Stuck primary clutch

[Melfjord]

Can't get my primary clutch off.
Got stock oem puller, and it keeps bending.
Tried boiling water on clutch
Tried teflon tape on stock bolt with water
Triedpounding the end of the puller
Tried heating the shaft and inner sheave with tourch.

Its a brand new 2020 850. and the clutch has never been off before ( and prob. never will)

any tips?
seen a video of some dude putting bread inside the clutch

 

[TDR]

When you use water you cannot use the stock bolt. You need a bolt the same size as the puller.

 

[tuneman]

Careful heating things. You can melt roller spacers doing that.

Put you sled on its side. Fill the crankshaft hole full of water. Put lots of teflon tape on your puller threads. Screw it in and start cranking down. Wedge a long steel rod in the side of the clutch to hold it steady. It should pop with a 1/2" ratchet cranked as tight as you can pull it. Sometimes it takes a hammer tap on the end but don't beat the crap out of it (hard on bearings). When it pops, it'll REALLY pop, so be prepared. Wear safety glasses, and again have your sled on the side. It helps hold the water and prevents your clutch from flying across the room (yes, it will fly off).

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

When you use water you cannot use the stock bolt. You need a bolt the same size as the puller.

This is correct. Trying to use the OEM bolt is just forcing waterto compress into the end of the crank. The factory bolt trick only works on ski-doo's.


I have an OEM puller with the bottom ~ 4" cut off (the tip had cracked. Use lots of teflon and water This will force it of. This and large 1/2" drive air impact takes off every clutch. It can be incredibly scary when it does pop a stuck one off.

I do this with the sled laying on the mag side, clutch up. Also make sure to leave a belt on as well as wear glasses and gloves and lean all your weight down onto the impact. When a really stuck one comes off it can lift you off the ground or will launch the clutch across the shop if your not careful.

 

[Pickin’ Boogers]

Also make sure to leave a belt on as well as wear glasses and gloves and lean all your weight down onto the impact. When a really stuck one comes off it can lift you off the ground or will launch the clutch across the shop if your not careful.

Never thought to leave the belt on - so simple!

 

[Sheetmetalfab]

A cordless 1/2” 18v makita impact has worked much better for me than my $1200 snap on 1/2” air impact.

Same deal with the cut off clutch puller, teflon tape and water (or acetone) to pop off a stubborn clutch.

 

[Pitabroed]

With the OEM puller, tight it up pretty hard, then use a hammer to knock carefully at the side of the bolt head (not towards the engine).
And knock, rotate clutch 90 degrees, knock, rotate an so on. Retighten the bolt when needed

 

[Melfjord]

filled it with grease. used a china puller from ebay that had it end broken of. cut it shorter. thed had teflon tape on. this time i could feel the puller give me more resistance (the thin end would just allways give in). tighten it real good, then a smack with the hammer en "pop" damn that made me happy, best feeling this week . have tried for couple days now.
Thank you all for the replays guys

 

[Teth-Air]

Wow, impacts and hammers? I do not like using those on a crank. I tightened one clutch puller so much that it tore the clutch in half. I let the dealer pop it off for me now. This time I asked them to pop it off my 19 for me to service it and they told me at the same time they will take a look at it. Shortly after I got a call that Polaris was replacing the clutch under warranty. Glad it took it to them.

 

[Toad face killah]

Ive always been weary of the water method. I don't know, water next to my engine seems kinda weird with rust and all. Is there anyway to screw up the water method? seems better then beating on the puller while its up against the crank.

My puller is slightly bent at the tip. Should I cut off a couple inches so its never used again unless its for the water method?

 

[Sheetmetalfab]

Ive always been weary of the water method. I don't know, water next to my engine seems kinda weird with rust and all. Is there anyway to screw up the water method? seems better then beating on the puller while its up against the crank.

My puller is slightly bent at the tip. Should I cut off a couple inches so its never used again unless its for the water method?

Your engine sees a LOT of water when cruising in the snow. ?

Cut it off and enjoy it’s increased effectiveness.

Acetone will not cause rust and evaporates if ya prefer.......

 

[DITCHBANGER]

isopropyl is also a good choice instead of water

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

My puller is slightly bent at the tip. Should I cut off a couple inches so its never used again unless its for the water method?

DO NOT use a puller that has a bent or damaged TIP. I am in the process of helping a friend extracting the exploded tip of a puller form the end of his crank and massaging the the threads which were damaged in the process. I can assure you a little water on your motor is a lot better for it then what happened to this buggy.

 

[BeartoothBaron]

^ Exactly. Many aftermarket pullers will bend the tip if the clutch is at all sticky, and once that happens, it's worse than useless unless you're going to cut off the tip and use the water method. Also agree that water isn't going to hurt anything in there. If you're worried about it, you can use pretty much any liquid that seems reasonable. My only concerns with which liquid is used are possibly damaging the crank seal and adjacent plastics if it's an aggressive solvent, and the mess you'd have if you used oil. Whatever you do, make sure you clean the crank snout and taper on the clutch before you put it back on – ideally with brake cleaner. Having caused unintended damage by using solvents on unrelated projects in the past, I'd personally be more comfortable with water or isopropyl alcohol than anything else, but I think you'll be ok with any of the above suggestions.

 

[FatDogX]

Or............

It's brand new, take it the dealer and tell them to take it off. That way if something happens, its' on them.

 

[Toad face killah]

Thanks guys for the good info. Ill cut off the tip and begin doing the water method

 

[simnil]

A remark concerning stuck clutches. Be very, very, very meticulous when cleaning the tapers before reinstalling the clutch again. A single water drop or snow flake on any taper will form a rust spot between the tapers and add to your effort next time you want to take it off..... This I discovered a few years ago when I used to wrench outside.

Something to bear in mind also is temperature differences. If you put a warm clutch on a far below freezing crank, (inside temp clutch, outside temp sled), you will add significantly to the force required to pull it off again.

 

[MKULTRA]

Wow, impacts and hammers? I do not like using those on a crank. I tightened one clutch puller so much that it tore the clutch in half. I let the dealer pop it off for me now. This time I asked them to pop it off my 19 for me to service it and they told me at the same time they will take a look at it. Shortly after I got a call that Polaris was replacing the clutch under warranty. Glad it took it to them.

I wish I had that much faith in my dealer, I would assumed they use the same dirty tricks as anyone when they have a stubborn clutch to remove.

simnil
also both tapers should be immaculate clean before install, not just cleaned with a old shop rag lying on the floor. even the slightest dust stuck in the taper will add wobble.

 

[Reg2view]

99% of dealers simply use impact guns and hammers. It's a time driven business. If they break a stubborn primary it's on them. You won't see what they do to bearings, and if it's reassembled, tapers, snouts, seals.

Water/iso works 99% if done right. Sled on it's side. High quality puller, you get what you pay for. Need a good seal on the puller threads. If it doesn't pop, remove and retape the puller. Take your time. Small, steady increments when tight. Good clutch holder helps going slow. Small side taps on the puller are occasionally, but not often necessary on the poos. Keep the belt ON to stop the primary from going airborne when it comes off. Safety glasses. Clean and completely dry everything before reassembly. Use compressed air. Lots of good advice above.

 

[d8grandpa]

All suggestions above are excellent, the only thing i would add is keep an eye on the threads of your puller if the tip is broke of. I had one and the threads run out before the puller hits the crank. I cut some more threads on the puller but wrecked a couple dies in the process. The puller steel is very hard.