Im thinking the centrifucal clutch also.
I betcha he ran it in D2 most of its life.

 

Alright guys, went and got the bike brought it home. Starts and runs fine rode it around 10 -15 min, you do hear trans noise which I thought in the beginning was engine noise. It does slip when you hit a real steep incline and as it got warmer and finally before I shut it down when sitting in neutral it has a pretty nasty grinding/growling noise. Never stopped pulling but I didnt want to push it too far once the noise got pronounced. Help me out!!! Pull and check the centrifugal clutch??? I'm ready to tear into it!!!

 

Does it have normal compression hold back on down hills?

First off, what kind of oil is in it, and is it full? Needs oil rated MA.

Anyway, I think I'd start with the centrifugal clutch.

 

Hey Jeff the oil is full but does look bad. It does have good compression on deceleration and will hold itself on the hills. But even with the wrong oil the growling noise in neutral is probably more than oil preoblem wouldn't ya think??

 

I was wondering about the sprag drive in the clutch. When it fails, the clutch can make kind of a whirring sound when you shut the engine off, or drop it to idle from higher RPM... But if it has compression hold back, that isn't the problem.

Without being able to hear it, it would be kind of hard to guess what the noise might be. With the slipping, though, my best guess would be the centrifugal clutch.

Could also involve one of the related bearings.

Getting a service manual would be highly recommended if you are going to tear into it.

 

Yeah Jeff I got a service manual already.I'm ready to go just getting reassurance on what direction to head. You'dnever know anything right off the cold start but a little engine noise but like i said as it warms it slips a little more and starts to make a more pronounced growl in neutral. Thanks for the help.

 

Drain the oil and take out the filter and look for metal filings. If you find a bunch you have some issues with the Hondamatic. Also not good to run like this cause the oil is shared between the engine and tranny.

 

Hopefully it will just be a ruined clutch, and maybe a bearing or two in the cover.

Looking for chunks in the oil filter is a good idea.

 

We worked on the quad tonight and found the following:

The engine oil was beyond bad... probably the darkest, most used up oil I've ever run across.

Didn't find much in the filter, just what looked like some fibers from the clutch. No metal slivers or chunks.

Opened up the clutch cover and didn't see anything out of whack. Clutch doesn't smell burnt, but we don't have the puller to take it all the way off to check further.

Gonna have a mechanic friend double check the front cover bearings to verify if they are good or bad. In any case, they aren't too bad.

My buddy who heard the engine running, said that it sounded almost like a missed shift on a dirt bike (like false neutral). So we were wondering if we have a combo... bad oil, something bad with the gear position sensor and a burnt up clutch? Talked to the previous owner again, and he said when it had this problem, he could shift it with the button shifter and it would work better. Don't know if that is a symptom, but thought it might be.

Thanks for all the help!

 

Bump--Gonna get a puller for the centrifical clutch from a friend.