I have an 2008 AC 700EFI with 350 miles on it. I followed all of the break-in rules, and had it serviced by an authorized Cat dealer (Bass-Pro) at 100 miles (10 Hrs). On my last outing, in cool weather (low of 22, high of 70) i noticed a whining sound when cold starting (frist thing in the morning) that stopped once the motor was warmed up. Also, during the day, warm or cold, when i start out in high, I'm getting a 1 to 2 second delay from throttle to power causing a jerky start. I've been babying it in high, don't have the problem in low. Anyone have a thought on this problem? I'm thinking I may have stretched the belt. All of my fluid levels are exactly on the marks and look like the type fluid I'm supposed to have. I've not done anything dumb that i'm aware of. It's under warrenty (we all know how ify that can be) and would like your thoughts before i turn it over to the dealer. Thanks!

 

Sounds like the clutch is slipping or the belt is slipping until your rpm's come up to compensate. I know there is a seal inside the auto clutch housing that can leak oil onto the belt and cause slippage. That can be checked by removing the right hand foot rest and the clutch housing to inspect it. Be careful with the seal/gasket so you can reuse it. If you see an issue You might get it fixed under warranty. Overfilling the oil can pop that seal. Also, I have heard that little oil seeps occur around some seals after switching from a dyno oil to a synthetic oil. The synthetic oil seeps out past a the seals.

Also, I do not remember if the 700 EFI has the suzuki tranny or the Kawisaki tranny. If it has the Kawisaki (same one in the 650) then you may need to look at how the belt is shimmed. This was an issue that I think has been fixed but I am not positive on that.

SJ