XP belt....good news....bad news

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Apr 29, 2009 | 08:59 AM

#11

FunRide

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Pro Rider

Joined: Jan 2009

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Quote:

Originally Posted by HIGHOCTANE

That TQ spec is 45-50 INCH POUNDS..about 4 ft lbs..snug with a small 1/4" ratchet is all it takes..it is an O-ring type seal.

Should have read that more closely in the manual

I only tightened by hand till snug.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HIGHOCTANE

As for the cover being bonded..it does stick a little..getting the clutches real hot can make it worse..instead of trying to pry at the joint next time bump the each side of the cover with your palm or side of your fist back and forth until it comes off..only took a bump on each side the 1st time I pulled mine.

Mine was like glued on with a dab of model glue. I tried to be gentle then was forced to bring out the small pry bar and work it along until it went "POP". It was a pretty rugged weld. Now that it's been taken apart once, I'm confident it will come off as you describe yours does.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HIGHOCTANE

When you say inside the belt do you mean on the angled contact surfaces where the belt contacts the clutches? If so the lighter color on the belt is most likely a combo of the belt being glazed and some alum fron the clutch transferring..the fact that it is in one spot is a sure sign the clutch slipped pretty good from a stop on one occasion..as long as you can't see any thinning of the belt there it probably won't significantly shorten the belt life.

The angled contact sides were not nice and grippy, but they weren't "glazed" and super smooth either. The discoloration area was on the underside of the belt (opposite the Polaris logo), along the belt ridges which does seem kind of strange. But it wasn't one "spot"....it is more of a section.....say 3-4 inches long then fades away.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HIGHOCTANE

If it is shinny there rough it back up with some fine sand paper or a hand held wire brush,don't use alot of pressure or get carried away,just enough to remove the shine. If it did effectively damage the belt you will likely get a little jerky feeling or vibration at low speeds each time that spot goes around the primary clutch...but like I said if you can't see a difference in the width of the belt there,or an shallow area in the contact surface you probably won't ever notice anything.

Yeah, thought about that at the time, but left it. I've cleaned up my sled belts that way. I wonder if automotive "belt dressing" might help to remove some of the glazing? I know it adds traction on v-belts....

So I inspected the belt visually....very closely over every sq. inch of it and there is zero delta in the width, thickness or degree of slop on the sides

Quote:

Originally Posted by HIGHOCTANE

Can you post some pics of the belt..just like to compare it to what my first belt looked like..it looked perfect as far as wear and damage goes..but it had a slight silver color and a little shine to it.. but on mine it was all the way around on the contact surface.

Was going to post some pics, but didn't think they would do it slight differences justice. I guess what we all need is a quality description and images of what a perfectly broken in belt should look like as a reference.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HIGHOCTANE

Look at your clutches sheave faces as well...Wouldn't hurt to clean them up with some alcohol, or spray carb or brake cleaner while it is apart..if you use the cabr or brake cleaner just don't let it sit on the plastic parts,wipe off the over spray/drippings..most won't hurt it others can if they sit/pool on it.

Should have done that, but didn't clean them. I'll do it next time. I'm going to try this on the trail in the next week or so and see how it goes. Would like to get this down to 1/2 hour job in the dirt.