After all this discussion on XP belts, I had to make the time to attempt to remove the belt for inspection and my own training. I must know how to change this belt as quickly as possible.

The good:

I removed the clutch/belt cover (PVT) cover and was able to inspect the belt. After all the abuse this thing has taken since January it's in perfect condition. There is zero hour-glassing, no burn marks, cracks, or fibers showing. There is very little rubber dust on the belt itself. The Polaris imprints are perfectly white still and it looks new. Pretty happy to see that

The bad:

If you own an XP you simply must attempt a dry run belt change before you take a trip of any length. ---What a freakin' nightmare it is getting the PVT cover off. Appears you need to nearly take the whole rear end off the bike to get the PVT breather off before you can get the damn cover off the clutch! The PVT breather is behind the clutch cover, and it's sandwiched between the frame and the clutch cover itself. There are so many hidden screws, it maddening. I used a 3/8 socket, open-ended and ratchet wrench to get them all. You simply need to go through this exercise, and I mean exercise so you can successfully change your belt (if necessary) You don't want to have to walk or be towed 20 miles out of the bush cursing your whole way home because you got 90% there. I don't think I could do this at night in 10 degree weather. My finger would be useless and this takes dexterity.

Hoping HO can pipe in and tell me what's the best way to accomplish this task....or anybody else who's done this, feel free to enlighten me. There's got to be an easier way. Maybe taking off the rear end and the PVT breather would be easier in the end. -I don't want to bitch too much, but it was pretty frustrating first go around.

Edit: I did end up removing the rear end fenders, which made it a lot easier to get to the parts. Going to need to do this in the dirt next time and see how it goes.

 

Hey FunRide:

Sounds to me like you were pretty well spent after getting this done....so I think you should come over to my place and practice it again on my machine just to see if it's any easier this time.

While you are doing this I will pay close attention to your efforts and hopefully I can learn from your demo how to do it myself!

Of course as a bonus you will learn if it's as difficult the second time around! LOL

Steve

 

I have never taken off any of the ducting or the fenders to get the cover off and out. Maybe your ducting was installed a little differently than mine? If so and you took it off you should be able to put it back onso the cover will come out without removing it. On mine once you get the cover bolts out and break the seal so to speak the cover will slide down and back(toward the rear of the machine) a good bit before it is resting on the secondary clutch,this will let it clear the ducting and it will then come all the way back to clear the clutches(removing the rear diff breather hose from the diff and getting it out of the way will help,since if you dont you have to force the cover past the hose to get it out.

All of the bolts are prety easy to access IMO,but yes it pays to have taken them out at home in good light before you attempt it with a dim head lamp out on the trail.
I use a 10mm ratchet wrench on some and a 1/4 driveratchet,3" extension and 10mm socket on the rest. The only one that is a little tricky is on the upper right side kind of under where the ducting you are talking about has that U bend,that one I use the 3" long 1/4" drive extension and come in from under the seat by the battery,put the socket in at a slight angle to get on the bolt head,then you can straighten the extension enough to get square enough on the bolt to remove it,the coupler on the ducting will flex a little. I also get the upper left from the opening under the seat. Installing that one on the right is also a little tricky. I just put the bolt in the socket and carefully use the socket to get the bolt back to the hole...other than that one the rest are cake IMO..the ones on the sides and bottom you can get from each side under reaching in under the fenders on each side..the very bottom,kind of center one has an access cut out that you can stick the wrench in from straight underneath.

HTH

 

May be the case.....Part of my problem initially was the fact that the PVT cover was bonded to the main plastic housing. Not sure how that happened, but I had to actually break a small plastic piece for the cover to come off. It was a real PITA. Once that broke free, the cover came off easily. I got cha on the screw/bolts. Removing the rear cab is pretty easy and it makes access 100% easier.

What about those crazy torque specs for the cover bolts 45-50lbs? I just got them as tight as I felt comfortable with, since the housing is plastic. Mine were loose from the factory.....as was my DC winch block.

The metal frame torque specs are reasonable. Glad I put a TW on those.

Upon closer inspection of the belt, there was some discoloration inside the belt in a section about 3" long. It wasn't black like the rest of the belt, but a bit lighter in color. Think this might be an issue in the future?

 

Is that where your buddies next door had all four wheels spinning on the blacktop with the chipper attached?

 

Don't remind me. I had nightmares last night.

 

That TQ spec is 45-50 INCH POUNDS..about 4 ft lbs..snug with a small 1/4" ratchet is all it takes..it is an O-ring type seal.
As for the cover being bonded..it does stick a little..getting the clutches real hot can make it worse..instead of trying to pry at the joint next time bump the each side of the cover with your palm or side of your fist back and forth until it comes off..only took a bump on each side the 1st time I pulled mine.
When you say inside the belt do you mean on the angled contact surfaces where the belt contacts the clutches? If so the lighter color on the belt is most likely a combo of the belt being glazed and some alum fron the clutch transferring..the fact that it is in one spot is a sure sign the clutch slipped pretty good from a stop on one occasion..as long as you can't see any thinning of the belt there it probably won't significantly shorten the belt life. If it is shinny there rough it back up with some fine sand paper or a hand held wire brush,don't use alot of pressure or get carried away,just enough to remove the shine. If it did effectively damage the belt you will likely get a little jerky feeling or vibration at low speeds each time that spot goes around the primary clutch...but like I said if you can't see a difference in the width of the belt there,or an shallow area in the contact surface you probably won't ever notice anything.
Can you post some pics of the belt..just like to compare it to what my first belt looked like..it looked perfect as far as wear and damage goes..but it had a slight silver color and a little shine to it.. but on mine it was all the way around on the contact surface.
Look at your clutches sheave faces as well...
Wouldn't hurt to clean them up with some alcohol, or spray carb or brake cleaner while it is apart..if you use the cabr or brake cleaner just don't let it sit on the plastic parts,wipe off the over spray/drippings..most won't hurt it others can if they sit/pool on it.

 

This is a GREAT post you started FunRide! I found this video...that does pretty good showing what needs to be done for a belt change. Gives that visual advantage some folks might need...

YouTube - Polaris Sportsman XP 850/550 - Wymiana Paska

Hope this helps other XP Owners out there!


biz

 

Nice find on that video! FunRide, thanks for starting the thread and no need to come over to instruct me on the belt swap anymore! LOL

 

Nice video's .... thanks for finding and posting the link!