FOD in the Argo

[Rock Doctor]

I might have missed it, but does your machine have an Alternator? If not, you will want to ease up on the lights. Without an Alternator, they don't put out enough power to run the lights they already have.

I like the 24" Frontier Tires, or if you want to go the Track Route, I have had good luck so far with my Adair Tracks

Upgrading to a 27hp engine was probably the best thing I've done

There are a couple simple Clutch Mods that can really make a difference. Shimming the Primary Spring and changing the PreLoad on the Secondary Spring to hole 1 or 2. (These mods cost you nothing)

I like the new HDI Bearings, and they are a simple mod (especially if you just the the Adapter Kits from Adair)

So many things to try, lol

RD

[gimmegreens336]

First off congrats on the baby, oh and the one coming in 9 months or so. Storage upgrades is one of my big quests. I like to be ready for any breakdown out there. I went with a voodoo tactical rifle bag hung from the front seat rest. 42" or 46" fits perfect. Can carry all sorts of things other than guns and can attach many more smaller pouches. I also made a cloth set up that lays over the trays under the bench seat and down in front of the gas tank, behind my calfs. Again same set up as the rifle bag with many attachments for pouches and such. If you look online for military surplus there are all sorts of bags available. I bought 3 dutch poncho bags that are water proof and 14" long that i hung from the bar the front backrest is screwed to. I filled these with rain gear and a shade cover and a storage cover, gives a little back support as they sit between the front seat back rest and the bench seat. I also got two Swiss ammo pouches again water proof and hung the from the back seat rails on the outside. They sit and cover the argo bigfoot decals. I also mounted 4 Swedish ammo pouches right behind the bench seat in the back area. There are all kinds of surplus bags in all sizes very cheap. another good idea someone had was to take a bucket buddy tool storage system and mount that, found at all hardware stores. I have to get pictures up one of these days. The nice thing about the green argos is all the military stuff matches.

Those are clean and inexpensive ways to solve storage problems, I love the idea thanks a lot dude. Hopefully will hook something like that up very soon!

Push Bar is on my list too. I have used mine like a D9 blazing around a large downed tree last ride. One upgrade I got was the rear bench seat, gives my daughters a better seating and they can use the drivers backrest bar to hang on to. I did get the bigger 24" Argo AT-189 Frontier Tires. Makes it a completely different machine, allot more capable.

And congrats on the future rugrat.

Thanks Dan! I've actually never ridden back there but I've sat while hanging out and it's def not the most comfortable! Is the bench on yours parallel to the front seat? I will probably DIY something like that soon. I feel bad for the fellas that ride for hours with me. lol

I might have missed it, but does your machine have an Alternator? If not, you will want to ease up on the lights. Without an Alternator, they don't put out enough power to run the lights they already have.

I like the 24" Frontier Tires, or if you want to go the Track Route, I have had good luck so far with my Adair Tracks

Upgrading to a 27hp engine was probably the best thing I've done

There are a couple simple Clutch Mods that can really make a difference. Shimming the Primary Spring and changing the PreLoad on the Secondary Spring to hole 1 or 2. (These mods cost you nothing)

I like the new HDI Bearings, and they are a simple mod (especially if you just the the Adapter Kits from Adair)

So many things to try, lol

RD

I didn't know that some didn't have alternators! I assumed mine does but we looked for one and didn't see it. We didn't get dirty and it was dark but that worries the heck out of me. That would be so necessary for my style of adventuring! I like getting into messes and having to winch, and I like power receptacles and lights. Will report back on the alternator deal. Thanks for bringing to light RD!



From today's Argo Adventure:

A track, trails and mud and steep hills - Wolf Island Downs in Reidsville, NC - the park needs a major overhaul, everything is stupid rutted out. It's fun once for a $5 all day pass.


Had to hose her off.




I have a lot of videos from some i-Kam Xtreme glasses of riding. When time comes I'm gonna chop out the boring stuff and show yall some scenery from NC. I appreciate all of you keeping up! Yall ride safe!

[Dan67]

Yup it is parallel to the front seat. It can be removed for clearance if you need to haul a small house out to a cabin like RD

I'm sure you can fab something up that would be perfect.

[gimmegreens336]

Nice! Not too much to it, huh? Thanks for the pics, that is nothing to fab! I do like to haul small houses too so I like the ease of removal. Thanks for the response man! I see you're in SC, are you going to the Busco Beach ride in October? Hope to see you there!

[Dan67]

I'll be there.. hopefully with both machines ready to rumble..

[gimmegreens336]

I'll be there.. hopefully with both machines ready to rumble..

Nice!

[yodin]

I might have missed it, but does your machine have an Alternator? If not, you will want to ease up on the lights. Without an Alternator, they don't put out enough power to run the lights they already have.
RD

I was thinking of getting some LED off road lights, as well as stereo tube that plugs into the accessory plug..I hope i don't need an alternator to run those?? I have a 2012 Frontier,all I can say is I love it.Great fun. I also want a back seat as the kids tend to fly around the back the way I drive the skid steer.

[gimmegreens336]

I was thinking of getting some LED off road lights, as well as stereo tube that plugs into the accessory plug..I hope i don't need an alternator to run those?? I have a 2012 Frontier,all I can say is I love it.Great fun. I also want a back seat as the kids tend to fly around the back the way I drive the skid steer.

I would like a stereo too! I'm still unclear about the alternator deal, I did more maintenance yesterday than I have since I bought the machine and I still cannot locate an alternator. This concerns me as I had big plans for lights and other things that require electricity! Will post more information and questions that arose as time allows!

