Forum:
My 92 fourtrak has a tendency to make a horrible grinding noise when crawling along in first or second gear, not always, only about a quarter of the time. Also, it sometimes is a bit of a bugger to get into first gear. Is this clutch or gearbox related, and should i be worried?
It doesn't jump out of gear, and the clutch isn't slipping that I'm aware of. This doesn't affect driving or towing, so at the moment i'm being a total girlie and turning the stereo up and pretending the noises are coming from somebody elses car...
Gearbox?
As I'm currently concentrating on my very own gearbox/transfer case problems, have you checked your transmission levels? Maybe it's worth draining the fluid and looking for lots of dirt in the fluid, or worse still, giant chunks of metal. That's what I'd do, but I'm a bit of a novice. If everything looks good, close the drain up, fill it with new fluid, and throw an additive in there, something like Wynn's Gear Oil Treatment, which quietened my old SJ410 down dramatically. Others may disagree, but I'd avoid Slick 50, purely on a personal basis, as the PTFE is suggested to make matters worse over long periods of time, but that's just the investigations I've made, it could be ok to use either. After all, they both fly off the shelf.
Anyhow, I'd look at your transmission fluid for signs of chewed metal. Then re-fill, and see if things calm down. Good Luck, keep us informed, if my luck's as good as yours it could happen to mine next week