How to dry out a wet belt?

[broncofiresmith]

Long story but I ended up in the river and my belt got wet. What is the best way to dry out a belt. I am not sure what happened but the belt seems like it has a combination of water/grease/oil on it. I tried to dry it off but the Swamp Fox doesn't seem like it has any power sense then. I have only rode it a little and it does seem to get better each time but top end speed is decreased. I cleaned the clutch and there seemed to have a film on them. Is there a way to clean the belt and dry it out. If I just keep riding the Fox will that dry it up sooner or later? And any guess on how long that would take?

Thanks

[Bud]

Have you tried belt dressing?

[LarryW]

I wonder if you did something with the clutches too. Like get debris or gunk in them. Maybe try cleaning them up and spraying some silicone spray on the moving parts in the clutches. Normally for me a wet belt will dry within minutes after and be fine. But if there is a greasy oily residue then that could be the problem. I wonder if carb or brake cleaner would hurt a belt? Does belt dressing clean the belt or just dresses it?

[broncofiresmith]

I have tried belt dressing and it didint seem to help. I did notice I am getting higher RPM on the tach then I was before when giving it throttle. I think the belt is slipping.

[LarryW]

I have tried belt dressing and it didint seem to help. I did notice I am getting higher RPM on the tach then I was before when giving it throttle. I think the belt is slipping.

If the clutches are not working right, they could also let the engine get a higher rpm. If there is a grime or something keeping the drive from closeing or the driven from spreading apart it would stay in the lower ratio range. Does the belt seem to get hotter then normal? What if you use the machine heavily like climbing a hill or pulling a load, That may help narrow it down. Normally getting the belt wet is no big deal. The oily grime you talk about is what concerns me. If that where to soak into the belt it may be hard or impossible to remove? It may even react to the rubber in the belt?

[kunzmm137]

I would try to clean it up with carb cleaner, it should break down the oils without hurting the belt. Brake cleaner may be too harsh for the rubber.

[racerone3]

regular ole dish soap and water should cut through and oil on the belt and won't harm a thing. use an old toothbrush to scrub then rinse everything off real well. blow it dry with compressed air, lube the clutches with some dry graphite and you should be good to go