I have a 2000 Scrambler 400 2X4. It will not power up hills and really bogs down until I get it rolling. With help from the forum I focused on the Secondary clutch and replaced the 3 buttons, the belt, and cleaned everything up.

It is still doing the same thing however. In fact it seems worse. Could I have missed something when putting it back together? How do I know when the spring has the correct tension on it?

Or... do I have a different problem? Could it be the primary making it act this way? I recall reading something about the clutch making at lot of noise at idle and I seem to have that too.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks!

 

if you did not pre tention your spring)about a 1/3rd of a turn) then it has no tention causing it to act like it's starting in say 3rd gear and no low end.

 

I slid the sheave and helix on and then turned the sheave counter clockwise until it would no longer turn, then I put the snap ring on. Does that sound right? It did twist easily. Should it have a lot of tension?

 

I went back out and took apart the secondary again and this time I was able to turn it clockwise further and I got way more tension on it. The first time the helix must have been in too far and hitting the buttons.

Right away it seemed much better. There was a little lag, but it had power. Now, the problem. After only a few minutes the same lack of power was back. I parked it for a couple of hours and tried it again with the same results. It is now worse than ever. It never gets above a crawl. At least before it would take off after the machine got rolling. Now it will not even take off going down hill.

What is going on? Any ideas?

 

Did you clean the primary clutch? Take it off and through it in the dishwasher.

 

Last I remember, you don't pre-load the Helix and spring, the secondary has a splined shaft. Take the secondary a part, check to make sure your spring ends line up, put a ruler across and the pins should line up, if not toss the spring. Ramp button's have been replaced, check your Helix ramps, make sure your clutch is fully shifting out and the ramps are not damaged. Next, there should be a few shims on the splined shaft to properly align your clutches. Last, Polaris belt 3211077 or equivalent

 

what holes did you line up, you can try all different ways with your tension on your spring, 2 on bottom, 1 on helix, or 2 and 2 or 1 on bottom 2 on helix all depends on what you want your atv to do

 

Thanks for the replies!

I didn't clean the primary. I think I need a special puller to get it off.

On the secondary:

uncertifiedmechanic, I checked the spring ends and they lined up. How do I make sure the clutch is shifting out? I put all the shims back where I found them and I put a new belt on it when I put it back together.

Kerbbirds, I put it back the way I found it, which was 2 and 2. What direction should I go to solve the problem? Also any problem with me putting too much tension on it?

 

I had a similar problem with a 1996 Scrambler at one point. After checking out the driven clutch everything seemed to be okay so I checked out the drive clutch and I ended up replacing what I think was called a moveable bushing. As the clutch moves in and out with rpm this is what it slides on and after it gets worn there is enough play it allows the clutch to jam on the shaft. Any way I replaced it and it solved the problem. I think its like the bushings in the driven clutch when you can see brass showing the surface coating has worn away and the bushing needs to be replaced. At least that is something to check out.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. Is there a way I can tell if it is the primary acting up? A rebuild kit is almost $200 and I believe it requires special tools.