Nicholas Fluhart

So after many years and almost 16,000 miles of service, the main clutch began to rattle. Specifically, it’s the ring gear on the clutch basket for the main clutch. The ring gear is riveted to the basket and over time this riveting (along with the dampener springs) becomes worn and allows the basket to rattle (it sounds much like a rod knocking). Fortunately, I had another basket assembly on the shelf, and since all of the plates were replaced when I built the engine, they were still like new. If you are not familiar with this, below I have posted a picture which shows the ring gear on the back of the basket.

Main Clutch Basket & Ring Gear

I begin the repairs by draining the engine oil, putting the ATV up on a jack, and removing the front mud flaps and other plastic components that may be in the way. Then I remove the oil lines from the engine to the oil cooler. And finally, I remove the clutch case cover and expose the internals of the engine. Note in the picture below, the centrifugal clutch has to be removed prior to removing the main clutch. Sometimes it requires a special puller to remove the centrifugal clutch center before the clutch drum will slide off, however, sometimes you can use a rubber mallet and lightly persuade the drum to push the center off of the shaft which is what I did here.

Clutch Cover Removed

Centrifugal Clutch Removed

Once the centrifugal clutch is out of the way, you can remove the main clutch by first removing the springs and outer portion. This exposes the main nut, and once it is removed, the basket will then slide off the shaft. The whole thing goes back together in reverse order.

That covers my repairs to this thing. Next round of posts will be the upgrades!