My Xplorer has recently developed a problem and it feels clutch related. I thought I'd get some opinions before I dig into it tomorrow. At slow speeds, when I nail the throttle, I feel a vibration and can hear a slight chattering type noise. I'm running a green spring so it hits pretty hard when I do this. It doesn't feel like a belt slipping. I have seen posts about some nylon pieces that can fail. Does it sound like this might be the problem? Are they in the primary or secondary side? I can't remember what the inside of the primary clutch looks like from when I installed the spring. I've slept since then .

 

Could be the front clutch buttons. Pop the belt cover off & take a look-see. I have been told that you only have to take the 4 bolts that hold the footrest down out to make enough clearance to remove the cover. The buttons I am referring to are between the front pulley towers and the spider. There should be a button on each side of each of the 3 legs of the spider, to keep it from touching the tower metal-to-metal. It should be tight enough that you can't wiggle the spider in the pulley with your fingers, or if you can, just barely. The buttons are only a couple bucks a piece. While you are there, be sure the belt is OK, as it could also be a belt starting to fray or something.

 

Thanks Farmr. From what you are describing that is the problem. I can wobble the pulley. Not much but it does have play in it. The belt looks fine. It also appears the area where the pulley slides on the nylon buttons is worn slightly. I can check that with some dial calipers after I remove the pulley. That brings me to my next question. How do I remove the spider? It looks like it is threaded on to the mainshaft. I'm sure it's tight so I want make sure I use the right procedure. I don't want to bugger anything up. Also, I was looking in the parts manual and saw there are "ramp buttons" in the secondary. Do these ever cause problems too?

 

Yup, you will need special tools to get the spider off the pulley. That thing is on there TIGHT!. Tools are available through www.hotseat.com, hpd.com (I think), and also through Dennis Kirk and others. You will need the holding fixture and the spider removal tool. The fixture is the only good way I can think of to hold the pulley without breaking or warping it. The spider tool is needed to put even pressure on all 3 legs & not tweak anything on it. Button pliers are nice but not a necessity. Just be sure to put everything back as it came off, with the new buttons. This is also a good time to check the teflon bushings the pulley halves slide on as it opens & closes. On some clutches, there is a 'O' ring behind one button and a flat washer under the other on each of the 3 'legs'. Be sure to put them back in the right way, or they won't last long. Good luck.
You caught me at a good time as I just helped a friend rebuild his. Niether of us had the pulley holding fixture or the spider tool, so he took it in to the 'pros' to be fixed. I don't think they had the proper pulley holding fixture either, as they cracked his pulley. Heck, we could have done that ourselves.
As far as the back pulley, yes, I would check the buttons since you have it apart that far. When you get the pulley off, there is a snap ring on the back side holding the 2 halves together. It is under some spring tension, so have a buddy hold the halves together for you (they will want to spread apart as well as twist against each other. Before you pop the snap ring off, shine a light on the end, and you will see 2 holes. Note which one the spring end is in. THere are 3 holes on the underside of the spring it can go into, so note which it is in on that side, too, before you pull the spring out.
The parts guy told my friend the rear pulley buttons are supposed to be reversable, but on his machine (95 Mag 425) they weren't. When you put it back together, remember you will have to twist the pulley halves against each other to get it all together.
Good luck.

 

Thanks for the GREAT post Farmr. I'm going to paste this into my quading info file. I talked to Rick at RCR this morning and he is going to try to fix me up with the tools and parts I need to do the job and I'm also going to replace the buttons in the secondary. I hope this takes care of the problem. I'll find out in a few days...

 

>>>>>Before you pop the snap ring off, shine a light on the end, and you will see 2 holes. Note which one the spring end is in. THere are 3 holes on the underside of the spring it can go into, so note which it is in on that side, too, before you pull the spring out.
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AHA!

Great post.

Now... If the Polaris clutches are designed like the Arctic Cat clutches are, the position of the spring into the different holes will determine the amount of top end engine rpm.

On the Pantera, each hole is good for a 200 rpm change on the top end. I wonder if this is the same for the Polaris clutch? (a shop manual sure would be handy to eliminate conjecture

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As a side note: Have you thoroughly inspected the chain and sprockets? Same symptoms

 

Here is what Clymer has to say about the rear clutch spring position:

"The positioning of the ends of the spring will determine the shifting pattern. The greatest amount of spring tension will caues the engine rpm to be higher during upshift and will cause the unit to downshift sooner when the load it increased, such as going up a hill. Less spring tension will upshift faster and downshift slower. The actual position of the spring ends may be different that those listed (factory setting) to suit the driver's preference. This is especially true for a spring that has been in service for some time (as it may lose some tension). The spring tenstion should be increased for operation at high altitudes."

So yes, I would say that changing the setting will affect the engine RPM. Someone told me (although I haven't experimented enough to prove or dis-prove him) that the front clutch settings (weights, spring) will affect initial 'grab' and acceleration (to a point) while the rear clutch will affect pulling power (backshifting) and RPM under load, and to some extent top speed, and how much it downshifts giong up hills at speed.
Aaen is supposed to have a book that explains all this in more detali than anything else, but I have yet to get mine.

 

Thor, my chain has been stretching since day one. BillC had the same problem. Last week I replaced it and the front sprocket (900mi.). There was no effect on the chattering. Thanks for the suggestion though. I'll let everybody know the outcome with the new buttons.

 

Farmr123

Thank you for looking that up in the Clymer Manual. The explaination is exactly what I was looking for. Depending on the load applied (weight of the driver and terrain) the secondary clutch is then able to be tuned within the power range of the engine by a few hundred rpm.

This is the part of the equation which was previously missing by the guys changing clutch weights and wondering what happened to the top speed.

For example if the power curve of a Sportsman 500 is the most effective operting at 6800 rpm, there is no sense letting it run out to 7200 rpm. Conversely we would be leaving horsepower on the table if we only operated at 6400 rpm.

I think that you are on to something with this adjustment.

 

Yeah. I think it is your driven (rear) clutch housing. I just changed mine when I shattered 'em and tore up my belt in the process. Ugly sound...