‘14 m8 Clutch question

AC4life

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Had the main bolt on the secondary back off on me at high RPM and by the time I heard it and got stopped it had bent the bolt and scarred the spacer up. I straightened the bolt as much as I could to get it back to the truck. Just wondering if a guy should replace the bolt and spacer or just throw a little thread locker on the bolt, tighten it up and go?
ec2e1b9d96e3641315b6d8625c437e09.jpg
 

tmo1620

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Just replace the bolt, happened to a buddy of mine a few years ago
 

AGGRESIVEZEBRA

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just replace it no matter how expensive those two pieces are they will be much cheaper than the clutch or a belt.
 

ThrottleOps

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Definitely Loctite the new one back in, not sure if you know or not but you can actually ride out without the bolt, ive done it before the belt pulls inwards on the clutch when moving forward
 

Pink-Inc

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Definitely Loctite the new one back in, not sure if you know or not but you can actually ride out without the bolt, ive done it before the belt pulls inwards on the clutch when moving forward

I tried that on my '13. Wasn't happening
 

tmo1620

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I tried that on my '13. Wasn't happening

Weird, when my buddies fell out it wrecked the threads and we couldnt put it back in and he rode it 31 km back to the truck with no bolt, he took it easy but it got out no problem, the panel is so tight to the secondary that it holds it in a good enough place
 

readymedic

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Definitely replace the bolt. Where that bend happened, that will be a weak spot. I have never had that happen on my HCR, I am running a BL 925.. I have never used Loctite.
 

DDrake

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Yes replace the bolt and spacer for sure. Anything bent or scratched/scarred to bad would create unwanted vibration which could lead to more serious/expensive issues. As stated earlier a new bolt and spacer will be cheaper than a belt or clutch. I also have never used Loctite on my clutch bolts. Never had an issue yet.
 

Catrider16

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Yes replace the bolt and torque to specification with blue loc-tite.
I have seen Lund ride a sled some 20kms with a broken primary bolt.
 

Lund

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X2 as above, new bolt and torqued to spec with loctite.
That is also correct about being able to ride a sled with no secondary bolt in place. The primary will keep the secondary in place, the bolt has no stress on it other then during a back shift and that pose very little stress. If they get damage it is usually caused by somebody wrenching on it and not doing it properly. You need to make sure its torqued to specification and not just tight.
 

Pink-Inc

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Weird, when my buddies fell out it wrecked the threads and we couldnt put it back in and he rode it 31 km back to the truck with no bolt, he took it easy but it got out no problem, the panel is so tight to the secondary that it holds it in a good enough place
Yea I know it should have stayed in place. I tried a few times and it kept pulling off the shaft. Not sure why
 

bgraff1

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throw a floating secondary kit on it if you have to buy those parts anyway. better belt life and easy deflection adjustment without adding/removing shims.
 

Cazwell

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Well I was just reading this thread before my revy trip last week, thinking it was pretty wierd to have happen. Well, guess what happened to me.... first day. Lost the secondaraly bolt, I'm assuming it fell out on trail up to cabin. Didn't notice till I heard the aluminum piece bang off one of the clutches on the first incline I went up. Yay.

Well the best advice I can give anyone if you lose the bolt, the track tensioner adjustment bolt is same length, and if your not trying to be a free style rider, the bolt through rear idlers will hold axle in place. I robbed the bolt and used it for secondary for rest of the day!

I too think I am going to go with aftermarket float/belt adjustment kit. This torquing to spec and blue loctite gets to be a pain in the butt. So what are you to do every time you blow a belt or have to add a shim, carry a torque wrench and blue thread locker? Any reccomendations of aftermarket setup? Good bad or ugly?

Thanks
 

Lund

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Well I was just reading this thread before my revy trip last week, thinking it was pretty wierd to have happen. Well, guess what happened to me.... first day. Lost the secondaraly bolt, I'm assuming it fell out on trail up to cabin. Didn't notice till I heard the aluminum piece bang off one of the clutches on the first incline I went up. Yay.

Well the best advice I can give anyone if you lose the bolt, the track tensioner adjustment bolt is same length, and if your not trying to be a free style rider, the bolt through rear idlers will hold axle in place. I robbed the bolt and used it for secondary for rest of the day!

