Hi guys, I'm new to the forum and really need help. I bought a 2008 Prowler 650 a couple of months ago. It ran good and everything worked on it when I test drove it. The first time that I rode it for a decent amount of time in high, about 4 miles on a road, smoke started coming up from the engine area once I almost got back home. Also, it started slipping and became hard to change gears. So with help from a friend, we started in to the transmission. The rollers had flat spotted and melted part of each one onto the plate and the sliders were very brittle like they had too much heat. So we replaced the fixed plate and shroud, movable face plate, sliders, rollers, clutch housing seal and bearing, and belt. I cleaned the belt really good with soap and water before we installed it. We drove it around for a few minutes a couple of times and it ran great. The first time that I rode it for a decent amount of time again, which was about 30 minutes in low in the snow going up and down a hill, the same exact thing happened. Smoke started coming up from the engine area, it was half way up the hill and just stopped. The engine would rev up but the machine wouldn't move and you can hear like a ping occasionally like it wants to go into gear but can't. It is also hard to change gears again. To say the least, I am beyond frustrated! We haven't opened it back up yet to see if the same thing happened to the internal parts yet. So I am asking if anyone has had anything like this happen to them or if anyone knows what is wrong and how to fix it. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Clutch, Transmission, Belt Problem??
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First off Welcome to the forum, great members and great help! Sounds like it is time for a new belt. Many here on the forum swear by the factory belt. I use an EPI extreme duty belt on mine, and do not see any improvement over the stock belt. Check your plate surfaces to ensure the are clean and smooth, make sure there is no trace of oil in the clutch area. The belts are pretty durable, but from what you describe it is time for a new one. AC clutch rollers are identified by color, I think yours are 21 gram rollers, but check the parts book. Several manuals are available for free downloads. Also look in the frequently asked questions on this site. Again Welcome! RD
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Welcome to the prowler site,,when you pull your cover off see how high your belt is riding above your secondary pulley should be close to an 1/8 of an inch above pulley....I also use a EPI extreme duty belt,but I think factory belt is a good belt also...make sure you are using low range when riding up steep hills or pulling a load....mine is a 2006 I only have 2000 miles on it but I have never had any clutch issues,the prowler has a great clutch set up.You might want to look at your wet clutch.....................
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bucky go to the top of the home page and click on the faq it will give you the link for the manual down load.
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welcome to the house Bucky .. hope you issue is minor and you fix'er up quick to get in some fall riding.
BTW .. fill in you signature lines and location so later on when you ask a question we won't have to ask a question to answer yours .. find the space to fill in in your profile page
BTW .. fill in you signature lines and location so later on when you ask a question we won't have to ask a question to answer yours .. find the space to fill in in your profile page
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Are the Air In & Out ducts clear? How does the spring on the secondary look? Is there any trace of oil in the clutch housing, I understand that you replaced the seals. Is anything dragging, such as; brakes, front differential, rear differential, ??????. Sometimes the parking brake will hang up, check the rear mounted caliper. I smoked a belt on mine when the fixed plate nut backed off, I now install a new nut after 2 uses, they are cheap at 3.50 each.
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Good point about the in/out ducts for the trans. I suppose if there was a blockage (really to either one and you'd get no flow through there) it could get hot enough to melt the rollers. Then, once that happens, I'd say belt damage would not be far behind. Curious as to what you find out.
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Flat spotting the rollers is caused by heat, a lot from using high gear instead of low...............
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I burnt up a belt after overheating. You can overheat and burn up a belt before your light comes on. After it happened to me a second time, I realized that my new Aluminum side skid plates had cut off most of the air around the Engine [clutch]. I drilled 2" holes in it and problem went away. I also learned the hard way to make sure all fragments were out off Clutch intake/exhaust ducts. There are a lot of great guys here who have helped me a lot. I'm sure someone will figure it out. Good luck!
Ok guys. We took the clutch cover off and there was a lot of oil inside. The weird thing is that the rollers are a little discolored like they were starting to get hot again. The belt looks fine. I guess the oil is from a seal? We checked the exhaust tubes and they are clear. I know I'm probably not explaining this the best but does anyone have any advice from this?
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There shouldn't be any oil in the clutch area so finding the source of the leak should be your priority and you say a lot of oil, how low is your engine oil? If oil got around the rollers I could see them getting discolored. Could there be a crack in the case?
Have you tried jacking the rear up off the ground, and running it a "little" in place with the cover off to see how the transmission reacts? You are okay to test it a little in place, but you don't want to go driving down the road with the cover off.
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Check the spacer for wear, mine had a groove worn in it. The seal is very easy to damage when installing, check to make sure it is fully seated, and not distorted. Oil in the case will allow the belt to slip, and also add a lot of heat to the components. There is a O-ring that could also allow oil into the outer case. Like suggested, check the case for cracks. Used cases can be found on ebay if needed. I have a seal driver set, but like to press them in instead of driving in with a hammer. I heat the case with a heat gun before installing the seal. Check a parts book for the components I spoke of.
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I would have to say you have a seal leaking..........
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