i thought i was selling my 1997 sportsman 500 today, so i took it to the car wash and pressure-washed it all down. this afternoon i took it for a little ride and noticed there was oil on the side of the clutch cover and underneath it's soaking with oil around the clutch area? is this water in the clutch? what should i do?

 

It's either seeping engine oil from the seal behind the front clutch or trans fluid seeping from behind the rear clutch,even though they have a foam block behind the backing plate to help stop this.Plus water and belt dust may be a lot of the mess. Car washes are great for getting water in the clutches through the clutch air inlet and air exhaust. OPT

 

what should i do, do i have to take the cover completely off to drain it?

 

If it's oil,then yes you need to remove the cover and clean the mess up. It may have accumulated over a period of time or it may be a fast leak if it's the engine seal. It's easy to change the seal out if you want to.Just pull the clutch,use a dry wall screw to remove the old seal,tap in the new seal. Plus check your oil tank to see if it's low. When it's just water most people just have it neutral at a fast idle for awhile until the clutches start to dry out and can start pulling in low range.The newer models have a clutch drain plug.Item #7 is the seal. http://www.cyclepartswarehouse.com/f...1997&fveh=5443
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i should of seen this post a little while ago before i tried something. here's what i did though: i took the cover off, and the oil drained out. then i sprayed water in it (on purpose this time), then revved it in neutral and let it dry for abit. when i took it out it seemed to be still slipping, it wouldn't go right away but when if i kept on the throttle it gradually got faster until it had some power again. should i have done differently? i worried that there is still some oil residue in there too.

 

Remove the belt and check for any burnt/glazed spots. If you have any kerosene or paint thinner or even some good soapy water, this is the best to clean any oil residue from the belt without hurting it like gas,lacquer thinner,acetone,etc or anything stronger will. Clean it and let it dry out. OPT

 

sounds like you should completely clean the clutches as well to get rid of any oil film. belt dust will stick to the parts and cause more issues later on. imo