My "new" Hustler

[Brentd27]

Greetings all! This past Sunday afternoon I made a 3 hour drive up to Denton, Texas and purchased the Hustler previously owned by garrett1308. I've been wanting an AATV for about 30 years. I saw MAX advertised in the back of Popular Science back when I was around 8 years old and thought it was the greatest thing ever. Now I finally have one! She needs a little bit of work, but I've got big plans for her. I have always loved being outside and especially bass fishing, but I have a genetic mutation that has wreaked havoc on my bones and walk with a cane now. This Hustler is going to let me get back to enjoying the things I love to do. I can drive down to the pond, right into the water and putter from one side to the other to get to all the good fishing spots that I'm too limited to get to otherwise.

Needless to say, I'm pretty excited. One thing I want to do, though, is find a better, quieter way of propelling the machine in the water since it will be mainly a fishing vehicle. Maybe mounting a trolling motor on the back or something with a steering rig up front... We'll see. I'm open to any ideas you guys have.

Without further ado, here are the pics of the old girl up on the trailer. She'll get a name once I get a chance to spend some real time with her and get a feel for her soul.

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[ARGOJIM]

Good for you, and good luck with it.

I'd name her "get that dang muffler out of the waterline" for now of course, move a muffler higher and out the side or the back of the top where it won't melt it.
They say people did a lot of "experimenting" back in the 60's and the 70's and that may be proof right there.

[Mudmax]

Nice hustler the body looks pretty nice on it.

[Brentd27]

Good for you, and good luck with it.

I'd name her "get that dang muffler out of the waterline" for now of course, move a muffler higher and out the side or the back of the top where it won't melt it.
They say people did a lot of "experimenting" back in the 60's and the 70's and that may be proof right there.

Yeah, that muffler is going, first timthing. Lol. It's not connected to anything anyway. Somewhere down the line, a little Tecumseh 12hp was stuck in the back.

She needs a new clutch, too, but I'm wondering about a torque converter since I'm reading that they're better for low speed operation. Any recommendations?

[Brentd27]

Well, I've learned quite a bit over the last few days. Finally got around to doing some work today. Got the engine pulled and pulled the clutch off. Unfortunately, I can't get the clutch open. There are parts rattling around inside the housing, and what looked like spring hooks poking out between the dome and the outer sheave. The clutch says "Comet Industries" but no model number. Can anyone tell me what I have, and which direction it should turn? Any clue on how to get it open?

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Oh, and my engine doesn't have teeth on the flywheel, so no conversion to electric start. What would be the value of a 12hp Tecumseh engine?

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[TravisW]

That appears to be a Comet 40 series primary clutch. It's not going to spin like the secondary clutch, rather it uses a system of rollers (aka cams) and springs to push the inner face of the part farthest of the engine inward, and grips the belt in the process. I've never dealt with one personally so I have no clue how to take it apart. But it's a very common clutch, so disassembly videos should be everywhere on Youtube. After looking up the diagrams for this clutch I learned the only moving parts are the cams and springs, so unless a piece of the clutch housing has been broken off and is making your rattling sound, it can only be one of those two things. Once you get it apart and find out what the issue is, parts are pretty easy to come by, I've found both the cams and springs on eBay. It was $30 for a set of 3 cams, and $19 for a set of 3 springs. So compared to the ~$85 pricetag of a new clutch the parts aren't bad on price.

Cams: Set of 3 Medium Roller Cams for 40 Series Driver Clutch Parts Go Kart 40C Cart | eBay
Springs: Set of 3 Yellow Clutch Springs for 40 Series Driver Comet Clutch Parts Go Kart | eBay
Red springs (g ive lower engagement for more low-end torque): Set of 3 Red Clutch Springs for 40 Series Driver Comet Torque Converter Parts | eBay

[ARGOJIM]

I would look into a 780 style clutch as what you have does not match the driven as it it much smaller than needed. Next the engine is not mounted where it needs to be, and finally the belt is wrong.
Check some of the other Hustler threads for a belt number and align the engine with the new clutch and there you go.

