T20 Band adjustment all messed up - need help!

[racerone3]

before you put it back together, pull the drums and bands out. remove the O-rings from the plungers and then push the plungers through the bores to make sure they slide freely. also check the bores for scratches, or groves (they can be cleaned up with a brake hone if need be). Stop by Lowes or a similar hardware store and pick up a pack of #30 O-rings from the plumbing section. When you put it back together, push the plungers all the way through the bore and install the new o-rings from OUTSIDE the case. lube the o-rings with some atf and slide the plungers back in a little. install the c channel tightening the adjuster bolts just enough that the plungers can't go in far enough to let the o-ring fall inside the case. then set your drums back in. (it can be a pita to get the sun gears, plate and thrust washers aligned properly... just take your time).

[tonyk72]

OK, I pulled the problem plunger through the front of the case, removed the o-rings (which looked fine - no nicks) and put the plunger back in. It moved freely in the cylinder bore with no issues. I didn't see any scoring either. I took it back out from the front and installed the new o-rings. I did the same for the other top plunger too. I also measured the thickness of the bands (just for the ones attached to top plungers) and they were both about .1 inches thickness. I tightened the bolt on my top plunger and noticed it still wouldn't come flush. But everything looked good - maybe the band is just a tad bit short or the drum itself is a tad bit thick? I decided to just put everything back together and something looked a bit wierd to me:


It was about 1AM when I did that, fortunatley I didn't struggle to get it like this. After laughing at myself and finally getting it back together the correct way, I adjusted the bands. My problem side is still at most 1/4" total travel - not 5/16". The other side is fine at 5/16".

Should I just run it? Any good way to do a dry run test to make sure nothing will explode?

[demo61x]

lol that sucks, done some dumb **** like that myself before. need sleep!!!!

[amphibious drew]

I have some decent bands I took out of my tomohawk because one band was longer than the others. I could sell you the longer one and an extra one if you want to try them out.

[tonyk72]

The T20 is back in. I was spinning the sprockets in forward, neutral and reverse and noticed that my left side, in reverse, the sprocket has little to no resistance. Is this normal?

[tonyk72]

Update...

Everything all put back together with the MAX up on blocks. I have no reverse on the left, but everything else is operational. From what I know, first thing thing to check is the plunger. I know that the left side pin did look a little worn, but I tested it and it did seem to work. Could I have done anything wrong putting the T20 back together that would have caused this?

[amphibious drew]

did you attatch both ends of all the bands? If the diamond shifters pin looks warn, it's probably the culprit...just my guess

[tonyk72]

I'm pretty sure I got the bands attached. I'll order a new diamond shifter tomorrow just in case that is the issue.

In the meantime, I took the MAX off the blocks and rolled it out on the street and tried to take it out for a spin. I was even more disappointed when I couldn't steer it right or left going forward. What gives?? The steering looked fine when it was up on blocks. I was able to brake either side with no problems. On the ground I was only able to make it go forward and stop. AHhhhhh!

[amphibious drew]

When i put a t20 back together the 1st time, i thought i had the pins in that hold the bands on, but it was only pressed against the center plate. Put the t20 in the tomohawk and out for a spin i went. The pins slipped off and i lost all forward steering. Might want to check and make sure it didnt happen to you. When i took mine apart and put it back together again all was well.

[tonyk72]

I got my new diamond shifter from RI along with a few spare pins today. I am happy to report that the new shifter fixed my problems! Well, maybe not entirely. I learned that the MAX does NOT like turning on dry pavement. I had to give it some gas to spin around and steer. So maybe part of my problems were just a lack of experience driving it...I managed to also get my plungers with a full 5/16" of travel. The plunger adjustment just took a bit of patience. Thanks to all of you and Jay at RI for talking me through my problems!
Now after a few more practice runs up and down the street I'll hit the trails!