Hey there everyone, tonite I was working on replacing the clutch on my fathers 1990 big bear 350 4wd so that its all set for this winter of plowing. After 15 years of plowing the clutch has finally begun to slip as of last year. So I get the crankcase half taken off that houses the clutch and the flyweights for the semi-auto clutch feature. I got as far as getting the springs off the clutch basket when I hit a bump that caused me to stop. There is a nut on the clutch pack that holds it to the basket. Does anyone know of a way to keep the pack and the basket from spinning when trying to take this nut off? Its right in the center of the basket and like I said holds the pack to the basket. Theres no place to put a drift pin in to stop the spinning. Just looking for ideas, also if its in gear it still spins as there is not pressure on the plates. Thanks to all..

Shane Murphy

 

Yamaha makes a tool to hold the clutch basket while the nut is removed. If you're careful, you can wedge something soft (wood, plastic) against the basket to keep it from turning and hit the nut with an impact gun.

 

I encountered the same problem with the clutch on my warrior. If you have an impact wrench you should be able to get the nut off without holding the clutch boss. I'm not sure if the big bear has the same design as my warrior, but I put screwdrivers in the 2 holes on the clutch boss, and then put a metal pipe in between them and had someone hold the pipe, which keeps everything from moving around.

 

Thanks for the info guys, I borrowed a friends impact and am going to give it another go once the new gasket comes in. Thanks again.

Shane