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Clutching t-cat 1000 2001

12K views 57 replies 8 participants last post by  tcat446 
#1 ·
I have bought a t-cat 2001. have bought 2 degreed timing key,gutted air box, new jets(all sparkplugs are light brown) new D&D helix 60/40, red white seocondary spring, yellow/white primary. I do get 8400 -8800 rpm. if use 035 drive belt i reach 8800, if a good used 020 belt i get 8400. I have studded the track with 144 from studboy 1,500. I tryed it on the lake and cant get more that 154km/t or 95mph. i cant get my belt all the way out on the primary, did mark a line on it, and it have a bit over 1/2 inch before it is all out. Have used 64 gram weights, did change to 62 and no changes in top speed. Did remove the belt and tryed to see if the primary do work, and it does...i have not 100 % perfect rollers on my secondary, but think i should get more speed. my gearing is 23/40, have ordered the 24/39 but so will change later. Have also tryed all available changes at the secondayr spring, with no better or worse result. have also used all from 1 shim to three shims in the secondary, no changes in accelatation or top speed.

Have not checked the alligment and sheave distance..

Have today removed the 60/40 and put the stock back again and shall try it again. it runs like a bad 600..

Does anybody have a idea why my tcat wount go faster???

Greatful for all information.
 
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#2 ·
Check center to center and the alignment before you go any further.
 
#4 ·
Are you sure you are getting full throttle? Pin it and look into all the carbs with a small mirror. Nothing blocking the exhaust such as a mouse nest? What are the values of the stator if you check it in Blaine page. He has all the electrical stuff covered. He even tells you how to check to make sure the key way is installed correctly and not backwards. (retarded ignition).

If your turning 84-8800 rpms sounds like it is turn correctly but have something else wrong. I can tell you on my t-cat I could not get top end because of excessive play on the rollers on the secondary. I replaced the rollers and pins and was good to go. If I were you, I'd draw a line on the primary clutch with a marker and run the sled at top end and see were the belt rides to. Then replace the rollers if bad and re-run it. See what you get. It will take some distance to get the clutches to shift out and have the belt ride high enough on the primary.
 
#6 ·
Is that a speedo reading if so thats only about 85 or less. Thats 600 numbers. What was the lake surface hardpack or snow. I know you want to work that engine but you got a lot of weight in it. I would go back to square one til you see where your speed went. Mid 50 wt. with a stock 57-50 cam
 
#7 ·
You better take the secondary off, and take it apart and remove the spring. Put it back together and see if it opens far enough to let the belt go all the way down. If not you need to undercut the helix or cut the spokes of the cover.

Now do the same with the primary and see if the belt will make it to the top with the sheeves pushed tight together. If not check for some interference or the belt is too narrow. These mechanical issues need to be addressed before you can tune the clutches. Also make sure the engine is not pulling back from belt tension and reducing the center to center distance.

BP
 
#8 ·
Thanks for all help and information. I did change back to stock helix and spring, but same result. Have not new rollers, so have to order them after easter. will take the clutches apart and clean them up. Have checked the tension at engine, it does not move. Have checked the secondary several times, but cant find anything that the rollers are bad. Do see on the helix, the rollers arent going the hole way down, do seems that they have stoppet about a half inch from the bottom of it.

Know it is raining here, a lot and +6 degreeds celsius. Hope the snow is still here when i get my new rollers. So i can test out the information i have got from you..
 
#9 ·
Did find out something today. Did burn my drivebelt, the primary is in bad shape, it can not squise the belt hard enoght. when i did take it of, and dropped it into the snow it went back to normal. So have to clean it up, also the secondry, because it have a lot of burned rubber on know. I have to find out why it not squise hard enought..

Thats why it was no top speed, the primary could not get the belt all the way out.

My english is not so good, so hope you all understand want im trying to explain.
 
#10 ·
Make sure the rollers on the spider are tight and haven't been ground on by the weight arms. See to it that the rollers turn freely and are lubed with a dry graphite of some sort. No spray grease or oil. Check the bushings in the weight arms so that there is very very little side play back and forth on the arms. If there is a lot of play you will need new bushings for them. While its apart look closely to see if there is any small cracks down low in the clutch. If so, just get another uncalibrated clutch. Cheaper in the long run.

