Clutches and Belt Tension?

[Dan67]

I need some help here with some understanding of what should be happening with my 950. When the engine idles, the belt should not be running. Only when I rev the engine should the belt climb up on the driver and move the driven on the T20. The faster the engine spins, the driven should open and move closer to the driven's center?

Right now when the engine idles, the belt is spinning the T20. When I move the laterals forward my 950 moves forward. Its easy to shift from forward to neutral and back to forward, but does not want to go into reverse, so I stopped messing with it.

Is my belt too tight? I'm not sure if the clutch is pushing the belt out or not. If that's the issue how tight/loose does the belt need to be?

[thebuggyman1]

ATV and Snowmobile Belts - by Dayco
At idle the primary will be spread wide enough so that it doesn't touch the sides of the belt. The inside surface of the belt, no matter how loose will still touch the center shaft of the clutch making it spin with little force. Some primarys had bearings or bushings to minimize this force.
Can you see your primary to make sure it is not squeezing on the belt? Or take a stick (wood is soft) and put some pressure on the outside of the belt as it wraps around the secondary clutch....It shouldn't take much to stop it from spinning. If you like your fingers, keep them away from the moving parts....please, and safty glasses are never a bad idea.
My guess is this is NOT your problem or it would be hard to shift to fwd also.

[racerone3]

Dan, I had that thing set up with the belt pretty tight. (that's just my preference on how I run machines) you can slide the engine forward a little to loosen it up. (getting to the LR engine mount requires long arms and being triple jointed). Also, make sure the choke is pushed all the way in. That engine will pick up RPM's with it pulled out.
you can also spray some belt dressing, or dry graphite lube on the clutches and belt to help them slip at idle and it won't hurt anything when driving.
One other thing I forgot to tell you. On the shift lever under the seat it has 3 detent positions. forward and neutral line up well, but reverse is a little off (my bigfoot is the same way) I just shift the lever till the T-20 is in reverse, but don't force it all the way to the detent on the lever

[hydromike]

Welcome to the support group, Dan!

I also have a Hustler, and it uses the same shifter setup as Brian's Bigfoot and your 950. The rods that bolt to my transmission are a little different, but it's still a bit ornery to get into gear sometimes. The detent spring on the shifter could also be about half as strong. Work with it a little bit, and I think you'll get it. Don't EVER force a T-20 into gear by means of the handle, or any other method. Once the shift collar and the drums are ligned up, they'll mesh. More damage has likely been done to T-20s by forcing them into gear than anything. Take a close look at the shifter and the detents when you're trying to get it into reverse. Mine takes a little more push on the button to get the detent bar up into the detent.

Good Luck, and see you in a few weeks at Busco! (right?! )

~m

Holy crap. A few weeks? Ugh.....

[Dan67]

Thanks guys. The Dayco link is very helpful. It looks like the belt is just like Brian had it, a bit tight! I'll let the engine cool off before I go and try to loosen the engine mounts and slid it a hair closer to the T20. Yup you kinda did forget about the reverse detent not being accurate. I picked up a can of Chain Lube at the local cycle shop and have been spraying the chain.

[racerone3]

sorry for forgetting to mention that detent. I had a huge list of things that I wanted to go over with you and I'm sure there will be a few more i forgot. Don't go too crazy on lubing the chain, just get each roller wet. overdoing it is a waste of lube, a bigger mess to clean up later and gives dirt a nice surface to stick to. I usually lube them well after a bath, (and once the chains dry out).
often the input shaft on the T-20 needs to turn a little to help line things up. you don't want it spinning fast, but moving just a little. also, make sure you are moving the laterals back and forth while trying to shift. getting the feel of shifting the T-20 takes some time and learning the "shifting dance" can cause new owners trouble.