me again...you know the single mom just trying to help her kid out - I just want to know if there's anything one can do to prevent belts from slipping in the poloris, from reading on the internet it sounds like they're kind of famous for this. His last one was completely chewed up. What causes this???[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]

 

Mom, I don't mean to be no help, but a little more information is needed.
What model do they have?

Does it have low range? (the most common cause of ruining a belt is not using low range when going through mud, hillclimbing, and such)

Does it slip after going through water? (might need a new belt cover gasket, or sometimes splashing through water too fast can get the belt wet from the spray)

I am careful about using low range when necessary, and have found the best way to cross water is slowly, about 5-7 MPH, with steady throttle, and have gotten 5000 miles out of my original belt. Hopefully, with a few more details, I can help your kid do the same.

 

Water might be in the crank-case.

 

Might be a clutch alignment problem.

 

He has a '98 400 explorer and yes it does have a low gear for mud, etc. I'm not sure what he was running it in when the belt came off, he just said it was chewed right up. Prior to that him and his friend were taking it through some snow, that's all I really know.

 

umm??? Well the other day we stripped the bike down to take off the electric start as it's shot so we were hoping to get it fixed, but it's really shot, anyhow we took off the clutch plate (???), and gently tried to move the piece with the arm on it as that is threaded on....anyhow once we realized that's not going to work and we needed a puller we just managed to move the belt cover casing on the back enough to get our tools behind and remove the starter without removing the clutch. But now since we put it all back together we are getting a loud clanking sound coming from the clutch area. Everything seems tight and it never used to make that sound prior to us playing around with it. Could we have moved that center piece with the arms on it just enough. Is this what you're saying out of alignment is???? Sorry I have another thread on clanking sound which explains this probably better. But prior to us touching it there wasn't no loud sound. The belt went prior to this

 

Dispite the popular reviews of the Polaris belt slipping, it is not normal nor typical. Their is a very logical reason the belts are doing this.

1. The vents are either letting dirt in form a hole or even through the vents themselves.

2. The clutch cover seal is letting dirt in.

3. The clutches are not properly aligned or may have parts were out or broken.

4. Not using low range in heavy load situations.

5. May be as simple as a defective belt(s). (not likely)

Don't just chalk this up to normal because it is not. Their is a reason for it, just need to figure out what it is.

 

Mom, here is one possibility:
If the snow was powdery, it could have gotten sucked into the housing. The belt is cooled by drawing air through a vent, and out an exhaust. If the snow was powdery, and the kids were having fun blasting through drifts, some of the swirling powder could have gotten sucked into the vent. Once in there, it melts on the belt/pulleys because they are warm from running. A belt that gets wet slips. It can slip enough to shred the belt, even if nothing is technically 'wrong' with it.
What you have to do if you suspect the belt is slipping (after going through snow or water) is put the machine in neutral, and rev the engine to about half operaring RPMs or so for a little while. This will run a blast of air through the system, hopefully drying things out. Now put it in low, and see if it still seems to slip. If all seems OK, drive it around in Low for a while, to give it time to get every last bit of moisture out of things.
As for the clanging sound, more info is needed. Does it do it all the time? If so, the starter nose may be too close to the flywheel. Just a guess, though.