Neil Wilson

Thanks for your feedback Dan. At least I know others have the same issues. Looks like I'll be dealing with the bash plate now too. I don't have a cutting torch so I'll have to drill a bunch of little holes to make a big one. That will require laying under it with drill oil and shavings falling on my face for an hour. I might consider pulling the plate if it isn't too big a deal. I wonder how the previous owner dealt with it. Maybe he never changed the oil. This machine has 4000 miles and the oil is pretty black. I would not be surprised. I can't ask him though because he knows that I know he cheated me by not telling me about the bad shock.

One more rant I have to make. The seller said the OEM seat belts would come loose when you are riding so he took them out and installed lap belts like in a car. I wasn't thrilled about that but I didn't give it much thought. After riding in the machine a couple of times I now realize these lap belts are absolutely unsafe in a rollover. You need shoulder harnesses in these machines. I see in the forum this has been an issue with these machines. A friend gave me a set of racing harnesses but they are too wide for the openings in the seats. So yeah, now I need to spend more money because of the low quality of these machines. PS, the owners manual says very clearly the roll cage on these machines are cosmetic. They are not designed to protect you if the machine rolls over. They don't mention that in the sales brochures. Folks, if you buy Chinese you are literally risking your life!

Now that I have the wheels and shocks removed I can see the oil filter is easily accessible. It looks like you would not be able to access it unless these parts are un-installed. So I decided now is the time to change the oil and filter. So I look to see where the oil drain plug is and there is no way to access it through the bash plate underneath. They did not provide a hole to change the oil! I am dumbfounded. There is not enough clearance between the drain plug and plate to do anything. How am I supposed to change the oil in this thing? Just let it dribble out onto the bash plate and let it find it's way out? What a pile.

I can't get anyone to answer the phone at FOA and they don't reply to my messages. Also I've learned that the FOA shocks are 24.5" long (pin to pin) extended whereas the mounting brackets on the Joyner are 23" pin to pin when the swing arm is at it's lowest point (touching the axle). Thus I cannot install the FOA shocks unless I compress them first. Also I would have to install limiter straps which requires welding. I am not equipped to do these modifications. Another option is to weld on new shock mtg brackets to fit the FOA shocks but again I am not equipped to do that. It would be a big deal to have the modifications done by a shop. I don't believe it is financially justifiable to invest more money than necessary in this vehicle. Thus it looks like the best option for me is to buy OEM shocks. I can get them locally. I'll run it with the OEM shocks for a year or so then sell it if it doesn't fall apart. I'll lose money on it but not as bad as if I were to buy better shocks.

FYI, I took my shocks to "Shock Therapy" in Phoenix to have them rebuilt. I was informed today that they cannot be rebuilt. One of the parts is welded and another issue is one of the seals/o-rings would get damaged if they tried to replace it. This confirms what was said by one of the regulars in this forum who tried to rebuild these shocks. So with the shocks not being repairable I have been looking for replacements for the Yearbens. No one sells them individually. You have to buy a set of 4. Not happening. Some forum posters have had success with FOA shocks. Will be looking into this option. Their shocks are slightly longer than the stock Trooper shocks (24" vs. 23") but can be made to work with a limiter strap. FOA sells limiter straps.

We took it out for our first ride and quickly discovered a loud banging noise when we go over bumps. Today we were with a friend who was following and he said the right rear wheel is bouncing freely. Evidently our Yearben shock is bad. So I looked up the Yearben shocks on this forum and see this has been a problem with these shocks. It also appears they are not repairable. If so I just bought myself a white elephant. This has been a nightmare experience for me. Anyone want to buy a Trooper for cheap?

The original owner mentioned there is a shim kit to take some of the slop out of the rack and pinion by forcing the pinion gear down into the rack. I cannot find anything about this kit in my Google searches. Can anyone help me find this kit?

Well I am so thrilled to find out the brake lights were working all along. The problem was they weren't shutting off because the pedal wasn't fully returning to close the switch. All along I thought I was seeing the running lights. A little cleaning and lube fixed the problem. Also the winch is now working. The battery tie down was touching the solenoid which caused it to short. A small modification fixed that problem. I feel so much better now that I know it wasn't the wire harness. Next is to get a shim kit for the sloppy steering.

Hi Dan, Thank you for offering advice. I spoke to a friend who has RZRs and he recommended a local auto shop that he uses for electrical problems so I am taking it there tomorrow. If they can't figure it out I'll check on the things you suggest. The previous owner said he could get a new fuse box but you have to get a new wire harness too. I suspect it was expensive so he opted to do the bypasses. He only used it for hunting so maybe he didn't care about fixing it properly. Anyway will post the outcome.

I just bought a 2008 Trooper T2 not knowing much about them. On this one the owner said the horn doesn't work, the winch never did work and during inspection the rear brake lights didn't work. He said he replaced the rear light pods recently and the brake lights worked before. He said the fuse module is corroded so he bypassed it and rigged up his own switches for the fuel pump and radiator fan. I see in the wiring diagram the horn and rear brake lights are on the same circuit. Now I am worried the problem is in the wiring harness. I have the wiring diagram from the online manual but I can't make any sense of it. I see lots of posts about wiring issues and I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the issues I see with these machines and am regretting buying it. For now my main concern is to get the brake lights working so I can drive it to some nearby trails. I would appreciate any advice on how to go about diagnosing the problem or workarounds. Also if there is a better wiring diagram out there that might help. I would consider hiring someone local to diagnose it so any recommendations are welcome. TIA.