Hi, all [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
I had a small problem with my Xplorer, and thought I might share it, it's likely cause, and the solution. Here goes:

This spring I noticed it didn't backshift like it used to. It worked OK in low, but in Hi, it didn't work properly. If you were cruising along about 10-15MPH or so, and came to a hill, it wouldn't backshift properly. The engine would bog down and really have to labor to make it up the hill. It was like if you were driving a manual-shift machine and was in too high a gear. Now I am not talking climbing mount everest here, I am meaning a hill on an established trail that can be climbed with a 2wd pickup truck, so I figured something was amiss. If I stopped at the bottom of the hill, I could climb it no problem, so I knew it had to be backshifting troubles. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

I talked to the mechanic where I got my Xplorer (Michael) and he asked if I looked under the belt cover. He said to check it out and even pull off the rear pulley if I felt comfortable doing it (no problem, I worked on snowmobile pulleys many times in the past). I found the telltale black dust everywhere, so I proceeded to remove the rear pulley. I blew out all the dust & it looked OK from the outside. I took off the snap ring (be careful if you do this - the pulley is spring loaded) to check out the buttons. The buttons looked fine, so I called back with more questions. Mike said to test the bushings where the pulley haves slide on, as they can go bad (more on that later). To test them, pull the halves apart an inch or two, then try to push them back together by gripping the pulley in only one place (with the spring removed). What you are trying to determine is whether or not the bushings are worn enough to allow the two halves to 'wedge' against each other, and squeezing both sides equally won't allow it to 'wedge' if it can. To make a long story short, mine stuck. Turns out the problem was the 2 bushings where the pulley halves slide.

I had an internal slide-hammer so I ordered the 2 bushings ($19 for both) and put them in myself. Took about a half hour to do and no great technical knowledge, just the proper tools. (Mike said if I brought the pulley to the shop with the cam helix & spring removed, he could replace them in 5 minutes for about $5, but like I said, I had the tools.)

I put the pulley back together (remember to pre-load the cam when you do this) and drove around a while. Guess what, it worked!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Now to the cause - the pulleys use teflon bushings where they slide. Teflon itself can take a lot of heat, but the nylon carrier they use can't. It seems my rear clutch got overheated, and I think I know when.
It snowed about 14" or so of wet, heavy snow this spring when my brother wanted to move cows. He conveniently has only a 2-wd ATV so he wanted to use mine. I said sure, and took my snowmobile to help him. Turns out he was trailing cows through deep, wet snow in HIGH range [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img] I guess this is a BIG no-no. It builds up a lot of heat in the clutches, which is what we suspect melted the plastic in the bushings. If he would have been going 15 MPH or so, not such a problem, but not trailing cows. Low would have been no problem.
The bushings in the front pulley were spared most likely because of the cold weather. The intake on the belt breather is right by the front pulley, and the air was cold enough to prevent damage there. To prevent this from happening again, I plan to give lectures about the proper use of Low before allowing anyone to drive my machine in harsh conditions.

Just for the record, he had his brother in law out there on a Fourtrax 4x4, and my Xplorer did circles around it in the snow. The Fourtrax is a good machine, but performance-wise the Xplorer is just out of its league. (I hope I don't catch it from the Honda owners - heck I am one - and I sure wouldn't ride it in any kind of race against my Xplorer).

So now I have my reliability record at:
Miles driven - 4050
Repair costs - under $20

(I am not counting tire patches as I don't consider them a mechanical breakdown)