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Polaris P85 Drive Clutch

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Ron

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what about doing the old hydrolic method of getting the clutch off? I have never done it but know some people that have???


I lost an 80 poo belt last year on the 1200 runnin across a lake, probably gunna try out some 115's this year (If I can afford them!)

Have tried it with oil but didn't feel it was as good as heat for removing a stubborn clutch.
 
I
Nov 27, 2007
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what about doing the old hydrolic method of getting the clutch off? I have never done it but know some people that have???

Had to use the hydraulic method last year when putting elec.start on the g/f's 03 xc800. Using the regular method, there were no signs of the clutch wanting to come off, even bent the puller tip and it started to mushroom. (This was with a liberal dab of grease too)

Then put the sled on its side, wrapped puller threads with teflon tape, filled with water. Did not have to put a lot of tq to the puller before the clutch smashed into the belly pan with considerable force.
 
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Ron

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P85 internals

Some picures of the P85 in stages of spider removal to shim belt side clearance. Lock nut removal & tool above the nut.

002-2.jpg


Spider removed with the removal tool above it. The shims on the right are between the spider and the shaft. Adding or removing shims increase or decrease belt side clearance as mentioned in the write up.

003-4.jpg


The clutch face, spider & outer cover have an anignment X that stack during assembly. This returns the clutch to the original position so that the clutch stays in balance.

004-3.jpg
 
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Ron

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Cont

New weights are balanced before installation. These were very close to the same weight, one was .1 gram heavy so I took a little off to match the others. These are 62 gram weights that all weigh heavy. I'll see how it runs before any concern over getting them back to 62 grams. Most Polaris 10 series weights have been running heavy except those that came on my 09 were right on 62 grams. These are aftermarket weights that I got from Carl's.

005-1.jpg


The weights were sloppy so I added shim washers to the thrust side as mentioned in the write up. The pointer tip is on the washer.

006-2.jpg


The clutch on my 09 came with too much belt side clearance & the wrong washer under the spider. The washer on the left was under the spider & is too large to fit under the recessed portion of the spider so it was tweaked. The washer on the right is the correct size. The spider & lock nut were loose and would not have held long. This is very unusual for a Polaris clutch, first I've seen. When putting the spider back take care to make sure the washers stack in place without binding. I usually hold the clutch up at a 45 degree angle so that I can watch the washers as the spider tightens against them. The picture in the previous post shows the main shaft with a washer in place-pic with the alignment X's.

013-1.jpg
 
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Ron

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Correction

I've been saying that setting belt side clearance tighter starts your sled in a lower gear the same as less belt deflection. This is wrong & I left out an important point on side clearance-the affect it has on clutching. (Thanks Carl's for the info) As you change side clearance you also change the starting position of the weight on the roller & the "shift" of the clutch. This is why a well tuned clutch setup starts to "lose ground" as the belt wears & improves with a new belt. If you run a clutch kit it's important that you stay close to the vendors spec on side clearance for the kit to function properly. For years .020 has been the standard for side clearance. I've been setting mine closer to .010 so start out the season narrow. I'll check after I get the sled broken in to see how much belt wear has changed things.
The 911 cover & side clearance adjuster option will only change side clearance since it pushes the clutch face toward the fixed sheave. It will allow you to keep SC tuned but also move the weight up the roller so clutching will still deterioriate with belt wear. I wan't considering the 911, not sure there is room anyway.
 
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Clutch balancing

Clutching wrap up-Balancing the final step. Before sending my clutch to a machine shop for final balance I went over everything carefully.
First I weighed the cover bolts to see how close they were to the same weight. My bolts varied by .15 grams, not a lot but double that if you reinstall on opposite sides. So I balanced my bolts & put number 1-6 on each installing counter clockwise from the spider with an X.
Next I installed my new weights from Carl's & rechecked belt side clearance. I indexed the outer clutch to the fixed inner shaft for future reference. Then If I ever change belt side clearance I will know where the outer clutch repositions in relation to the final balance. The black line is the original point centered on the X helix tower. The new position is about the same distance to the right of the balance holes-not yet shown on this pic.
005-2.jpg


Next I added some small O rings to the slack side of the weight bolt to stop the side to side slop.

001-7.jpg


Now that the clutch has all internals balanced & has the weights and springs I'll run. Next I took it to in for rebalance. The machine shop balances in three steps. First is a rotational balance (static) of the front of the clutch. Second is the same static balance of the rear portion of the clutch. Third is the entire clutch in a dynamic balance-end to end-a check to see that the entire unit as a whole is in balance. The balance machine isolates the front of the clutch even though it remains assembled & then the rear. My clutch required only minor material removal...factory holes on the left are deeper than the new holes on the right.

003-1.jpg
 
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Ron

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The fixed portion of the clutch needed 2 small holes almost opposite of the factory holes-this seems to indicate that the factory took off too much when they balanced the clutch.

004.jpg


Belt side clearance ended up at .015, in between the .010 I usually try for and the .020 that Carl's tunes my kit. I'm guessing that I will be close to the .020 by the time my sled's broken in...say 250 miles.
 
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Ron

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Nice Write up RON great pix refs to look at...

Who does your balancing and are they 100% "in house" on thier work?

What kind of price?

They sound very thorough

Joe's Machine shop in Boise. Joe's been doing clutches personally for 30+ years, $40. I think he does all of Carl's machine shop work. He has a lot of equipment, most of it old, few if any employees.
 
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rab

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Hey Ron

good write up just one question have you used those O rings before on the clutch pins or is this the first time,

I would seem to think that if the pin is not allowed to move a little it will corode in the bore and removal may be difficult

but if it has been done before then its OK
 
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Ron

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Hey Ron

good write up just one question have you used those O rings before on the clutch pins or is this the first time,

I would seem to think that if the pin is not allowed to move a little it will corode in the bore and removal may be difficult

but if it has been done before then its OK

I have not done this before but I can still turn the bolt with my fingers so it's not very tight. I have run other bolts that tighten against the tower & won't turn in the past. Then it's just more important to lube and clean the weight bushing more often. No corosion, no sticking bolts noted. I'll keep on eye on the O ring and post if I see any problem.
 
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Dec 20, 2007
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I have not done this before but I can still turn the bolt with my fingers so it's not very tight. I have run other bolts that tighten against the tower & won't turn in the past. Then it's just more important to lube and clean the weight bushing more often. No corosion, no sticking bolts noted. I'll keep on eye on the O ring and post if I see any problem.

Ron,

Do you know what the torque spec is on the bolt that holds the primary to the crank shaft, off the top of your head? 09- D8.
Thanks In advance
 
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