Hi im new here.. my dad bought a explorer 400 back in '97 brand new. Its always worked top notch except for when i would go out and break it. For about ohh.. 2 years the cover for the clutch has been rattling (but not a lot) under certain rpms.. now it basically rattles all the time. I'd like to get a bit of an idea of what could be causing it. Could it be the clutch going out? I've had someone tell my dad that its the belt being loose. Thanks.

 

as the clutch cover heats up over the years it gets weak and sags untill the primary smacks the cover...

 

You really think its that simple? Is this something that happens often on the explorer's?
Any other thoughts on what could cause it?

 

well it could be that, or you could have a little stone in there maybe, or your belt could be falling apart and when you rev it you here a strand of thread from the belt hitting the cover. Your best bet is to just take the cover ovv and take a look, its only like 8 screws.

 

No it Shakes because of the vibration.. not because of a rock or loose belt strand. I'll jus take a look at it whenever it stops raining.

 

If its shaking it may be a chunk of belt missing or if you burned a flat spot in the belt from slipping it in deep mud or something. I cant believe the clutch came apart without poking a hole through the cover.

Steve Lubecki

 

my 93 350 started rattiling took off cover didn't see any thing wrong, couldn't get it to stop rattling, replaced cover and viola, no more rattle

 

When you buy the new cover for it.. does the back piece come with it? How much did it cost? My front cover has 2 holes in it that my dad patched up a long time ago.. and theres a new hole on the top that i patched up with plastic.. but the whole thing still seems weak when i move it around. The belt was pretty worn out so i went out and got a new one but it didn't change much.

 

when the cover is screwed onto the backplate it shouldn't move much at all, maybe up and down a little from the backplate flexing. there are three screws behind the secondary clutch, four behind the primary clutch, and one on the left bottom corner that goes thru a tab on the frame. these hold the backplate on. check these to see if any are loose or missing. if that all looks good and you have a new belt your cover is bad. the backplate does not come with the cover. all yeah make sure there is a cover gasket in the slot around the backplate.

 

Alright ill check that.. but if it all checks out then is it possible that a bad motor mount is causing this? It idles pretty rough i find.. lots of vibrations i mean.