If you have rubber on any of the clutches start by seeing that the belt deflection is correct (for the primary clutch). If you have rubber on the secondary clutch rough it up with some fine emory paper (400 grit). I use CRC Brakekleen to take off the rubber. Can get it a auto parts store. Look at replacing the rear spring. They will get weak and the belt will slip. Have you noticed if the clutches were hot? This may be the problem. I would switch the spring and if it is original just buy a new one. Probably shot by now being 10 plus years old if its original.
 
#11 ·
Yes the primary have been hot, also small crack/ marks in the bottom of the primary. Will find a new one to the next season. The rain has taken almost all snow know. Have new springs for primary(yellow/white) and secondary(Red/white). also new weights. Did thought about heelclickers for it next time. How does those work on a t-cat. Did have it on my 98 zr and 600 mountaincat 03 with excellent result. I use 64 gram polaris weight right now, it was 62 arcticcat weights when i bought it.

I have a order at a dealer in the usa, so far i have ordered powderskiis, chrome shocksprings and new rubber intake boots. So know i also will order a new driveclutch, and rollers for my secondary. Do have to wait after may 5 before they can ship, the chromesprings was out of stock. So have some summerjob this time:) also a new reverse will be mounted.

I use carburatorcleaner to clean the clutches, the also work good. Have never used oil or grease at my clutch..
 
#12 ·
I have never used the heel clickers. Some people like them and some don't like them.

You really shouldn't use carb cleaner because it contains petroleum distillates. (oil base properties) You need to clean that off with belt cleaner or CRC Brakeleen. This will dry with no oil base to slip the belt.

It would be cheaper in the long run to buy a new uncalibrated clutch and then use your spring and weights out of the current clutch you have now. Check this out. On sale.
 

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#18 ·
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Auggie @ May 7 2010, 12:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>
Buy the 6 bolt clutch. They are stronger and run cooler.

Auggie[/b]

Me too!
 
#20 ·
You have a 30 mm clutch. Your clutch will not fit the 2002-2004 800 and 900 twins with the 33 mm cranks or the firecat or sabercats either. The Pantera would also have the 30 mm crank too, as yours does. Here is a decent price on the clutches if you need to get one.
 

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#22 ·
If you can find a wide cam arm, fixed pin clutch, it is a better design than the one in the link. The new design has no bushing in the weights to wear out and the weight locks to a larger 5/16"bolt that turns in two bushings in the housing. You need the new weights but the old springs can be used. Since the new weights are physically heavier than the same old weight due to the wider bolt area, you need a new weight that is 3-5 grams heavier to get the same effect. I use 60 gram wide pin weights and a red spring with 0.070" shim under the spring in my 2001 T-Cat. Engagement is 3900 rpm. You need to play with the spider shims and belt spacer to get the weights tucked and more belt clearance to get a solid engagement without belt burn. So far 4000 miles on the clutch and it is still nice and tight. No maintenance yet, just cleaning. There was a change in cover bolts for 2009 that have shoulders wider than the thread. I drilled the cover and housing for the new bolts. This locks the cover to the sheeve like dowels so the towers cannot spread. Now the clutch is very, very strong. Mine can from a triple four stroke, I think. I can take some pictures if you like.

