Clutch spacer

[mike bar]

What a difference, I put a washer in behind my clutch so it wouldn't keep hitting on the chain. I had no idea how much faster it would go. For the most part I would be just gawking around so no need to go any faster, just kinda put off doing it until today. I hope the spacer won't cause any long term damages. Is this an o.k. thing to do?

[LarryW]

You put it on the crank before you put the clutch on? As long as the belt is still lined up and you have plenty of threads threaded into the crank, it should be fine.

[Rock Doctor]

You might also want to put a washer of the same thickness behind your Secondary Clutch to get your alignment back to where it was.

..........why was your chain hitting your clutch?


RD

[Roger S]

Probably his secondary is what he shimmed, it was hitting his disc/sprocket chain. I think he's working on a '92 magnum. Maybe someone can explain what happens on those models.. seems like I heard this before..

[mike bar]

Yes you are correct Roger. I am not very good at giving details. It has been like that since I got it. Is there supposed to be one there anyways? Seemed like I was really moving, though Prob. only doing 15 -20 mph.. Have never had the primary off yet . Is it a big job to get it off? What would be the sighns of things going wrong if I don't space it? By the way it is a 90 magnum, if that matters or not?

[Rock Doctor]

I don't know Magnums, so take anything I say here with a grain of salt

My Conquests DO have a "Spacer Washer" behind the Secondary Clutches.

Your Primary Clutch is easy to take off IF it is a Straight Shaft Fit, just remove the retaining Bolt holding it on the shaft (IF IT WAS LUBRICATED WHEN IT WAS INSTALLED).
Might have to help it out a bit with a Prybar...........CAREFULLY

If your Primary is on a tapered shaft, with an "Interferance Fit", you will need a Puller, designed for that Clutch/Shaft.

Consequesces of too much "Misalignment":
Clutches running hot
Short belt life
Vibration

Consequences of "extended" Misalignment
Reduced Bearing and Seal life (Engine and Trans)
Reduced Life expectancy to both Clutches and the parts they contain (Springs, Slider Buttons, ect)
Harmonic damage to associated equipment (Coolant Temp Sensor, ect)
Harmonic Vibes can also cause bolts/nuts to back off or come right apart (Carb Linkages/Fasteners, ect)
(The above Consequences are , admitedly, extreme but you asked)


RD

[mike bar]

Holy crap RD, now you got me scared. That is a good lesson for asking to many questions Just kidding, Thanks a bunch. The guy I got it from had a shop put a new primary clutch on and supposedly line it up but I have found a lot of boo-boo's this same shop had done so, who knows what's right and what's not. It seems to work good but I will try to put a spacer behind it. On another note, I do have a vibration in my tranny. When I rev in neutral there is a vibration, take the belt off and no vibes. Any guesses? Go easy

[Rock Doctor]

LOL
One thing to take note of on your Primary, and again, I'm NOT sure if your Magnum is the same as my Conquests. Anyway, on my crankshaft there is a Radious Shoulder that the Primary Clutch mates against when properly installed (Primary Clutch has an opposite Radious Shoulder). If you just slide a washer on, it MUST be a tight fit to the shaft, otherwise it will ride over this shoulder and do nothing for you. On the other hand, if it is a tight fit and rides against this Radious Shoulder, then the shoulder will eventually wear into the washer, when it wears in enough you will have a very slightly loose clutch.

As for the vibration in your Trans, and this is just a guess, I'm going with it being a "Pulse Vibration" caused by the meshing of the square cut gear teeth. If you are concerned, you could do a simple "Lift Check" on the trans input and output shafts. I've never done one on my Argo's, but would think that any measurement over a couple thou (.002") MIGHT be cause for concern. This measurement should be quantified by talking to someone that actually knows what the original bearing clearances were to begin with

How's that for "Going Easy" on ya?

<Ducks down behind computer desk>


RD

[mike bar]

That's easy enough One of the reasons why I like reading your posts RD is the detail you put in them Very good point on the radius on the shouldered shaft. Could use an alluminum washer and router the inside with a 1/8" cutter. That would be the extent of my machining tools Maybe i can just buy the darn thing. First i'll have to have a looksy. Thanks for now.

[eightwheeler]

just be very carefull with your primary!! it is very hard to tell with the engine still in a machine to tell if its a straight shaft or threaded on type just like a nut, if its a '90 magnum its 50/50 chance its just a strait shaft keyed type primary, when you get the bolt off see if you can look into the hole with a mirror or something to see a keyway.

hope this helps as well

[liflod]

The vibration may be caused by a worn spot on the belt. I smoked a belt at Busco and it acted like you are describing.

[mike bar]

Thanks for the info eightwheeler. I will be sure to go easy. the primary was changed in 06 with 500 hrs on it, according to the last owners records. hopefully they used some anti-sieze. It won't happen to soon with Christmas so close. My P.T. time is nil. As for your theory liflod, you may be right. The belt looks fine. Maybe Santa could throw me a new belt under the tree so I could try it out. I have been running with no spare so it wouldn't hurt. It all started one spring Sunday morning when my wife and I planned on taking the tracks off and drive around the lake. The lake was mostly bare ice with some snow patches which was pretty much slush. I noticed this new vibration about 20 minutes into the ride. We never had much of a chance to investigate as it started to snow with golfball size flakes which stuck to the windshield and blanketed the lake, HIDDEN SLUSH SPOTS.
Lets just say there is not much to hook a winch to out there. Her face was priceless when we fetched up. I couldn't help but laugh out loud. No shovel,just chainsaw and axe we went to shore grabbed some fir boughs and started ramming them inbehind the wheels to get us out of this cement like substance. The axe is not meant for shoveling.
Sorry, got carried away there. I am going to have to tear the tranny apart regardless to fix the low range so if it's not the belt hopefully i'll catch it in the rebuild. If I could just find the right time and enough courage. An Argo dealer quoted $800 over the phone as long as I took it out myself, which is a piece of cake seeing as I already had it out last year.