Argo creeps forward at idle

[BW3]

If I understand Tim my secondary clutch is not adjusted correctly ...belt is tight between the two pulleys after it runs a bit ... Governor rpm is set at to high an idle ..or at idle so after adjusting the position of the governor arm on the the governor shaft as for the secondary pulley the belt does not sit even with one side higher than the other and out of the pulley about and 1/8th of an inch but tight against the primary pulley shaft unless it sets a bit or is moved by hand and backed off . As I understand it I am to back off the two set screws and readjust to contact the shim but to do this I have to run two screws in the threaded hole which will spread the plates apart and remove the belt ...

Still learning things and I know/understand just enough to be dangerous and or bust things up with my shear ignorance...

Bill G.

I have seen the post powdered graphite and will use that next ,....All suggestions or help is greatly appreciated and welcomed RD

[Rock Doctor]

I was afraid it would or could be a primary clutch issue .....just hate the thought of having to get down into the tight bowels of this beast to pull the engine out just to get the bolt out of the drive shaft .......joy .....the creep/speed gets worst the longer the run time ......


Thank You All guess I will be getting very friend with the lil' beast now for sure ,,,,,
Bill G.

I missed this part earlier. Kinda feel like I've missed half a conversation
Why do you have to pull your engine to get the Primary Clutch off? Your Primary should come off at least anually for cleaning and lube (In my humble opinion).

Also noticed you mentioned Silicone Spray for your clutches. I've had better luck with Dry Graphite Spray for my clutches.

RD

[Rock Doctor]

Could you elaborate a bit on the "tweek" to the Secondary?

I'm far from an expert and just want to understand. The way I understand it, your Argo is creeping forward when it's at an idle. It creeps forward because the Secondary is turning, the Secondary is turning because the belt is being turned by the Primary. There could be a few reasons why the belt is turning, but how is tweeking the Secondary going to help?
Friction between the belt and the Primary Clutch shaft could spin the Belt, or the Primary Spring is weak and allowing the Primary to close on the belt which would make it turn.

Again, not trying to be an ass, just wondering if I'm missing something

RD

[BW3]

Update :
In desperation I emailed Adair Argo and was very fortunate in Tim answering my plea for help and called Adair as he request today we spoke on the phone and it looks very good that my problems will be solved with an adjustment to the governor and maybe a tweak to the secondary pulley.

I am forever in debt to Tim and Adair Argo not only do they make a great product but great customer service also ....

Thank You ...


Bill G.

[BW3]

I was afraid it would or could be a primary clutch issue .....just hate the thought of having to get down into the tight bowels of this beast to pull the engine out just to get the bolt out of the drive shaft .......joy .....the creep/speed gets worst the longer the run time ......


Thank You All guess I will be getting very friend with the lil' beast now for sure ,,,,,
Bill G.

[Rock Doctor]

Is your Primary Clutch actually grabbing the belt and turning it?
If so, you might want to replace your Primary Spring, or put a "Shim" under the spring to increase the engagement RPM

The belt spinning the secondary clutch in idle is common, but a creaping Argo is not, and should not happen

RD

[brushcutter]

My next suggestion is that you find out what the proper belt tension for the machine is. There should be a set measurement and until you are sure you have it right, you will continue to chase rabbits. Not sure on an Argo, but on Max and Hustlers there is considerable deflection (up and down play) in the belt when slight pressure is applied midway between the engine and transmission. On my Hustler it was a total of 3" but the belt was longer than a standard length. Using a measuring tape, I would pull the belt up with my little finger, measure from a set point, then push down, measure from the same point and do the math to get the total distance. This should apply to your machine as well, but you need to know what deflection your machine requires first. It doesn't matter how slow the engine runs, if the belt is too tight, you will continue to have creep.

[BW3]

Choke has no effect on engine RPM.. open or full close ,, No noticeable changes in engine operation when we sprayed Carb Cleaner around all intake areas ... will relay the lean info to the real small mechanic tomorrow we will adjust it back a bit ...as for belt tension it is easier to turn by hand if it is cold .. let it run and heat ? up and it seems to stick more to the drive pulley idle seems stable at this point but not sure of the RPM's ...


