Any model years to avoid?
- Thread starter rkangel7
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DeadLastRacing
Well-Known Member
only from the first three years are had to find good aftermarket parts for.......after that there pretty much the same.
deadaim
Well-Known Member
they have been bullet proof all along
1987-1989's have some different parts from the other years. Swingarm, axle carrier, rear brakes, frame, a-arms, spindles, front brakes, carburetor, and headlights are among the differences. 87 and 88's, maybe 89 and 90's had an auxiliary pull starter and decompression release on the head. Other than that, all the important parts are interchangable except for some electrical stuff. If you want to install a programmable Dynatec CDI, you'll need a 1997-2001. Internally the engines have all been the same, and no reliability issues affect any particular year.
Things to look for - your biggest focus aside from the obvious stuff should be the frame. Warrior's don't have weak frames, but they are still susceptible to abuse. Pay particular attention to around the front suspension, make sure everything is straight and symmetrical, and keep an eye out for cracked paint, which is a good giveaway that an area has been stressed. Some cracking and chipping is normal near the welds because the frames naturally flex a little, but watch those areas carefully for damage. The other big area is the frame down tube that goes from the seat area, down along your leg to the swingarm and foot pegs. I've seen them crack near the swingarm pivot on machines that were raced and jumped a lot.
Just about anything else on a warrior is a fairly cheap, simple repair. Also look out for loose ball joints, aside from the 1987's, ball joints are welded in so the entire a-arm must be replaced when the joint is worn too much. Check for worn swingarm pivot bearings and axle bearings. Not an expensive fix, but a pain in the ass sometimes because of rust. Either repair is only about $60 or less, but stuff like that can give you some leverage in getting a lower price.
Things to look for - your biggest focus aside from the obvious stuff should be the frame. Warrior's don't have weak frames, but they are still susceptible to abuse. Pay particular attention to around the front suspension, make sure everything is straight and symmetrical, and keep an eye out for cracked paint, which is a good giveaway that an area has been stressed. Some cracking and chipping is normal near the welds because the frames naturally flex a little, but watch those areas carefully for damage. The other big area is the frame down tube that goes from the seat area, down along your leg to the swingarm and foot pegs. I've seen them crack near the swingarm pivot on machines that were raced and jumped a lot.
Just about anything else on a warrior is a fairly cheap, simple repair. Also look out for loose ball joints, aside from the 1987's, ball joints are welded in so the entire a-arm must be replaced when the joint is worn too much. Check for worn swingarm pivot bearings and axle bearings. Not an expensive fix, but a pain in the ass sometimes because of rust. Either repair is only about $60 or less, but stuff like that can give you some leverage in getting a lower price.
Thanks! That's just what I was looking for!
I have a possible line on a '96. The seller says it's been in storage for a couple years and "needs a tune-up" and tires. Usually when I hear someone say that it "needs a tune-up" I see red flags. Meaning that the quad was probably put in storage because it doesn't run (due to more serious reasons than a tune-up), not the other way around.
At the very least I'm sure it will need carb work. I haven't seen it yet, but at $450 it may be tempting... or it could be a total piece of junk. What are your thoughts?
I have a possible line on a '96. The seller says it's been in storage for a couple years and "needs a tune-up" and tires. Usually when I hear someone say that it "needs a tune-up" I see red flags. Meaning that the quad was probably put in storage because it doesn't run (due to more serious reasons than a tune-up), not the other way around.
At the very least I'm sure it will need carb work. I haven't seen it yet, but at $450 it may be tempting... or it could be a total piece of junk. What are your thoughts?
did you mean the A arms on the 87 are not welded in, because I have another set of A arms and some of the ball joints are out so I asummed I could change them, are all the years for A arms interchangeable, like put 99 Arms on my 87 ?..
at 450$ i would buy it.. got my 87 for 400$ and got 200$ into it and around 20 hrs on it... probably worth it in parts alone..
at 450$ i would buy it.. got my 87 for 400$ and got 200$ into it and around 20 hrs on it... probably worth it in parts alone..
The ball joints on the 87 a-arms are not welded in, if they are in fact original 87 a-arms.
I'm not positive about the interchangability of the 87-89 a-arms, the front part of the frame is different and some of the aftermarket a-arm companies don't list any arms that will fit those years. Not sure if that means the company didn't do their research, or they actually have different dimensions on the older ones.