[Dan67]

An easy way to tell if you have the alternator is to look at the charge light and see if it is on when engine is at idle. If its on.. no alternator.. The brake blower draws allot of current and that has to run to keep the brakes cool. You have the standard 20amp charging circuit that came standard on the FD620 engine. The alternator kit is a 40amp belt driven alternator. I don't have it on my conquest either and they are getting hard to find for the older machines. I am thinking of just adding new LED lamps and unplugging the factory headlights. Also thought about replacing the blower with a newer more efficient blower.

[gimmegreens336]

An easy way to tell if you have the alternator is to look at the charge light and see if it is on when engine is at idle. If its on.. no alternator.. The brake blower draws allot of current and that has to run to keep the brakes cool. You have the standard 20amp charging circuit that came standard on the FD620 engine. The alternator kit is a 40amp belt driven alternator. I don't have it on my conquest either and they are getting hard to find for the older machines. I am thinking of just adding new LED lamps and unplugging the factory headlights. Also thought about replacing the blower with a newer more efficient blower.

This makes sense Dan! At idle, the red light to the far right stays lit. As I rev the engine up it turns off. There is another red light on the left that seems to light up at idle as well, just not as consistently. This light turns off consistently when revved as well. My machine definitely idles low, something I've been searching this site for. It seems to be a screw in the carb that increases idle RPM? I've been searching far and wide for pictures or a walk through, seems easy enough but I've never worked on motors before.

I believe I am going to do the same, unplug (or simply do not turn on) the factory headlights and install new LED lamps. These should be more efficient than the factory halogens so, if anything, I am conserving electricity? At the very worst I can always charge the battery between adventures.

Thanks for the help dude!

[gimmegreens336]

This is the missing tensioner spring:
(Went by NAPA and Advanced Auto on a whim, neither had anything comparable. Ordered extras on the web.. $3.13 a piece, $7 shipping)




Tightening idler chains

Not sure if I did this procedure correctly, the manual called for the loosening of 3 bolts. I was unable to locate 2 of the 3, so I loosened this particular bolt (in the center of the photo) and it allowed the transmission to raise and lower. Is this ok? (1997 Argo Conquest)



Once that was loosened, there are two bolts on both sides of the transmission that you can loosen to raise the trans. It worked, the idler chains slack is gone. I believe I have the recommended 3mm of play now. (Bolt to raise the left side of transmission pictured in the center)





I still have the Argo on blocks, ran out of grease while doing the outboard fittings. Will get tires on the machine sometime by Wednesday and report back on how she drives with tightened idler chains. They were extremely loose!


Also, cannot find a walk-through or pictures for how to adjust the idle on the machine. She revs low, sometimes turning herself off. Any help or links would be appreciated! Thanks!

[trevorakm1]

There is also the same horizontal bolt across the tranny to the front, may want to check it for tight. The tranny actually pivots on this bolt as you raise and lower tranny to tighten and loosen idler chains. Found out the hard way trying to put new chains on. My tranny needed to come down and wouldn't till i loosened that front bolt. Also my bigfoot doesn't charge the battery till the engine revs at 75% power, no alternator, according to the manual. I trickle charge between rides.

[Rock Doctor]

Damn, I had a whole page of stuff written up, but it vanished. Hate it when that happens.
Here we go again, in point form

The red light to the left that you mentioned is your Oil Pressure Light. It will blink on/off at idle.
You want to idle as low as you can, otherwise you will run into Shifting problems

here is a thread you will want to see, as per your PM

http://www.6x6world.com/forums/transmissions/10118-argo-clutches-vids.html

Primary Mod is just a shim under the Spring, mine is made from a 1/8" welding rod, you will see the shim in the vid. Do not put in more than one shim. Do not make shim out of anything bigger than 1/8" material, or you will "Coil Bind" your Primary Spring. This mod will increase the RPM that your Primary engages at.

Secondary Mod. There is a series of holes that you can use for your Secondary Spring. Moving to a lower # will increase the Preload on the spring. I use Hole 1 in my Conquest with the stock Motor, and Hole 2 for the Conquest with the 27hp engine. This mod will make you Upshift slower and downshift faster. You will want to play with it a bit to see what setting is right for you.

I'm out in the bush right now, but if you want I will go into greater detail later.

RD

[gimmegreens336]

There is also the same horizontal bolt across the tranny to the front, may want to check it for tight. Also my bigfoot doesn't charge the battery till the engine revs at 75% power, no alternator, according to the manual. I trickle charge between rides.

10 4! And I believe it will come to trickle charging for me as well. I rummaged up a couple spare lawn mower batteries, hoping to put them to work some time.

Damn, I had a whole page of stuff written up, but it vanished. Hate it when that happens.
Here we go again, in point form

The red light to the left that you mentioned is your Oil Pressure Light. It will blink on/off at idle.
You want to idle as low as you can, otherwise you will run into Shifting problems

here is a thread you will want to see, as per your PM

http://www.6x6world.com/forums/transmissions/10118-argo-clutches-vids.html

I'm out in the bush right now, but if you want I will go into greater detail later.

RD

I just did a ctrl+a then ctrl+c to copy this little post, you are a more patient man than me I get pissed and exit out when mine erase! Big thanks for sticking it out to help!

Thanks again for looking out! I watched both vids just now, it's awesome to see what's inside before jumping in.


I work a lot lately but I will keep at it as time allows! Big ups to everyone that helps, you guys are the s---!

[beagle man]

I think what you have is the port out the back of the machine below the lip for your gas tank vent.