Has anyone had to replace a belt yet? How well do they hold up?

 

Almost 3500 miles and still going strong.

 

I have over 800 miles and have not had a problem with the belt.

I only flooded it once and that was my fault for not keeping on the gas when I hit the water.

 

This topic has been up a few times before, and still, we have no real idea of how long the belt lasts. I've asked my dealer about this before, he said AC claims it is supposed to never need changing in the life of the machine. This I don't know how much to believe, but as it utilizes a different tranny design, where the belt is constantly under tension, I can see how it is possible. He has never changed a belt before, and actually never done any work on an auto tranny since they first came out in '00. In fact, when I did my "minehunter tranny trick", that was the first time he'd even seen the inside of the tranny other than in the service manual.

With that said, I have over 1,200 on my 'Cat of probably 95% being under extreme working conditions towing logs across the ground, often getting hung up and stopped dead in my tracks when catching logs in tow on a stump or large rock. As a result, there has been a TON of "jerking" with my 'Cat. As seen from the "snow pics" below, I've towed that damned suburban more times than I can count and not had a problem. I've never slipped a belt while working, or riding for that matter, and in all my deep water and mud riding, I've only slipped it once due to water-that was because I sucked water into the carb, the entire machine died as we went totally under water in the river-my head and all underneath! As you can imagine, with a dead machine totally submersed, water ended up EVERYWHERE. Being middle of january and wearing insulated carhartts-it was DAMN COLD to say the least as well!

Anyway, as far as the work I've done with my Auto, I am totally impressed with how well the belt holds up-I've torn it apart I think 3-4 times now all together for inspection, cleaning, and the tranny mod, and the belt still looks brand new, with no signs of wear anywhere. From all the negative I've heard, I was pretty skeptical at first, but after seeing what it's capable of and the abuse I've put it through, there is nothing bad I can say about it.

Hope that helps, and Best of Luck,

Mike

 

What tranny mod are you referring to? Will it slip in deep water or mud while riding?

 

heh heh heh, boy, you just love starting heated debates don't ya! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] just joking. Seriously though, that topic is up for debate, and has been numerous times. Not sure quite how to put this... Yes, the belt will slip in deep mud and water....but if you know what you're doing, it won't-does that work??? Probably not, so I'd better rephrase it a little. Yes, any and all belt driven auto trannies will slip in the deep mud and water, even the AC 500's. However, if you drive through the deep mud/water properly using the right technique, no, you will not have a problem slipping a belt-period. I'm assuming this to be true for all machines-Polaris and Yammy as well. The trick is, always approach deep mud and or water in LOW range, once you enter, then give enough gas to keep a forward momentum going. Doing so with the rpm's up a bit will "pressurize" the tranny enough that the exhaust gasses exiting the tranny will prevent any mud/water from entering. I have used this very technique more times than I can remember in mud/water rack deep, and deeper, and have NEVER slipped my belt. -Now, you are saying wait a minute Mike, what about that time in the river.... In that circumstance, you have to remember that was the one and only time I did slip a belt, and at that time, I had sucked water into my carb first, which killed the 'Cat, and as we went totally under water, with a dead engine, water was sucked in everywhere, tranny too. Had the engine kept running, had I not have sucked water in the carb, I would not have died and consequently not sucked water in the tranny. I have since relocated my breather lines to higher locations, and been through rack deep water-and deeper, and not had a problem since-again, using the low range, keeping on the gas method. If at any time you stop in rack deep mud or water, let off the gas, or back up, the minute you de-pressurize the tranny, water will enter unless you have snorkled it. This is true for any and all machines out there-set any one of them in a rack deep water hole at idle, as long as the water is above the intake/exhaust ports, water will enter if there is not enough pressure to keep it out-keeping higher rpm's is enough to do this, and doing so, you will not have a problem.

If you do happen to suck mud and water in any machine, simply pulling the drain bolt and draining the fluids is NOT enough to call it clean. When you are done with the ride, you MUST pull the cover and thoroughly clean the tranny housing. Not doing so will lead to bearing failure, and or other clutch/tranny problems due to the mud drying, and the dust/debris working it's way into all the moving parts. Again, using low range and keeping on the throttle, you won't have a problem, and this won't be an issue.

