How about it guys. Put clutch aligning tool on sled, cuz blew 2 belts on ride of 45-50 miles. There is 1/8-1/4 inch out of alignment. Question is do i loosen motor and move? Or do I shim behind Secondary clutch to move out? Any suggestions greatly appreciated
clutches don't align
- Thread starter tmaiwa
- Start date
sorry to disagree with you rooster but here are my thoughts.
I adjusted my secondary so that I had at least 1/4 inch of side to side float (with the alignment right in the middle). My thinking was "what can it hurt", the clutches will always self align from the side forces from the belt onto the sheaves of the secondary.
It seemed I would always lose a belt at WOT after a long pull - mostly say drag racing and staying WOT as I was approaching max speed. (this is the highest stress your belt will see (large diameter of front clutch small diameter of rear with maximum turn of the track per engine RPM.
I always had problems blowing belts so I compensated riding "softly" and always cooling the clutches any way I could.
Two nights ago I was dreaming/thinking about sled problems and it occured to me...what happens is the on and off throttle will cause the secondary to float side to side. there is some dynamic (I'm sure if I thought long enough about it I could figure it out) that will drive the secondary to the outer most point. Most likely has something to do with which clutch sheave moves and the belt will follow that sheave (or something like that) in any event, the secondary moves to the outer most point.
when you apply full throttle and the clutch is misaligned the side force of the belt on the sheave actually rocks the clutch on the jack shaft (think of trying to push the secondary clutch in by only pushing on the top - it locks onto the shaft, the harder you press the more it locks into place.
not only is the clutch misaligned but now its at the outer most point and the cantalever effect of the clutch being at a max distance from the support bearing will allow the jack shaft to deflect more than usual and the secondary cant realign because the shaft is bent and the clutch would have to move up hill - if you understand my thinking.
the manual says align offset (the secondary side to side with a max of .060 side to side float) then align the clutches within parallel the primary clutch may be angled forward up to .060" (no negative aligment) then adjust belt deflection with shims in the secondary. the center to center should be close to 12.5" .
good luck to all.
spomey
I adjusted my secondary so that I had at least 1/4 inch of side to side float (with the alignment right in the middle). My thinking was "what can it hurt", the clutches will always self align from the side forces from the belt onto the sheaves of the secondary.
It seemed I would always lose a belt at WOT after a long pull - mostly say drag racing and staying WOT as I was approaching max speed. (this is the highest stress your belt will see (large diameter of front clutch small diameter of rear with maximum turn of the track per engine RPM.
I always had problems blowing belts so I compensated riding "softly" and always cooling the clutches any way I could.
Two nights ago I was dreaming/thinking about sled problems and it occured to me...what happens is the on and off throttle will cause the secondary to float side to side. there is some dynamic (I'm sure if I thought long enough about it I could figure it out) that will drive the secondary to the outer most point. Most likely has something to do with which clutch sheave moves and the belt will follow that sheave (or something like that) in any event, the secondary moves to the outer most point.
when you apply full throttle and the clutch is misaligned the side force of the belt on the sheave actually rocks the clutch on the jack shaft (think of trying to push the secondary clutch in by only pushing on the top - it locks onto the shaft, the harder you press the more it locks into place.
not only is the clutch misaligned but now its at the outer most point and the cantalever effect of the clutch being at a max distance from the support bearing will allow the jack shaft to deflect more than usual and the secondary cant realign because the shaft is bent and the clutch would have to move up hill - if you understand my thinking.
the manual says align offset (the secondary side to side with a max of .060 side to side float) then align the clutches within parallel the primary clutch may be angled forward up to .060" (no negative aligment) then adjust belt deflection with shims in the secondary. the center to center should be close to 12.5" .
good luck to all.
spomey
Spomey, you are exactly right. The problem with trying to let the clutch align itself is that when under power, the clutch is locked tight against the key and will not slide to align itself, so wherever it happened to be when it coasted to a stop is where it will stay. It might be in alignment and it might be off by 1/4 inch. Align it where it is supposed to be in the first place, and don't hope it will do it itself.
D
diggerdown
Well-known member
The secondary should float a little. The theroy of once lined up , always lined up , doesn't work. Your motor twist on the mounts as you put power to it, the clutch will float, even while under power, to help to minimize the misalighnment caused by the engine torque. The clutch will move in and out on the shaft because it is turning and not in a static position when the pressure is on it. !/4" each way is far too much and will wear the keyway out rather fast. 1/8 to a max of 3/16" The M series have different style motor mounts to try to help eliminate the changing alighnment problem, but they still have more belt problems than the floating secondary.
I have my secondary floating approx 1/8" but i also moved my motor into alignment and added the black magic torque strut!!! I would say you need to do both since the 1m's had a motor alignment issue, add the torque strut and you will be good to go!!! Its kinda like puting a bandaid on a chest wound by just floating the secondary alot!!! Sooner or later you will blow a belt and take the crank out of phase then getting the motor right and adding the strut wouldn't have been such a big deal!! 
