P85 clutch kit

[icecarver]

Might should be in clutching but looking for a bigger audience.

Time to rebuild the old P85… I'd like to do it myself so what is the best kit for this project?? I know that I would not be able to balance or adjust sheaves but the rest I can do just for the experience. What say you??

 

[THRILL_SEEKER]

My opinion don't waste your time. You need to have it balanced as well so you might as well have them rebuild it as well. It's not that much more to have them rebuild it at the same time as doing the balanceing. There is a lot of things that can go wrong with something spinning 8100-8200 RPM so I wouldn't want to mess with "for experience" and do it yourself. Back in the early 90's a friend of mine tried same thing and ended up with a hole in hood the size of a watermelon!!! That was enough for me, never want to mess with rebuilding myself!! There are places you can DIY and save some pennies but clutches are not one of them. Do yourself a favor and contact Indy Specialties, best $200 you will spend!! JMO

 

[beamslayer]

You will spend almost if not more for the tools than it is worth . Indy Dan does a great job at a reasonable price plus a quick turn around . I have tried others and it cost me more in the end .

 

[icecarver]

Well, thanks. And Indy is my first choice - handy close. He is, however, swamped until spring/summer. I have a nice rebuilt installed now so I have the luxury of waiting until that time. Just thought I'd like to tinker with it for educational purposes, but maybe not worth it….

 

[AdrenalineAddict]

Why do you need a balance after a rebuild, been rebuilding clutches with great success for 30 years and haven't had one rebalanced yet?

 

[THRILL_SEEKER]

Why do you need a balance after a rebuild, been rebuilding clutches with great success for 30 years and haven't had one rebalanced yet?

JMO but your flirting with disaster without a balance after a rebuild, for that matter even with a brand spankin new clutch. Learned the lesson of not maintaning clutches the hard way. My dad had a 2002 800 RMK that he had clutch rebuilt by local shop with 1500 miles and next year put less then 1000 miles on before lost a crank. Replaced crank and rebuilt clutch again and guess what 1500 miles lost another crank. Replaced crank again but this time sent same clutch that was rebuilt 2 times already to Indy Specialties and rode the piss outta that thing and when he sold the sled in 2012 sled had 10,250 miles with all but the first 2500 on same crank and same Indy balanced clutch. Sled is still around and a high school kid rides it and said still going strong at almost 13,000 miles. Take it for what it's worth but couple hundred bucks is hell of a lot cheaper then few thousand!! JOMO

 

[AdrenalineAddict]

Could it be the third crank was a wide bearing that had nothing to do with the rebalanced clutch? JFFT (Just Food For Thought).

 

[Nooby]

To balance or not to balance ?

Pull a weight off the front tire of your vehicle, take it for a cruise down the highway. You get the idea. Clutch balancing is a very small price to pay for piece of mind on your not so small priced sled. JMO

 

[THRILL_SEEKER]

Could it be the third crank was a wide bearing that had nothing to do with the rebalanced clutch? JFFT (Just Food For Thought).

Negative-all cranks were purchased from local Polaris shop, all were original equipment. Didn't hear about or told about wide bearing till clutch was sent off and 3rd crank was already purchased. I have religiously had clutches balanced and or replaced and balanced ever since and, knock on wood, never had crank issue since. I bet I have less money in balancing new and used clutches then my dad has in just one lost crank. And for the record my dad is a believer in balanced clutches as well and not lost crank since.

 

[DanielWeeks]

Carl's Cycle Sales in Boise ID balances clutches, and has everything in stock to rebuild them. I figure if a lot of the hillclimb racers on the RMSHA circuit and most of your big name guys like Levi Levallee use them, they must be good! Give them a call at 208-853-5550 and they can get you right in. No use waiting, and could probably have it back to you in a week or so. Ask for Timmy in service. Great guy, and very knowledgeable!

 

[Murph]

I agree Carls is a very good shop and build great products..

BUT....

Last time I checked, they do not do the clutch balancing. / sheave cutting in house-- they farm it out to a machine shop.

 

[DanielWeeks]

The machine shop is right down the road from Carl's and they do everything to Carls specs. Does it matter if it is actually done right at Carls? The important thing is that it is done properly, and they do a great job whether it be the clutch mod for the turbo's, or the recutting of the sheaves.

 

[AdrenalineAddict]

Ice,
There's only one way to learn. Purchase the holding fixtures or build them, then only buy the Polaris rebuild kit ~$140.00. When reassembling take care to not damage the internals of the rollers. Slider button to tower clearance should be as close to zero as you can get .001" to .004" is good. Line up X's to keep in balance, Torque to specs. supplied with rebuild kit and make sure you use blue locktite on the spider nut or it will more than likely work its way loose. You will learn many tricks to assembly in your journey to many to explain here. If you can watch an experienced builder rebuild a spider that would be of value. You will need to purchase a small nipper to pull the buttons also. If you give your clutch to a shop to rebuild at $100 to $110/hr. plus cost of rebuild kit you'll only be about $100 below the price of new.

 

[THRILL_SEEKER]

I'm not trying to start a pissing match here but another thing to think about is, $100 for the clutch tools and another $200-$300 torque wrench you will need to torque spider nut to 200 plus ft lbs, $300-$400 just in tools. Do what you wish but for the price of just the tools you can have 2 clutches done

 

[xc6rider]

Also consider what you have to hold your clutch holding fixture! It needs to be VERY stout and solid. I use some of the heaviest tools and shop equipment, that not even our farm equipment requires. Haha.

Ive pulled several nice benches away from wall mounts etc. And dont even bother now, all mine go up to Dan.

 

[SRXSRULE]

My holding fixtures mount into the receiver on my truck hitch Then a 5ft long cheater bar on the spider tool. Works great and no broken Vise or bench!

I also agree its not worth the hassle if your only going to do it once. Eric

 

[retiredpop]

If you follow the procedure and torque everything I see nothing wrong with doing your own rebuild. The clutch is balanced at the factory and are marked with an X on pieces that need to be lined up. Balance should not be affected by replacing slide tower buttons or cover bushing, rollers,weight pins etc. If you re-shim the spider then balance can be affected. That being said if you don't have tools and you are only looking at one time then send it out. If you're going to be in the game for a long time the knowledge you gain from doing your own is invaluable.

 

[AdrenalineAddict]

Another thought is to have a local shop with the tools break it down for a minimal fee, then you rebuild and they retorque. I used to do this all the time prior to building the tools. I can presently break down any clutch with ease after I slipped a 3' chunk of 1" square tubing over a breaker bar, when this bent I found the remnants of a 1/2" cutting edge I welded to the square tubing and 1/2" drive breaker bar. This is what you may have to go through in order to break down a clutch easily. I broke down and built some studly tools because I rebuilt dozens of clutches per season, hard to justify for one.

 

[Laundryboy]

My holding fixtures mount into the receiver on my truck hitch Then a 5ft long cheater bar on the spider tool. Works great and no broken Vise or bench!

I also agree its not worth the hassle if your only going to do it once. Eric

Did you build that or buy it? I've been looking for that type of set up.

 

[SRXSRULE]

Did you build that or buy it? I've been looking for that type of set up.

I built it back when I drag raced sleds so we could adjust belt side clearance at the test track. Eric