[Smoyer523]

Any help would be appreciated. my arctic cat 4x4 500 is having problems with its clutch. My quad is revving super high and loud and barely moving. The primary is spinning, opening, and closing at top rpm. No power at all. Quad has 27" tires and a speedwerx clutch kit. Thing ran great and was a monster until all of a sudden it wasn't. Had to be towed home. I have rebuilt the primary and secondary. Everything seems to work as it should other than. The needing to rev it out to make it creep across the garage floor. Any information on what you think the problem is would be much appreciated. I need to get this back up and running.

 

[Farrix]

Done an oil change lately?

 

[Smoyer523]

All fluids were changed 260 miles ago. Not sure on the hours. But all look clean.

 

[Farrix]

Who selected the oil for it? was it wet clutch safe oil? JASO-MA or JASO-MA1/JASO-MA2 oil?

sounds like wet clutch might be slipping inside the drum but normally it makes a horrendous noise.

Is the belt housing full of water? I assume you rebuild primary and secondary after getting towed home so there shouldn't be water in it.

 

[Smoyer523]

I dont recall the oil off hand. It hasent made any noises at all. I really don't want to have to tear the whole thing apart if I don't have to. Are you suggesting that I do a full oil change? What is confusing to me is the machine was running strong and then all of a sudden nothing.

 

[Farrix]

If you did the oil change yourself and used automotive grade oil that wasn't wet clutch safe you could have toasted your wet clutch... and oil change might not help.

How far did you make it before the problem happened?

Check your rear driveshaft... did you try it in 4wd? I've seen rear shaft splines strip on an old honda and it would grab just enough to barely move.

 

[Smoyer523]

All fluids were changed 260 miles ago when I bought it. Haven't had any signs of power loss or anything until bam. Nothing. If I have to pull the wet clutch I will. But didn't want to have to go that deep right now.

 

[Farrix]

Find out what oil is in it, if you paid someone to do the work they should know, if you did it yourself you should have a jug somewhere empty or otherwise.

 

[Smoyer523]

It was 10w-30... not for wet clutches.... ugh... what parts should I get besides the clutch. Would I need the one way bearing? Or should mine still be ok? I guess we are going to be tearing into that now.

 

[Farrix]

Ok, is there a Suzuki dealer nearby? @doorfx can confirm i believe that is a suzuki vinson 500 engine in your machine, a wet clutch and gasket through suzuki will be substantially cheaper than an arctic cat dealer if that is the case. Personally I would get a gasket for that case side, your belt housing gasket should be fine and re-usable, but the next gasket in will come off in pieces.

in my opinion-
1 wet clutch,
1 wet clutch housing gasket
Oil Filter
get 1-2 oil changes of the cheapest wet clutch safe 10-40 dinosaur oil you can get (some guys use Rotella i believe for the JASO MA certified oil)
get a jug of the good 10-40 oil you want to run.

You will need to inspect the "wet clutch housing" or i like to call it a drum because that's what the wet clutch grips inside of and turns like a drum brake, housing is such an odd term. hopefully it survived the fallout, light grooving should be ok, but if there is any major wear or damage or burns then you may need a new one.

In my opinion, if it was me, I would dump the oil that is in there now out, refill the engine with cheap wet clutch safe oil start the engine build oil pressure, circulate the oil, dump it,
If you are paranoid repeat this again.

Once you have flushed the oil out 1 or 2x I would drain the oil and split the case open to start looking at problems. don't forget to swap your oil filter.


when your new wet clutch comes in they are supposed to be oil soaked for a certain amount of time (i think its a few hours, i was away so i soaked it for a few weeks) if you start soaking new wet clutch the day before you plan to assemble it, you should be ok.

if you clean everything out really good while in there the 1 way bearing is oil bathed and is not concerned about what oil it is bathed in, just lubricant. it's the friction modifier in automotive oils that toasts the wet clutch.

 

[Farrix]

I literally just did all of this to mine, but I went a bit overkill, did my wet clutch, housing, one way, gaskets, seals, the clutch housing bearing, timing chain, head gasket, etc etc etc... don't go that far if you don't need to, 0/5 stars the whole process sucked.

 

[doorfx]

Yes It is a Suzuki Vinson engine. Automotive oil with friction modifiers is bad for wet clutches. If the drum is really bad, have it turned at a machine shop.

 

[Smoyer523]

Thanks guys! I will try to get all of this gone through this week and see where we end up. Hopefully the drum is all good still. So much for a cheap fourwheeler! After this it should be like a new machine. How many miles is the engine good for before a topend or a timing chain is necessary? I know it wasn't beat before I got it. But at the 3600 mile mark now.

 

[Farrix]

Honestly, the suzuki engine will run on hopes and dreams, my 400 sat for many years before I got it, the rings were seized up and having issues, I ran it from 2400-4600 miles with virtually no piston rings left. at 4600 during the rebuild I had to go .5mm overbore from cylinder damage... it was still running like a top, still making power. i took it in cause i felt like i should. so long as the oil has circulated regularly and stuff isn't rusted/seized inside that engine will go quite a ways, im at 8500 miles now, when i was in there last month no marking on cylinder, no wear on rings.

 

[Krom]

if you have any question about the one way bearing, or either of the surfaces it runs on, throw the bearing away.. Most people won't notice it is gone

 

[Smoyer523]

Clutch is shot. Anyone know the gasket part number? Or can I just rtv that?

 

[Smoyer523]

 

[Farrix]

Don't RTV the gasket, the gasket thickness helps the spacing between the wet clutch and the drum. you can find the arctic cat number on countrycat.com, or a suzuki number by looking at bikebandit or something for parts. Sorry to hear its toast.

 

[Smoyer523]

All needed parts should be here Monday. Too bad they aren't here for the weekend.

 

[Farrix]

did you go through suzuki or cat?