Symptoms of clutch/belt problems

[BEL]

I have an 09 Yamaha Grizzly 700. How does one know if it has a belt or clutch problem? Thanks in advance. BEL

[does it ALL outdoors]

It will slip, might even smell a burning smell.

Is it dooing something specific to make you think it's on its way out?

[tullfan]

It may slip, it may smell burnt if it has been slipping. They usually don’t slip unless they get wet or contaminated.
Symptoms of a worn belt are usually but not always a hesitation when you just start to move. If the belts worn it is thinner making engagement later as the sheeves need to close more.
You may also notice slower top speed as belt does not ride as high in the primary.
You may also feel it jerky if the belt has a groove worn in from say pulling in high gear instead of low.
What are you issues or suspected issues. We may be able get a bit closer.
It may not be a belt issue, may be a roller, or spring issue.
Tullfan

[redneckwest84]

I’ve not seen a belt worn to the point of being a problem on this style of clutching system, belt problems I have seen tend to be catastrophic where they have gotten brittle and completely come apart. Over 5000 km on mine with some performance mods and lots of clutch work before I had a failure. That’s with lots of dragging a 4’ disc and cultivator around. What kind of problem is it having

[nast70]

Belts can get burned in one spot creating a low spot. When you drive, you will feel the clutches slapping the low spot. Not a good idea to drive it like that for any extended period of time. The belt is the weak spot and will go before any serious damage is done to the rest of the clutch assembly.
On a 700, it will burn belts pretty easily if you gun it with the wheels not able to turn ie: pulling someone out of a hole, towing something large etc.
I had a small rock find its way into my clutch through one of the vents. It bounced around in there and chipped the fan fins. No other damage, but the tiny chips were enough to make a difference in the performance.
The photo shows the old vs the new

[BEL]

Been getting moose out of bush and back home so I am slow at getting back to this question.
In high it is slow getting on the move. Low is fine. Pulling a tub trailer, high is pretty slow at getting going. Low is fine. Used low 4x4 and low 4x4 plus locked up to pull moose out. No problems. No smell, no jerking, no noise. Only high when first giving it throttle. 3000km much of it hunting in wet conditions, especially this trip. I normally use high if moving along over 10km and hour. I use low when going under 10Km. BEL

[redneckwest84]

With the wet clutch setup on the grizzly there’s always some delay in getting a complete lockup of motor to primary clutch as everything comes up to the same speed. If you’ve added bigger or heavier tires that makes a huge difference too, I think a new belt is supposed to ride about an 1/8th of an inch past the edge of the secondary when the belt is sitting all the way down in the primary. Putting lighter weights in the primary helps hide the delay and shimming and machining the primary sheaves mask it even further, but it’s always there especially in high with a load. Could also be a broken or weak secondary spring not closing the secondary sheaves forcing the belt to ride to the outside. With all the modifications and clutching I’ve done to mine I wish I would have just left it stock and used low range more. Maybe that’s just what getting older does.

[BEL]

Thanks for the info guys. BEL

[Drewski Canuck]

What kind of engine oil do you use?

It has to be JASO rated. Simply changing the oil to the JASO rated oil often straightens the problem out. My Baby bro with his 700 had this issue and after the proper oil it cleared up.

Also, did you drain the water line off the belt compartment? Just got back from a week hunt with my Grizz 660 and yes, there is water in that clearish plastic tube off the bottom front of the engine. You may have a wet belt from being submerged that clears up when it gets going.

These belts are basically tight to the clutches. These are not snowmobile style clutches. However the clutches rely on engine oil and if very slippery synthetic, it creates a problem that the JASO oil does not create.

Drewski

[BEL]

I found out early this morning through talking to various people that oil is the problem. Thanks. BEL

[BEL]

After posting this question I received some good info. I decided to change the engine oil to a Josh rating. It is working much better now. Will run it a while longer with this oil then change it again. Again, thanks very much. BEL