I too think I am going to go with aftermarket float/belt adjustment kit. This torquing to spec and blue loctite gets to be a pain in the butt. So what are you to do every time you blow a belt or have to add a shim, carry a torque wrench and blue thread locker? Any reccomendations of aftermarket setup? Good bad or ugly?

Thanks

Interesting, so explain WHY you would remove your clutches for a belt replacement or because you blew a belt?
Also explain why you would play around with the shim's on the clutch while out riding or even at all. Your clutches are factory aligned and no shim movement is ever needed unless something went wrong. But then you fix what went wrong and not move shims around.
Now as for belt wear, who is actually stupid enough to tear a secondary apart in the hill's to shim for belt deflection..LOL?
Floating clutches and aftermarket stuff isn't going to fix your problem if you don't understand whats the problem.
30yrs as a tech and nearly 40yrs as a rider, most issues with sleds are created. So why would you even consider having to pull it off, unless there is an OMG. Unlikely, no need to pull it off. The bolt came off because it was not torque properly, if it broke then it either got over tighten or you have an alignment problem.
 

Mike270412

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You have to take the bolt out to change belt.
Interesting, so explain WHY you would remove your clutches for a belt replacement or because you blew a belt?
Also explain why you would play around with the shim's on the clutch while out riding or even at all. Your clutches are factory aligned and no shim movement is ever needed unless something went wrong. But then you fix what went wrong and not move shims around.
Now as for belt wear, who is actually stupid enough to tear a secondary apart in the hill's to shim for belt deflection..LOL?
Floating clutches and aftermarket stuff isn't going to fix your problem if you don't understand whats the problem.
30yrs as a tech and nearly 40yrs as a rider, most issues with sleds are created. So why would you even consider having to pull it off, unless there is an OMG. Unlikely, no need to pull it off. The bolt came off because it was not torque properly, if it broke then it either got over tighten or you have an alignment problem.
 

Mike270412

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Interesting, so explain WHY you would remove your clutches for a belt replacement or because you blew a belt?
Also explain why you would play around with the shim's on the clutch while out riding or even at all. Your clutches are factory aligned and no shim movement is ever needed unless something went wrong. But then you fix what went wrong and not move shims around.
Now as for belt wear, who is actually stupid enough to tear a secondary apart in the hill's to shim for belt deflection..LOL?
Floating clutches and aftermarket stuff isn't going to fix your problem if you don't understand whats the problem.
30yrs as a tech and nearly 40yrs as a rider, most issues with sleds are created. So why would you even consider having to pull it off, unless there is an OMG. Unlikely, no need to pull it off. The bolt came off because it was not torque properly, if it broke then it either got over tighten or you have an alignment problem.
Pretty easy to drop shims in the snow due to Cat's awesome clutch design.Or you change belt and it's not exactly the same as the old wore out oneand you have to add or remove shims.Guess I'm stupid.
 

Cazwell

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Interesting, so explain WHY you would remove your clutches for a belt replacement or because you blew a belt?
Also explain why you would play around with the shim's on the clutch while out riding or even at all. Your clutches are factory aligned and no shim movement is ever needed unless something went wrong. But then you fix what went wrong and not move shims around.
Now as for belt wear, who is actually stupid enough to tear a secondary apart in the hill's to shim for belt deflection..LOL?
Floating clutches and aftermarket stuff isn't going to fix your problem if you don't understand whats the problem.
30yrs as a tech and nearly 40yrs as a rider, most issues with sleds are created. So why would you even consider having to pull it off, unless there is an OMG. Unlikely, no need to pull it off. The bolt came off because it was not torque properly, if it broke then it either got over tighten or you have an alignment problem.
30 years as a tech, unless you have never worked on a cat in your life you would know you have to remove bolt to change belt. If that's the case I wouldn't be trying to send out pointers for guys working on their cats. And im.not talking alignment shims, I'm talking the shims to adjust belt deflection, which you also need to remove the bolt.

Any tech that doesn't do any on hill tuning isn't much of a tech. That's where you can find out what works.

Clutches have been aligned and bolt was torqued. A tech would know, many new sleds right out of the crate have poor clutch alignment, and need to be adjusted by the dealer or owner, depending what your dealer actually does on PDi.
 
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