Now, as for the tranny mod, that is a different story. Minehunter has pioneered a way to increase low end power on the auto 'Cats, while not loosing anything from the top end. There have been a couple posts from both Minehunter and Myself concerning this topic a month or so back-probably called "Minehunters Tranny Trick", or Auto Mod, something similar to that. I hate to tell you to do this, but if you do a search for those two topics in the AC forum, you'll find a ton of information regarding this mod. If you are interested and need more information, I would be glad to try and help, but as you can see from the search, the actual instructions are kind of long to write out. It only takes a couple hours of your time, the cost is free, using only tools in your garage, and if you're not happy with it, you can easily change it back to stock without risking anything, or loosing money in the process. Bottom line is-The Mod Works. It works great in fact and has been a huge asset to the performance of my 'Cat for not only extreme working conditions, but also for powering my massive 27" 'Claws, in the nastiest of terrain and ugliest of riding conditions. Again, if you do the search and are still interested, give me a hollar, I'd be glad to try and help.

Anyway, hope that helps and Best of Luck,

Mike

 

I will add the following though. I know of several people who have done this mod with no problems what so ever. I have over 600 miles on mine since completion. However, there are others(1)that have and claim that the mod destroyed their transmission. This is just in case that at sometime in the future you wish to look into doing this modification that you are forewarned.

Back to original question: According to sources I have at the factory, they claim the belt should last 10,000 miles if you clean the inner case every 1500 miles or so. It's not that hard of a job and takes about 20 minutes or less.

 

I don't try, it just happens!!! No, really! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] Seriously though, I am only somewhat familiar with how the auto tranny's work in theory, but having never have seen one. Except in pics, I have questions about how it works under 'real' world conditions. You guys have explained it thouroughly and added a riding tip to boot! Man you guys really know your machines! I haven't been disappointed yet with any info I have learned on this site. My interests have changed from race bikes to utility, but I still like to tinker! Sometime in the future I will probably try to tackle the 'tranny mod'. But for now, I'll have to get more familiar with the bike. Thanks!

 

Chris-
Yeah, if indeed you do end up with an AC, get used to riding it around, get a feel for how it performs and basically become comfortable with how it operates and handles various terrain. The more you get "used" to it's performance, then say you add larger, more aggressive tires, keep it stock for a while just to get a feel for how it handles the larger tires. Once you're comfortable with it, then tackle the tranny mod and I'm sure you'll immediately notice a huge difference in performance. I'm not sure if you've found and read the posts on this or not, but I can increase speed in high range going uphill now with my 27" 'Claws, and even begin to pull away from my Dads stock machine, with stock tires. Low range is really awesome to say the least.

In defense of Minehunter, I have found and read the post and replies regarding the individual with the problem from the mod, and can honestly say something definately sounds fishy there. It sounds as if something else had gone wrong previously before the mod was done, or the mod was done incorrectly in the first place. My second question lies with the ease of the mod and how it works-if you're not happy with it, you can immediately remove the cover, pull the driven pully, and replace the spring to the original stock position, nothing will have been changed-period. It will in no way cause any ill effects to the machine and or tranny. In fact, before doing this mod myself, I asked my dealer about this, and any negative things that could occur. I have a very close relationship with my dealer, he told me flat out that this would be the best thing I could do to help my 'Cats performance and reliability. The reason is, he knows exactly how I abuse my 'Cat through extreme work conditions towing logs and whatever else needs to be moved for that matter. This extreme weight and constant abuse is not exactly good for the auto tranny-this mod relieves that stress, makes it easier for the machine to handle the job-similar to the way a ****** block aids in a winching situation. Granted that's not a great explanation, but it's as close as I could get right now. His other advice was that the mod would also be a great asset to my machine simply because of the larger, more aggressive tires I'm running, which puts a ton of extra strain on the engine and drivetrain. Again, this mod relieves much of that added strain. I'm affraid I just don't see how something that can be recommended by a licensed AC dealer would cause damage to a machine.

Anyway, again, if you do end up with a 'Cat and would like more info on how to do this, it really isn't as hard as it looks, only takes a couple hours of your time, and is totally free to boot. And, if you have any other questions or concerns, just give a hollar, would be glad to try and help.

Best of Luck, and happy trails!

Mike