Max II with no torque

[dgroff85]

Try pushing forward with slight pressure on the sticks. Maybe the springs aren’t putting enough pressure on the forward bands.

String tention was good and moving sticks forwards does nothing. Even tried adjusting the trans to spec.

[dgroff85]

Not necessarily. Reverse in the t-20 has a lower gear ratio. Poor belt tension and/or worn belts cause a higher gear ratio as the primary clutch is allowed to advance prematurely compared to the secondary.

Try watching this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O93KhW6pW7c

The video is about tuning clutches but you can see how the belt sticks above the edge of the secondary at idle. You should put your machine in neutral and run it through the rpm range watching how the belt advances. Notice on mine the distance between pulleys does not change.......if you have those crappy stock rubber motor mounts yours will. This screws up how the clutches work together.

I’ll take a video this weekend, even ordered another belt as its directional. I’ll even try it on backwards. I found a 2013 max IV with the 27hp motor, 178hrs for 5800 I might buy and cut my loses on this max II before it drives me craz.

[dgroff85]

Ended up being belt deflection. Thanks everyone.

[Rusty-Gunn]

Buggyman1... Can you please share a bit more on alternatives to ATF Type F, and how it relates to heat and of better quality fluids?
I have noticed the heat from our T20 on long hot rides. What type of fluid is beneficial in this case?
Also, 1.5 quarts instead of one? I wasn't aware whis can be done. Thanks.

[thebuggyman1]

chrome-extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/http://www.lifeautomotive.com/pdfs/history_of_atf.pdf (Chrome browser PDF)
As for alternatives....anything synthetic.....if it costs $4/qt or less, it is not synthetic.....$8/qt and up it probably is. Type "F" fluid dates back to the 1960's when Borg Warner invented the T-20. That is just what was available then.
If all we needed to worry about was friction/lubrication we would use 80-90 gear oil. ATF cools too! Synthetics hold up to heat better than conventional base oil. All oil expands when heated and too much fluid can expand/foam so if you get fluid coming out of the vent plug that means you got too much oil in there(or just plain old too much heat). Some people have eliminated the stone vent plug and opted for a paper vent filter similar to a car tappet cover......hopefully raised a few inches too for splash effect.
Back in the early 2000's GM had a lot of trouble with the AWD transfer cases and the fact that they constantly shifted wore out the fluid in about 15-20k miles. The fix was a better fluid....and that is what I've been using.

[Rusty-Gunn]

Thanks. Something to think about.