[Brentd27]

I would look into a 780 style clutch as what you have does not match the driven as it it much smaller than needed. Next the engine is not mounted where it needs to be, and finally the belt is wrong.
Check some of the other Hustler threads for a belt number and align the engine with the new clutch and there you go.

Well, I'm not sure those pics are really representative of the engine position, at least not as it relates to the clutch. I found out once I got the engine out that the bolt that holds the clutch in place was missing, so the clutch was just floating on the shaft. The Belt tension was all that was holding it in the position it was in. I am, however, looking to get a new engine, anyway, so a new mount will probably be necessary.

[xbunsenx]

This is the adjustable mount that I made for my Hustler. I can adjust the clutch alignment and the belt tension.

[ARGOJIM]

If your Tecumseh has a 1" shaft on it, picking up a new clutch from mfg supply and using engine for now will let you shake down the machine before investing a ton in it. You will need to check the threads for a belt number and a center to center distance to go with that. What I seen in the picture was a clocking issue that may or may not be there. ( if the engine is running at speed in the picture disregard the belt issue).
Being sure the engine turns 3600-3800 unloaded and a new drive clutch should move that right along ok. Then once you've done the shake down you can move on to wants and needs.
Not seeing the other side it is hard to say whether it will need a driven clutch spring or not from being 2 stroke, most 2 strokes hade 2 holes on the left side.

[xbunsenx]

This document may help with the belt length.

Comet1.pdf

[Brentd27]

If your Tecumseh has a 1" shaft on it, picking up a new clutch from mfg supply and using engine for now will let you shake down the machine before investing a ton in it. You will need to check the threads for a belt number and a center to center distance to go with that. What I seen in the picture was a clocking issue that may or may not be there. ( if the engine is running at speed in the picture disregard the belt issue).
Being sure the engine turns 3600-3800 unloaded and a new drive clutch should move that right along ok. Then once you've done the shake down you can move on to wants and needs.
Not seeing the other side it is hard to say whether it will need a driven clutch spring or not from being 2 stroke, most 2 strokes hade 2 holes on the left side.

Engine wasn't running at all in those pics. Driver clutch was stuck closed and floating on the shaft. I've got back problems, so an electric start engine is a must for me. I'm shooting for a way for me to keep fishing without having to constantly chase my walking cane, and to really make the water accessible to me again.

[Brentd27]

UPDATE, Decisions, & Question

UPDATE:

So I finally got the old Comet 40 apart. Turns out it was over-tightened, quite possibly by a combined effort from King Kong and Godzilla. A 4-foot pipe wrench and a 1" steel rod with 1/4" keyway opened it up. (See pics below.)

Now I have some decisions to make. Do I buy new springs for the Comet 40 and throw a 13hp Predator in there and call it good, or do I go all out and upgrade to a Comet 780 and a 22hp Predator engine? My wallet is saying "Springs and smaller engine," but my heart is saying "Comet 780 and 22hp. Wallet be damned!"

And now one last question: The previous owner replaced all the inner bearings, but they were installed in a way I would consider backwards. The flange "ears" are toward the axles rather than against the frame leaving a gap between the frame and the "ear". Pics:

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Does this make any difference? I can understand why the were installed like that since the axle is going into the "bottom" of the bearing, but it seems like it would make more sense, from a mounting strength perspective, to mount them with the ears against the frame. Thoughts?

And last, but not least, here's the pics of the Comet 40 and the false drive shaft I made to open it up.

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[Brentd27]

Bearing installation question

Decided to post this as a separate thread since it got kind lost in my other thread... The previous owner of my Hustler replaced all the inner bearings, but they were installed in a way I would consider backwards. The flange "ears" are toward the axles rather than against the frame leaving a gap between the frame and the "ear". Pics:

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Does this make any difference? I can understand why the were installed like that since the axle is going into the "bottom" of the bearing, but it seems like it would make more sense, from a mounting strength perspective, to mount them with the ears against the frame. Thoughts?

[dirtdobber]

Isn't this a 950?