I'm not positive about the interchangability of the 87-89 a-arms, the front part of the frame is different and some of the aftermarket a-arm companies don't list any arms that will fit those years. Not sure if that means the company didn't do their research, or they actually have different dimensions on the older ones.
dswwarrior350
Well-Known Member
Pop the cover off the side and make sure it turns over/ has compression. Other than that id say its worth the price.
blinky0099
Active Member
87 Arms are def. different my brother in law has a 87 and was going to "borrow" one of my arms so he could ride one weekend. The 87's are really better arms they are thicker tubing and just very stout over all plus its the only year the ball joint is replacable. I think the 87 shared alot of parts with the banshee. Hope this helps
Yea, my 87' has screw in ball joints. It made rebuilding the A-Arms simple. BUT there are no extended swing arms made for the older Warriors only this
Here's a pic of the replaceable ball joints that I bought for $90 off Ebay. they are not easy to get out but heat works well.
I rebuilt my entire quad except for the motor.
When i bought mine it was sold to me as a 95'. I didn't know any better. I soon found out it was a 87' and just as stated before there is not a lot of interchangable parts on the A-Arms, and swingarms.
So far i have rebuilt all bushings and ball joints on the front a-Arms, repainted the frame, rebuilt the rear end with a new aluminum carrier by R.A.D., new Dura Bluwe axle and all new bearings.
New front Calipers because it was missing one and the other had been used so long without a brake pad it had ate through the caliper.
On mine the front end components are all 87' because I tried 01' front a-arms and calipers and those didn't fit, that was a live and learn moment.
The plastic is the blue plastic from a 01' which fit on perfectly. I am not running a headlight at this time because my 87' headlight didn't work with the 01'plastic but I plan to get some new fog lights to fit to the new plastic for trail riding.
The rear aluminum carrier is made for 90' and up but still fits just fine, just had to make some spacers for the rear cailper to fit on with longer bolts.
The rear sprocket hub on the 87's is a 4 bolt hub and the newer ones are a 6 bolt configuration I think.
My warrior came with Beadlocks on it from a Suzuki LT500 Quadzilla with 5 lugs wheels and hubs. I like that, I thought it was cool to have the 5 lug wheels and hubs, but it does make it a little difficult if I was to need to change wheels a lot, like in a racing situtation but I only trail ride.
That is something people may not know is that the Suzuki hubs fit the Warrior axles as well.
Another little mod I did was, after my exhaust Manifold bolts snapped and then I snapped the EZout in the broken off bolts in the head I decided to mount it like the Suzuki Quadzilla did, I used Springs to tension mount the exhaust pipe to the head. It makes it really easy to put on and take off and it works perfectly. Just had to make some L brackets on the exhaust pipe to connect the springs to. It's a nice mod.
I did just recently add a 2000 model Carb to it and realized the throttle cable is different than the 87's. I have a new throttle cable coming in the mail.
Here is what it looks like now from red plastic and red frame to black frame blue plastic
Here's a pic of the replaceable ball joints that I bought for $90 off Ebay. they are not easy to get out but heat works well.
I rebuilt my entire quad except for the motor.
When i bought mine it was sold to me as a 95'. I didn't know any better. I soon found out it was a 87' and just as stated before there is not a lot of interchangable parts on the A-Arms, and swingarms.
So far i have rebuilt all bushings and ball joints on the front a-Arms, repainted the frame, rebuilt the rear end with a new aluminum carrier by R.A.D., new Dura Bluwe axle and all new bearings.
New front Calipers because it was missing one and the other had been used so long without a brake pad it had ate through the caliper.
On mine the front end components are all 87' because I tried 01' front a-arms and calipers and those didn't fit, that was a live and learn moment.
The plastic is the blue plastic from a 01' which fit on perfectly. I am not running a headlight at this time because my 87' headlight didn't work with the 01'plastic but I plan to get some new fog lights to fit to the new plastic for trail riding.
The rear aluminum carrier is made for 90' and up but still fits just fine, just had to make some spacers for the rear cailper to fit on with longer bolts.
The rear sprocket hub on the 87's is a 4 bolt hub and the newer ones are a 6 bolt configuration I think.
My warrior came with Beadlocks on it from a Suzuki LT500 Quadzilla with 5 lugs wheels and hubs. I like that, I thought it was cool to have the 5 lug wheels and hubs, but it does make it a little difficult if I was to need to change wheels a lot, like in a racing situtation but I only trail ride.
That is something people may not know is that the Suzuki hubs fit the Warrior axles as well.
Another little mod I did was, after my exhaust Manifold bolts snapped and then I snapped the EZout in the broken off bolts in the head I decided to mount it like the Suzuki Quadzilla did, I used Springs to tension mount the exhaust pipe to the head. It makes it really easy to put on and take off and it works perfectly. Just had to make some L brackets on the exhaust pipe to connect the springs to. It's a nice mod.
I did just recently add a 2000 model Carb to it and realized the throttle cable is different than the 87's. I have a new throttle cable coming in the mail.
Here is what it looks like now from red plastic and red frame to black frame blue plastic
