my friend has a problem, he has a 2000 Artic cat 500 Automatic 4X4 and his clutch belt is rubbing on the clutch cover.. he thinks its the front clutch drive. and another person said it might be a broke engine mount.. any help would be appreciated! thanks

 

This is a new one. How does he know that the belt is rubbing the case cover? If he removes the cover and the belt is tight, there is no way the belt can rub. If it's loose, then the problem lies in the Drive pulley I would think. There is a spring behind the drive pulley that could be broken. Then again if it is broken the Cat won't move.

Have him check and make sure he doesn't just have crud in the case and that is causing his problems. That could cause something like rub marks as the belt flings that stuff around pretty good.

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] Minehunter has a good place to start. There is the possibility that the support bearings are shot. Either way, I'd take the cover off and take a look. If the bearings are locked up, the cover will be a booger to get off, and you need to exercise patience. Useing brute force to take it off just makes it more expensive.

Let us know what you find; there are some good people on here that will give you a hand!

 

we know its rubbing cause there is signs on the belt cover. with the cover off it doesnt make the noise and he said it wasnt hard taking the cover off.

 

Here are a few questions that need to be answered.

With the cover and engine off, does the belt appear to be tight? (minimal vertical deflection of the belt at the center of the span between the pulleys)

Has your friend started the engine with the belt cover off?

Did the belt flop around and appear loose?

Does the machine move when put into gear? Forward and reverse?

Are the pilot bearings loose in the center (sloppy)?

A broken engine mount shouldn't cause the problem you describe, because the tranny and the engine are a single unit.

Another thing to look at would be the shaft. Pull the plug wire and crank the engine over. Look at the drive pulley shaft while cranking the engine. Does it appear to be centered or does it move in a slight circular motion?

 

it moves with cover off, theres about 1/2 slack in belt, goes in forward and reverse fine.. and dont know what pilot bearings are.

 

Ok, it sounds like your friend has done something that no one else that I have heard about has done. It appears that he has worn out a belt. Have him measure the width and thickness with a pair of calipers if possible and take those measurements to the dealer and have him check them against the belt specs. I would almost bet that the belt will be too narrow.

Does your friend do a lot of mud riding and has he ever gotten the belt wet and had it slip? If so, his problem is more than likely the belt.

The pilot bearings are the ones that are located in the clutch cover case. There are 2 of them. One for the front pulley and one for the rear pulley. They are pressed in and held in place with a retainer and 2 phillips screws on each. The screws are hard to remove because they are held with loctite.