Sandblaster said:The grove is the issue, it keeps the belt from dropping and causes hard shifting. Dealer took one look and said it was dust issue. They see groves like that after thousands of miles, not 500.
That's not a dust issue... Coming from the snowmobile world, it is not uncommon to see grooves in the Primary Clutch. Alot of that would be a combination heat (Belt slipping due to not enough squeeze on the belt) and Polaris may be using a hard compound belt. That's not a sand or dust issue. You can tell by looking at the black ring at the top of the Primary. This means your belt is slipping on top end. More weight at the clutch may help that scenario. Your dealer is guessing and obviously has not tuned or played with alot of CVT's.Sandblaster said:The grove is the issue, it keeps the belt from dropping and causes hard shifting. Dealer took one look and said it was dust issue. They see groves like that after thousands of miles, not 500.
My Yamaha Apex snowmobile had grooves on the Primary @300miles and they are still there. Yamaha uses a very hard compound belt. But they last for ever. I would think Polaris is using something similar. Just for a quick test. Pull your clutch covers and go do a quick blast down a clean road. Stop and touch the clutches and tell me how hot they are. If you can't touch them, then the clutching is poor in it and that is half the problem.Sandblaster said:Very interesting guys. Remember only 500 miles on this clutch before hard shifting issue started. If it is not caused by dust then Polaris sure missed the setup and if that is the case why is not everyone having this issue at 500 miles? Seems Powermaxx relates this to dust as well.
As my dealer stated, those grooves are not unusual but after thousands of miles of normal use, not 500. Again the shifting issue started on the same extremely dirty ride, the dirtiest I have every been on, that was the final straw for engine failure. I know for sure when the hard sifting started and it has not gone away with idle adjustment and other normal checks. Something happened on that ride to cause the hard shifting. The groove is the result and cause. I removed a couple of hands full of larger particles that the pre-filter stopped from the air filter box. The clutch was not protected and had to have lots and lots of dust ingestion. Must have been like sand blasting. The belt is softer then the metal so what did the abrasive dust do to the belt? Cause and effect. There is just not doubt in my mind of cause and effect on this one. It has taken time for me to fully understand what happened.We are working on this problem too.
When it comes to dust, this is extremely fine, very abrasive pumice dust from volcanic activity that is layered over Eastern Oregon.
Sandblaster said:That is the problem. Sometimes it shifts perfect then it takes spells of grinding the gears bad. Has gotten so bad have had to kill the engine to get Reverse without grinding. Have not see the 1150 as the correct idle speed. What I have found is between 900 and 1300. The idle is high 1100-cold and low 1200 - hot. The groove is keeping the belt from dropping all the way down at idle I believe. I would like to know more about the 1150 as the correct idle speed. Where did you find that figure? If that is what is factory, then I will adjust accordingly.it would have to be spinning the secondary at idle
agentzoey, can't do as the clutch is at the dealers. Nice test. Think I will try that when I get the new clutch back. Would be good to rule this out or if it is an issue, correct it.
Lots to learn on these clutches. Thanks for the comments and education.
I think it may have been in one of the threads about removing the limiter spacer. Someone found a step on the shaft that made the pulley catch--but I can't recall if it was at idle or max speed.Hoodlum said:The groove will not keep the belt from dropping down....If your primary is spreading apart like it should,the belt will go to the bottom....I would be looking for something in the clutch that is binding or causing some friction that is causing the clutch to catch....Can't remember who, but someone had a problem with the clutch binding a while back....
Hoodlum