I have a 99 AC 500 4x4 manual that has a slipping clutch... I tried adjusting it however it still slips. The former owner stated that the engine was overheated while low on oil - he had to replace, the cylinder, piston, rings as well as the timing chain. It runs good now... however, the clutch slips.

When I adjusted the clutch, it took a few counter clockwise turns before it stopped so I was hopeful, I then made sure the "smaller" screw turned freely, then turned the front screw 1/8 turn and locked everything down. It seemed simple enough... however no difference.

I called the previous owner and it seems that he was running regular motor oil in the engine.

Lots of questions:

While I will the current oil with wet clutch safe oil - will this make any difference unless i pull the clutch and somehow clean the friction plates? What should I use to clean them? How likely is this to be the source of the problem?

Do the clutch kits come with friction plates and pressure plates - or just springs and such.

I'm struggling to find web resources for an after market "complete" clutch... would love to have the links. Also - will Suzuki motor parts work in the AC motors?

Thanks to everyone who responds!

 

Jim,

You may try changing the oil/filter to the AC oil OR the AC synthetic oil putting a few miles on and then changing the oil/filter again. If the previous owner has not put a ton of miles on it with the oil not designed for wet clutches then it may clear itself up with the correct oil. Although you may need to adjust the clutch again.

If the top end was rebuilt then it will need to be broke in again which is 10hrs or 100miles to 1st oil change. This gets rid of any junk/debris from the rebuild. I too had to rebuild the top end of my engine a while back. After I had it broke in again it seemed like had to adjus the clutch 2 or 3 times before it worked correctly. This made me wonder if the metal shavings my engine threw into the oil prior to it going TU caused the friction plates to wear and it needed a couple of adjustments to get that wear out. This is a guess on my part. I have about 15000 miles on my 400 that I had rebuilt. Original clutch and every time it starts slipping a little in High range I adjust the clutch and it is cured.

I usually notice mine having to rev the engine really high in 1st gear high range when starting out. That is usually when I adjust the clutch and it goes away. I tow a trailer almost 100% of the time and it is hard to remember to use low range for towing.

Hope this helps

SJ

 

If you synthetic I would go with AMSOIL !

Mike D

 

I forgot to add that if you are going to run dino oil, STAY with dino oil. If you are going to run synthetic switch to synthetic and STAY with synthetic. Don't be switching back and forth between dino and synthetic oil your clutch may slip as well besides the fact its bad for the engine.

I pay $3.92 a qt for the AC dino oil and $6.95 a qt for the AC synthetic oil. I get a cheaper price by buying several cases of each at one time and taggin it onto my dealers order. I average a little over 1000miles per machine each month (probably closer to 2000miles a month in summer) so I change the oil at least once if not 2 times a month. I use Wix filters as they are half the price of the AC brand. ($4.49 each I think)

So pick the correct type oil (wet clutch safe) and stick with it.

SJ