is under warranty as mine was they may ship you a new extended shifter. Will take many months in my experience.

[Rainman]

On 7/30/2023 at 2:14 PM, Jerry Poythress said:

I have a coleman 400 utv that I use for hay for cows. It grinds in reverse bad. How can I get part to fix this problem. Currently only can use in forward. Adjusted cable bunch of times. It either grinds in forward or reverse. So I adjusted it for forward use. So aggravating.  Wasted $10,000.00 . Should have spent $3,500.00 more dollars and bought a Honda,Kawasaki, Yamaha, Kubota, kioti,etc. . Please advice is needed.

Yeah, I adjusted mine multiple times without any luck. I had extended the shifter rod, as mentioned on this board, as well as some videos I watched, and that resolved the shifting issue. Now, after it slips into forward or Reverse, it never slips out.

PS: If you go this route, remember to readjust the cable to compensate for the extended shifter. I had to do the adjustment an couple times after extending the shifter and then the problem was resolved.

[todintexas]

Old Post, and certainly not uncommon it seems. We are a motorcycle shop, do not deal with U TV's often but I do have a long time customer who has brought in his Coleman 400. Older unit, 2011. After looking online the shift lever extension seemed quite obvious, so I extended it 3/4 of an inch, welded it back together and still no fix, unit will not stand forward gear.  Detents all work and shift rod seems in correct position. Disconnected the cable completely, reached under the seat and by hand popped it into reverse, no issues, neutral no issues, forward simply clatters and does not engage, appears to be internal.  Before we pull the motor and disassemble are parts even available for this older unit? Has anyone run into this before? Thank you

[Dan_Lockwood]

My guess is that after so many years of gear popouts, that new internal parts are going to be needed.  These are a dog/gear type setup and the lugs/dogs tend to wear off and round up a bit.  This will allow them to jump out of gear.

Good luck with the UTV-400.

Dan

[Rainman]

On 9/8/2023 at 8:21 AM, todintexas said:

Before we pull the motor and disassemble are parts even available for this older unit? Has anyone run into this before? Thank you

I would try contacting Coleman first and see what they say -

https://www.colemanpowersportsusa.com/parts/utv_side-by-side-parts/outfitter-400_ut400

[NewtoUTV]

Tonight, I finally got to doing this and it fixed my issue with the machine popping out of gear.  I did it slightly differently, by cutting the existing and welding a piece on to it, to make up the 3/4".  I'm not a welder so the welds are not pretty.

[Rainman]

17 hours ago, NewtoUTV said:

Tonight, I finally got to doing this and it fixed my issue with the machine popping out of gear.  I did it slightly differently, by cutting the existing and welding a piece on to it, to make up the 3/4".  I'm not a welder so the welds are not pretty.

Looks just fine and as long as it works, it's a win-win situation. No one is going to see the welds under the hood anyway. Just make sure you do some readjusting of the cable to compensate for the distance change and you should be fine. Took me about 3 tries before I got the cable readjusted and probably can use another adjustment, but all-in-all, the UTV does run better.

[Dan_Lockwood]

If you take the two nylon bushings out of the lever, you DO NOT need to remove the rubber seal and bezel.  The lever just slides off the shaft quite easily.

I was one of the first to do this modification.  AND FOR ME, it's been the FIX!  I plowed two days ago for over two hours and never once did it jump out of either forward or reverse.  If the cable system has been really abused, and the unit has been jumping out a LOT, this may not fix the issue.  It's very possible that you might have internal issues that only new parts can fix.  But be rest assured, that if you do not do the 3/4" extension on the lever AND replace new parts internally, you will be right back jumping out of gear all over again.

Most anyone can take the lever off and take it somewhere to be extended.  Even realigning the cable bracket after the lever has been extended, is quite easy to do.

Good luck!  I'm VERY happy with my little UT400.  I cannot believe how much snow this thing can push with the 60" wide blade.  Because of my driveway size and shape, getting out every few minutes to change the angle pin, was not an option.  I bought the hydraulic power angle upgrade and installed that.  It's not the fastest to change angles, but it beats getting out to do it.  I also upgraded to the fabric vinyl enclosure.  In 10 degree weather with some wind, I can plow in tennis shoes and not have to wear gloves.  Have not installed an auxiliary heater... Yet.:)

Dan Lockwood, Clare MI.

[KansasDavid]

I bought this Coleman 550 outfitter in Sept of 2021 -- on Tuesday 20 Feb 2024, the vehicle started giving off a loud and pronounced bang every 3 or 4 seconds when it's in "forward"  -- when the vehicle goes in reverse, that sound is gone.    Is this the same problem others here are talking about and if this is the case, isn't it a design flaw that's causing this problem and eventhough the vehicle is our of the 2 year warranty, is'nt this something that Coleman should fix -- if that's what it is?

[Bryan g]

The 550 does not have the same issues .  Sounds like internal trans problem.  I have not seen any  come in with trans problems .  Id drain  fluid , look for any sparkles / metal .  But no, that far out of warranty  it would not be covered 

 

[NewtoUTV]

On 1/15/2024 at 2:04 PM, Rainman said:

Looks just fine and as long as it works, it's a win-win situation. No one is going to see the welds under the hood anyway. Just make sure you do some readjusting of the cable to compensate for the distance change and you should be fine. Took me about 3 tries before I got the cable readjusted and probably can use another adjustment, but all-in-all, the UTV does run better.

I adjusted the cable, it took me a few tries also.  But seams to be working good now, hope it last.

[Rainman]

5 minutes ago, NewtoUTV said:

I adjusted the cable, it took me a few tries also.  But seams to be working good now, hope it last.

After I did the modification it seemed that the recommended adjustment procedure didn't work properly. So I winged a readjustment and it worked good for a short period of time then after a while I was having slight grinding again, but not as bad.

Adjusted it again and all was well, but then recently it seemed seemed to have a loud bang, as if it had totally slipped out of gear, but it was still in, which was strange. I was concerned there were some internal issues, but noticed that the shifter was hitting up against the upper part of the bezel and possibly not going all the way into forward gear.

I adjusted it one more turn and it is now doing good so far, plus I seem to have a hair more space between the top of the bezel and the shifter rod, so we will see. It may need another adjustment along the way, but all-in-all, the modification does seem to be helping and does make me feel a little more confident.

[wnc woods]

Is there anyway to add a low gear to Coleman ut400? Probably silly question but still asking. Ty

[NewtoUTV]

On 2/28/2024 at 11:04 AM, Bryan g said:

The 550 does not have the same issues .  Sounds like internal trans problem.  I have not seen any  come in with trans problems .  Id drain  fluid , look for any sparkles / metal .  But no, that far out of warranty  it would not be covered 

 

I started complaining to Coleman 4 months after I purchased it new from Tractor Supply and received 0 help and pretty much a F You from them.  I fixed it to late and today I have no gears left.  Will not go into reverse and I am assuming I will need to do the transmission.  Suck a piece of crap!  Speed thousands on machine that is worthless!   I have not started looking for replacement parts, but assuming that I will not be able to find them....... 

[NewtoUTV]

Just found this video that will solve this issue.