Hello a newbie here and wondered if anyone can tell me if you can change the crank seal on the primary clutch side easily after removing the primary clutch? Thanks for any response.

 

Not on the 700 or 800 engines because both the crank seals have a flanged lip that sits inside a groove in the upper and lower engine cases. The cases have to be split to replace a damaged seal. Bummer I know if you have a damaged crank seal that could be leaking oil! If this happens you might as well check all the internal parts,bearings,etc since you'd already be in there.

 

Here is my problem, I bought this 2002 Sportsman 700 and to make it take off you really have to rev the engine high to get it to move, wasn't as bad in low but still had to be revved up where my 800 will pull a wheelie. I took the belt cover off and it has a dark black oil on everything, don't know where the oil is from. With the cover off I can start the engine and rev it and in neutral the primary will compress and raise the belt up just as it should but when you put it in high gear it will only compress about one half to three quarters of an inch and barely move, in low it will compress more but not nearly as much as in neutral but still has to be revved up but not as high. The primary spring appears to be good so what is my problem??
Where else could the oil be from the transmission? Any suggestions would be extremely helpful on what direction I should go.

 

I have read about people pulling the seal out with the lip on it being careful not to damage the bearing and crankshaft and installing a seal with no lip a skf 13923 seal which is the same dimensions, have you ever heard or done that?? Would a crank seal be a common problem? I forgot to say in my last post that everything was covered with oil upon removal of the cover and the belt looks perfect other than very oily. Thanks for your help.

 

Problem is people can always "rig" a way to do things that may or may not work properly! I haven't heard of this being done,but doesn't mean it hasn't been! To me if a jobs worth doing it's worth doing right! Crank seals leaking on the twins are not a common problem,but you can pull the front clutch and and see if it's the crank seal. If you can't tell just pull the rear clutch,backing plate,clean everything up and crank the engine. Make sure the engine oil is full along with the transmission(the tranny seal could be the culprit on the oil leak)If the engine seal isn't leaking while running it could be the transmission seal is the problem on the oil mess. As far as what the clutches are doing,it's possible you could need clutch work. The drive clutch could have plain bearing wear,glide buttons,etc,along with the the rear clutch spring, worn helix or roller button wear.Plus one other big problem on the early 700 was the Ducati ignition system that could cause problems,cutting out, low power when it's starting to go out. This could be part of the problem?? A good manual will go a long way if you plan on keeping this machine. Here's a pdf manual link that you can down load and look over about the engine, clutches,crank seals,transmission,etc along with any special tools needed. Index of /ORV Manuals/Polaris/Sportsman/2002

 

Thank you for your input. I have ordered the primary and secondary clutch removal tools so I may see what is happening, I just hope it is not the crank seals. If it is the tranny seal is it an easy fix?? The engine isn't missing and is running perfect just cant figure out why in neutral it will compress the front pulley revving it up and wont do it in high gear? Thanks for the link to the manual it will be SUPER helpful as I plan to keep it and it will be my sons so we can ride together. I will keep you posted after I get it apart hopefully the tools will come mid week and I can see as to what is going on.

 

Not usually necessary to have the rear(driven clutch) tool as it will usually just pull off the shaft.If it's the tranny seal leaking it's an easy pop out and pop back in fix.Only thing I can understand as to what you're talking about the clutch is that while in neutral there is NO load on the system and the clutch will compress very quickly and compress to the full limit. While under a load it will not always. Only compresses so much due to what rpm you're at. Hope this makes sense. Study the manual and it will give you a better understanding of the 700. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

I have an 04 700 twin and shredded belt due to cracked clutch faces blew out my crank seal bought the removal tool and pulled clutch found leak and ordered parts when I couldn't figure it out easily I called the dealer and found out they had to split the case to change it properly get ready I think that part of the bill was like 800 bucks and had to remove the engine from machine they had it like 3 days after work started
Sorry to rant but it was long and expensive and annoying