Yet another broken primary !

[High Velocity]

The primary clutch on my '12 Pro broke in half today. What have others found is the best way to remove it. Carefully using a zip disc to cut the remainder off the crank, or weld it back together and pull it off ? Does the welding put too much heat into the crank seal ? I am set up and able to use either method, just curious as to what route is easiest. All input is appreciated. Thanks !!


Sent from my iPad when I should be sledding.

 

[sledhooligan]

Had a friend who had to use a cut off wheel to get his broke clutch off. But I would try welding some scrap chunks of aluminum in between the shives. That way your not putting alot off heat to the seal.

 

[LoudHandle]

I would try a two or three jaw puller on the sheave to start with and once it has a little strain on it. Take a propane, map gas, or carefully with an oxy/act welding tip warm the steel shank of the hub that is left. This should expand it enough to pop off without cooking the seal. If the sheave breaks in the process then you can reach the inside shoulder of the steel hub.

I would avoid welding on the actual hub as unless you get it off while it is hot. As the weld will cause it to shrink to a smaller diameter than it was originally as well as heat soak the crank stub and possibly damage the seal.

Where did it break? Right where the taper stops and transitions to the puller diameter I'd bet. I'd like a picture if you can get one. When they went from the 30 mm taper to the larger 32? / 33? mm, they likely left a stress riser (sharp corner or non radiused undercut) in there in addition to being a mm to 1 1/2mm much thinner per side. I'll have to look at the new one on the bench and see if I need to polish the stress riser out before installing to avoid this happening to me too.

Be sure to report what worked for you.

 

[azzkicker]

The primary clutch on my '12 Pro broke in half today. What have others found is the best way to remove it. Carefully using a zip disc to cut the remainder off the crank, or weld it back together and pull it off ? Does the welding put too much heat into the crank seal ? I am set up and able to use either method, just curious as to what route is easiest. All input is appreciated. Thanks !!


Sent from my iPad when I should be sledding.

How many miles?

 

[mtnclimber19]

Do you still have warranty? The clutch on my 12 broke when I tried to pull it off at the start of the season for maintenance and cleaning and Polaris covered it under warranty. Plus that way the dealer has to mess with getting the rest of the clutch off and if they mess up the seal or crank that will be covered also.

 

[blackie205]

i have done a few cats and the best way imo to not wreck anything else is use a cut off wheel/zipcut,i first gently broke off the sheves then simply cut the rest was not too bad on either one took a few hrs and made a couple very light marks in crank but very minor

 

[die hard poo]

Ya don't waste your time with a 3 jaw puller, all it does is break the sheave. Mine broke out in the backcountry, and how I eventually got it off was with a cut off wheel on a grinder. Cut two cuts 180* from each other and cut it until the steel turns blue, right before it cuts all the way through. Then I took a chisel and a hammer and broke the clutch shaft off. And remember there's a taper on the crank so be careful when cutting it off so you don't knick the crank PTO. I was able to then clean up the crank with some emery cloth and scotch brite removing any little knicks, and put another clutch on it and ride it out. I had the dealer replace my crank, clutch, and belt under warranty. Here are some pics of mine:

(Yes, I hauled a gas powered generator up there lol after trying to use a cordless-drill with a cutoff wheel)

 

[christian]

safety first! cant ride out with scrap metal in your eye

 

[die hard poo]

Proper PPE!!!

 

[fastmnstealth]

Mine just broke as well. '12 w/ 370mi. Dealer welded it then used a puller. 12th one they've done.

 

[xpx5]

Why are they braking ? Made in Mexico ?

 

[LoudHandle]

The puller is not the key in my previous post. It is just there to put a little tension on it. The key is the rapid heating of the hub to expand it away from the crank stub. This way you are not messing with the taper at all.

In a pinch, I would likely grind it also. But I would protect the rest of the engine bay from the grit and sparks. I have thirty plus years as a career fabricator and am touted by my peers as a master grinder, but I would still go with the puller first. It is much cheaper than a new crank, when no warranty is involved. I myself could likely grind or even torch it off without touching the taper but I wouldn't do that as plan "A".

 

[JLeosnow]

Ya don't waste your time with a 3 jaw puller, all it does is break the sheave. Mine broke out in the backcountry, and how I eventually got it off was with a cut off wheel on a grinder. Cut two cuts 180* from each other and cut it until the steel turns blue, right before it cuts all the way through. Then I took a chisel and a hammer and broke the clutch shaft off. And remember there's a taper on the crank so be careful when cutting it off so you don't knick the crank PTO. I was able to then clean up the crank with some emery cloth and scotch brite removing any little knicks, and put another clutch on it and ride it out. I had the dealer replace my crank, clutch, and belt under warranty. Here are some pics of mine:

(Yes, I hauled a gas powered generator up there lol after trying to use a cordless-drill with a cutoff wheel)

On a side note, what brand/where did you get your black spindles from? I want....

Thanks,
-John

 

[die hard poo]

They are just the stock ones powder coated high gloss black....

 

[High Velocity]

Thanks for the ideas everyone ! I did call my dealer this morning and I'm going to send him a few pics once I get my sled home. It's in a friend's shop and my dealer is 80 km away. Dealer figures it should be covered. If so, I hope they'll also cover the side panel as it has numerous large cracks from the clutch hitting it. Oh well, I guess I was due. 12 years of mountain riding and it's the first time I've been towed back. Believe it or not, even my 900 RMK never let me down.

 

[Taylor]

Uhhhh. I just sold my xp yesterday with the intent of buying a new 13' Pro RMK on Monday.... I really hope this problem was resolved in the 13's.... Anyone know if the problem has been identified and fixed?

 

[High Velocity]

Just got my sled home. Here's a couple pics.





Sent from my iPad when I should be sledding.

 

[jdw1]

What next?

Unreal!

Are you guys stock or modded?

 

[High Velocity]

Mildly modded, nothing serious. I had way more mods and way more hp with my '06 900 and I've never had a clutch break in half. Actually not on any of my other Polaris's. All the searching I've done, this seems to be mostly '12's. Hopefully just an isolated production run issue ?


Sent from my iPad when I should be sledding.

 

[LoudHandle]

Looked at your pics. No stress riser where it broke as the brake is mid-way down the female taper of the clutch stem and they retained the large end radius with the larger taper so really no potential for it to break there. Looks more to me like a fatigue or flexural failure. Likely due to out of spec. steel or inadequate heat treatment of the clutch stem. The flex caused by the function of the drive clutch pinching the belt, continuously bending the stem due to the pinch force of the drive clutch and since there is no belt holding it apart inline with the driven clutch is was always trying to flex that way under load. As it couldn't bend the crank stub protruding into the clutch stem, it flexed exactly at the end of it until it failed, which conveniently is also the thinest spot on the clutch stem. With the proper grade of steel and the proper heat treat it is strong enough to resist this force and live forever but get some sub spec. material or be off a couple points in the heat treat process and you have the potential of disaster.

Out of curiosity is there a manufacture date on the drive clutch? If so what is it? I bought a new one last year and have not installed / used it yet. Just wondering if it is near the same vintage? Thanks!