Thank You for your help I /we ..(my friend Bruce has a 2000 Argo Bigfoot ) enjoy running the local swamps to much to give up or to damage the beast due to not knowing enough and comparing it to the Bigfoots operation

[brushcutter]

Find out if your belt is tensioned correctly. I tried replying here a couple times but my pc has been trying to get throwed out in the yard the last few weeks by repeatedly telling me it "can't find server at" and other lies. Anyway like swfleur said try spraying carb cleaner or wd-40 on places such as all intake mating surfaces, or any other vacuum areas while listening for a change in engine sound, usually it will "smooth out" for a few seconds if you hit a leak with it.What can you tell us about the machine's history? In other words do you know if anyone ever tinkered with the float? Have you cleared all the jets especially the main jet so that you're certain there is no obstruction there? Did you install the carburetor with the adjustable jets you mentioned earlier? Why do you think the choke isn't working right? That should be easy enough to figure out, is it cable operated? If so, remove the breather cover so you can see into the throat of your carb and see if the choke butterfly moves when you pull the cable. If you are having to run it with the choke partially closed, then you have fuel supply issues, which can be caused by the vacuum leaks mentioned above. Be careful about leaning it out too much, that can blow a hole in the piston or cause other equally nasty things. Sorry to ask so many questions, just trying to rule out things to narrow the probabilities down.

[BW3]

Well we got it to idle as low as we can ... still can't find as yet why the choke does not seem to work .... at this point we are going to run it and see if something becomes more apparent.... for now I have been able to run it in high gear at a very low /slow ground speed and it handles well with just a bit of creep and not the 2-3 MPH creep as before , have also leaned out the gas mix as much as we could the only issue I have other than it shifts hard still is that after she warms up the creep ,,,very slow creep now returns if you shut it down and turn the secondary pulley by hand it is much harder/tighter than when starting cold ...wonder if I dare put powdered graphite on just the shaft area of the drive pulley and not the sides if that would work .... it almost seems like the belt is sticking to the sides as it heats up .... either way I am going to run it as it is and see if we must adjust anything again


a.k.a hairless

[swfleur]

you may have belt and drive issues but - you mention choke acting strange and idle - I had machine that would act strange when the air filter assy got loose or if it got even a little bit dirty in the air intake- then it was a loose carb sucking air in -the it was a dam crank seal leaking bad enough that it messed with the pressurization inside the engine - I found this by spraying the choke cleaner around the engine while she was running -( not into the carb ofcourse but just around it where it attaches ) if you have a leak - it will suck the carb cleaner in and surge up the revs as the carb cleaner burns off- maybe this is a no brainer but worth mentioning. But as was already mentioned - that dam sticky throttle cable has got me a few times also - good luck and stop pulling your hair

[BW3]

Well still no joy have spent the last couple of days on and off trying to figure this problem out ...got to looking at things and noticed that the drive belt seems tight ... it is a CVTech # B3221AA0900 .... is this correct ? have not found a cross reference to the Argo part # 127-159


I am about ready to pull my hair out of my head ....and I aint had any up there since I was 19....a.k.a a long long long time ago

[BW3]

Ok ...short trip but I am at my wits end .. it idles good and does not creep ... let her warm up and the idle increases and the creep comes back ...What am I dealing with ...engine issue ,,, clutch issue , worn belt at 126 hours on the clock or ????????? we do hear a cling from the front clutch (smaller clutch) at idle and if left on long enough the choke on full will let the engine cough a bit as it runs ..a bit rough but still runs ...


HELP !

[dogteam]

Take a look at your throttle cable. Something as simple as rust preventing it from moving freely could cause the high idle condition. I only mention this because I just had to replace the cable and had the same problem because I had it adjusted too tight. Sorry if this is "too obvious" but I'm new at this and that was my first lesson.

dt

[BW3]

We finally got a chance to see what was/is going on with the Argo ... Thanks Brushcutter found that screw you told me about .. it was not what I was expecting but so figured it out ... we think we have it idled / adjusted the best we can and it no longer creeps forward but we felt that it is/was not shifting very well ...One thing we did not do was check the transmission fluid condition when we first got it we checked only the level .... Today we took a good second look and found it did not look / smell very good ... so we have changed it ... I hope that the very green ,,,brown ,,,,gray... light weight oil (?) does not mean we have a major problem and that the correct weight oil will improve the shifting ...It almost looks like the oil got to hot ....time will tell ...