I have recently had to replace my drive belt. I got a Parts Unlimited replacement belt, which was about 1/8' wider than the worn out old belt. It pulls 200% better than it did, and the belt doesnt seem too tight when the motor is off. The old belt had chunks missing, but never had problems with it trying to pull when idling. (Yes, the engine idle is as low as it can go)
After having this problem, I started looking for sources. First, I discovered that the front motor mount was broken, so I replaced it with OEM parts. After this, it still stays engaged at idle, making shifting to any other gear position impossible. I took the front clutch apart and discovered that the plastic castle nut was backed out to prevent the clutch from engaging all the way - causing the machine to run about 10 mph slower. I dont think this had anything to do with the low-end pulling. Anyway, I blew out the old dust from all moving parts on both clutches. It seems to me that the driven clutch is not disengaging all the way to allow the belt to slip on the front pulley. Does this mean that I have worn out bushings/clutches? The common factor is the replacement of the new belt. Since the new belt, it has been doing this.

Any suggestions on what to do next?

 

Could be drive clutch bushings, remove the belt and try to twist the outer half of the drive side to side, it should be tight, usually if the clutch is sticking you will get all sorts of weird shifting, even stalling. Does the clutch spring looks ok, not weak or broken? because this is what opens the clutch,

www.hiperf.com has belt charts ,check to see if your belt is the right one (not too wide or short) Even two belts with the same part # may have slight variation. There are shims in the snowmobile driven clutches to adjust how close the half s come together.
Also the distance between the center ot the crankshaft (clutch) and the driven shaft must be correct. To close no low or high gear, to far creeping and belt breakage.

Check the weights and their pins, they should not be siezed to the cluch or the weight.
With the belt off you should be able to push the clutch shut and it should slide back open fully every time.
It would be a good idea to remove the clutch cover (six small bolt and large enter bolt) and see if the bushing is tight, sometimes they are completely gone!!
Remove the spring and put the cover back on, Does the outer half of the clutch slide in and out freely? Can you rock it side to side (ie push with left hand pull with right, then the opposite) Should be almost no movement.
Do the weights swing in and out freely, (not likely your problem but the pin in the weights should turn freely in the weight and the clutch)

With what you describe I'm betting on drive clutch bushing or broken mounts changing you center dist. Pretty sure you belt did'nt get short and fat!!
if it comes and goes it hase to be bushing or mounts, anything else would not go away on its own
Hope this helps
Ken

 

The front clutch is disengaging all the way. I think the driven clutch is pulling back in too far. Is that possible? I will try the wiggling of the clutch, but by your description of pushing the clutch in, i am assuming you are talking about the front clutch. (the one that shrinks when accelerating). With the belt off, the outter disc of the pulley is wiggling pretty good. The driven (rear) clutch feels tight. The funny thing, is it tries to pull even when the front clutch is all the way out. That is why I am leaning to the thought of maybe the driven is closing too far. Is there a bushing that controls how far it closes?

 

Sounds like you have some worn primary clutch bushings.There is 2 brass bushings that get qaulded and mes up just like you are saying.Take the bi g clutch bolt out and the 6 small one and pull the outer part of the primary clutch and look at the bushing there.

 

It is most likely the driven clutch. You cant push on the driven clutch you have to actually twist the inner and outer sheave and see if they stick when letting it close back up. There are shims between the driven clutch halves that determine how far it closes. An 1/8 inch difference is a huge difference in belt size. You may have gotten the wrong belt. You may want to replace the clutch buttons in the driven clutch because they are plastic and wear out easy. You can also swap them around to the good side. Did you start it with the cover off and see if the front clutch closes on the belt at idle. The spring may be weak. The clutch should stay at the center (bottom) of the front clutch and only start to rise when giving it some throttle. With the motor off how much deflection do you have when pressing down on the top of the belt? Is it tight?

 

The belt has plenty of slack when you rotate the clutches by hand, but crank it up and then cut it back off, the belt is tight. The new belt started out great. Then about an hour later, it wouldnt release the belt, and kept trying to pull. Now the new belt has some of the webbing hanging out in spots. The wierd thing, is the old belt had chunks missing from the back-side of the belt, but the belt still pulled great... I bet you are right... the belt may be too wide. That front clutch bearing is loose, but not causing any binding yet... I found a new OEM belt for it on EBAY for 5.00 so I will wait till it gets here b4 tearing it back down. It takes a good hour to get the cover off. For what this machine does when it is running, it's worth fixin, for sure. If I have to take the driven clutch apart, do I need any special puller?

 

Put a Dayco belt on my 03 700 had the same type of problems, creeping at idle and smelled like rubber burning, putpolaris belt on , works fine.

 

Just snap ring plyers to diasemble the driven /rear. The sleds used to have shims in the middle to control how tight it closed (now they use 3 bolts and and a ramp you twist) this let you compensate for belt tolerences, Even the same part # vary some, or as you belt wore you closed it up to rgain some performance

Nothing special for the drive/ front clutch unless you want the back 1/2 off the crank, the you need a puller made just for this $25
at www.hiperf.com But you should'nt need to do that.
Are you sure the mounts are solid now and the center to center distance in not changing, or changed from original?
If that is correct then both clutches are likely due for bushing and buttons

On the sleds we used to take the driven apart every 500 miles and clean and lube it, to get the fastest possible upshift.
The drive clutches got lubed on the weight pins an rollers (push the clutch shut by hand ,(no belt) and rotate the pin with an allen wrench and apply polaris "clutch and cable lube" and on the bushings and rollers.

This also helped the bushing last longer, but its alot of work on the bike, should still be done every 1000 mils or anually though.

if you not real familar with all this it might be a good time to find someone who is (as much as I hate to recomend stealer visits)
For as simple as these clutches look, there are several things that must be right for the belt to live a long happy life and for the system to engage and shift properly. ie Belt width and length, max opening and closing of both pulleys, correct CD, proper spring tension in both pulleys, and good bushing and buttons in both pulleys, correct tuning parts ie springs, weights, helix

But if the problem comes and goes something is either losse or bindind, I've seen drive clutch bushing stall a motor because they would not let go of the belt, siezed solidly in the middle

Good luck
Ken

 

Good news... As you know, I put an aftermarket belt on from Parts Unlimited. When I ordered the OEM belt and installed it, it works fine, pulls better, and no slipping.

I do have a little play in the front clutch bushings, and have it on the next maintenance list for when it goes in for service. Those clutches are a little too much for this shadetree mechanic. I appreciate all of you guys help. Lets go riding!

 

Glassman I have had a nightmare with the clutch on my 02 500 HO also. Here is the scoop on this year and what makes this happen.

02 is the first year for EBS and it works by putting a Hillard clutch in your primary (front) clutch. When you look at the bottom of the primary you will see a grooved bushing that will have some side to side movement. That part will bind on the grooves on your belt and cause the belt to ride up on one side or the other of your clutch sheaves.

Polaris issued a alert to this to the dealers but it never was a recall and they will not fix it because they would have to replace the primary. So they take apart your primary and shim it out. This works, but only for a short time because the clutch is really grinding itself apart. In short you need a new clutch.


A test for this is to put your machine up on stands and remove the clutch cover and move the belt and center it in the primary it should feel free and you will feel it fit in the grooves start your machine at idle and in gear and you should get no creep. Now give the machine enough rpm to engage the clutch and turn the wheels.

If when you let off the throttle and the engine goes back to idle the wheels still turn you have this problem. Turn off the machine and now you can look at the belt in the primary, if it is now tight and off to one side you need to shim the clutch (Short Term) or replace it (Long term)