BP
 
#44 ·
Help with setting up the primary clutch before operation

I use XX gram weights and a Red spring with 0.070" shim under the spring in my sled.
You need to play with the spider shims and belt spacer to get the weights tucked and more belt clearance to get a solid engagement without belt burn.
The clutch came with a stepped spacer to set the belt space a spider height.
You can use the old spacer washers of the old clutch.
I set the belt spacer wide (0.070" I think) and reduced the spider washers to one 0.060" to tuck the toe of the weights under until they touched the stops.
This helped increase the engagement speed with the tuck,
and then the belt spacer allowed the clutch to move enough to get the weights out of the tuck position and providing a good belt grab.
A very positive engagement so the belt does not smoke when loading the trailer.
You will need to look at how the weights sit in the clutch with the spring in.
The weights in my clutch did not fully tuck under and seat on the stops at the tip of the weight.
This makes the engagement speed low.
To fix this, I removed the spider and reduced the number of large diameter spider shims to force the arms to seat under and touch the stops.
Doing this raised the engagement to about 3700 rpm.
With the belt on the clutch, there should be some space between the pulley and belt.
You adjust this buy adding or removing the smal diameter washer shims in the post under the spider shims.
I used 0.080 to 0.100" shim to get more belt clearance.
This makes a harder engagement because the clutch moves farther to grab the belt at engagement.
The arms move farther out and provide more force.
I also added 0.080" shim washer between the cover and spring to increase the pre-load. This increased the engagement to 4000 rpm.
:sos: Help with setting up the primary clutch before operation ! :sos:

Is there a "How To" set up your primary clutch ?
I do not fully understand the "Tucking under" thing.

:sledder:
 
#23 ·
To the best of my knowledge they only come in a 33mm form and won't fit the sled he has. Did they start making these in the 30mm series? The physical weight may be heavier buy not at a point of the actual flying weight. The extra weight is because of the wider base of the arm to fit into the newer style clutch with the larger cut out. The only bad thing I see with this design is the small allen head set screw on the weights can and will strip out if heat is not applied to the factory loctite they come with. Can you get us a pic?? You got me interested now.
 
#24 ·
This was interesting reading. If you have possibility to send some pictures i will be very glad. Havent desided yet which clutch i will buy. But with so much work to get a never style on my T-cat i will go for the old 9 tower. I do like try something new, but afraid i cant get it to work perfect.
 
#25 ·
OK here goes. Yes there is a 30mm 6-post wide pin clutch. I bought two off E-Bay from Country Cat. Both are slightly different and came with the ring gear. The first one was brand new and had the proper dia. ring gear. The second clutch was slightly used and had a very large ring gear that I did not need for the Wildcat.

Here is a picture of a Comet 108EXP, my old cracked Cat 9-post, and the first new 6-post. You can easily see which clutch is the best.

[attachment=153816:IMG_0818.JPG]

Here is the 6-post vs. the 9-post.

[attachment=153817:IMG_0800.JPG]

Here is a shot of the large 5/16" pin with lock dimple. The weight has no bushing as it locks to the bolt so the bolt must turn in the dual bushings in the housing. There are two "O" rings under the head and nut to stop side rattling.

[attachment=153818:IMG_0801.JPG]

Here are some shots of the weight installed. Note the wide mounting that stops the weight from rocking sideways. This design will last !!!

[attachment=153819:IMG_1035.JPG]
[attachment=153820:IMG_1034.JPG]

Here are shots of the old 55 gram weight and the new 60 gram wide I used. Note the profile is completely different. There is no documentation of the profiles like in the old service manuals. Someone may have a new manual with some new information to help choose a profile.

[attachment=153821:IMG_1028.JPG]
[attachment=153822:IMG_1029.JPG]
[attachment=153823:IMG_1032.JPG]

I did some research and have some part numbers of new weights and their profile. However, I don't know what the profile looks like.

[attachment=153824:Clutch_Weight_List.xls]

The clutch came with a stepped spacer to set the belt space a spider height. You can use the old spacer washers of the old clutch. I set the belt spacer wide (0.070" I think) and reduced the spider washers to one 0.060" to tuck the toe of the weights under until they touched the stops. This helped increase the engagement speed with the tuck, and then the belt spacer allowed the clutch to move enough to get the weights out of the tuck position and providing a good belt grab. A very positive engagement so the belt does not smoke when loading the trailer.

BP
 

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#26 ·
I have readed the tread many times know: SO Bigpussy which clutch do i have to buy to make my new clutch as strong as your is. I want this new 6tower, and also have it tuned correct.

I also look for the shift lever kit for my reverse, did buy a new gearbox to my thundercat, but the handle was missing.

i will buy a clutch that is in the link, but not sure if my reading is good enough. I Buy one of this new 6tower clutch, buy som new clutch pins, and drill the holes(and place the new style weights). Then i need new pinscrews for the clutch cover.

Is this correct?
 
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