Kanedog discovers a Clutching CATastrophy, again. Pics!

jpmez69

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Rode Clemina today. One cat being towed off the hill with a cracked/ failed primary clutch. The guy was lucky though, as it failed close to the main trail by the cabin and not two mountains over. It’s getting deep!
 
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06yamahaapex

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jpmez69

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It shouldn’t cost cat a dime. It’s a team industries issue.

It’s going to be the old blame game...our clutch is fine, it’s your engine causing the failures. It’s not our engine it’s your clutch. Nether one of them is going to want to hold this hot potato. Someone will have to pay at some point
 

Powpowpow

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So does anyone think an aftermarket clutch cover would fix the cracking? Or some people just saying it does
 

snochuk

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So does anyone think an aftermarket clutch cover would fix the cracking? Or some people just saying it does

The covers have a lot of slop around bolt head and they are to light and get weakened during balancing.
Anything stronger/tighter will be better.
Sorry but no warranty on advice.
Still need to balance clutch or else crank end bearing will take a beating at 8250RPM.
 

jpmez69

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The covers have a lot of slop around bolt head and they are to light and get weakened during balancing.
Anything stronger/tighter will be better.
Sorry but no warranty on advice.
Still need to balance clutch or else crank end bearing will take a beating at 8250RPM.


So once aftermarket cover goes on the complete clutch needs to be send out for balancing then?
 

jhurkot

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I’m not really clear on the reasoning for having the clutch cover bolt holes to be that much larger than the bolt. Especially on something getting spun at 8200rpm and subjected to that level of heat. Has anyone measured the difference between the bolt diameter and the cover bolt hole size?
 

jpmez69

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I’m not really clear on the reasoning for having the clutch cover bolt holes to be that much larger than the bolt. Especially on something getting spun at 8200rpm and subjected to that level of heat. Has anyone measured the difference between the bolt diameter and the cover bolt hole size?

The hole size to the bolt dia doesn't matter. The bolts are there for clamping force only. They have no lateral rigidty to help anything else. The step around the cover is suppose to keep the towers from moving outwards at 8200 rpm. IMO the whole clutch is too light in construction and needs a redesign. Cat engine is making good power now and needs a better clutch to go with it. It needs to be more robust and made with better castings.
 
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snochuk

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The hole size to the bolt dia doesn't matter. The bolts are there for clamping force only. They have no lateral rigidty to help anything else. The step around the cover is suppose to keep the towers from moving outwards at 8200 rpm. IMO the whole clutch is too light in construction and needs a redesign. Cat engine is making good power now and needs a better clutch to go with it. It needs to be more robust and made with better castings.

Yup
Both clutches too.
 

dragonweld28

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Im pretty sure its the exact same clutch on the king cat and there is no issues there. 200+ hp. It has a different part number for the difference crank taper, but the rest is the same.

Wonder why there holding up on the 4 stroke but not on the 2 stroke??
 

lilduke

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Im pretty sure its the exact same clutch on the king cat and there is no issues there. 200+ hp. It has a different part number for the difference crank taper, but the rest is the same.

Wonder why there holding up on the 4 stroke but not on the 2 stroke??

Not as many of them around? i hardly see any on the hill.
 

JustinMan43

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Just seen this on facebook. Being that this is on a polaris does this suggest it might be more of a team problem rather than a cat problem??
capture.jpg
 

pfi572

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Is not the primary on a Polaris an in house item or does Team build it for them.
This looks like a primary taking out a secondary.
Belt looks good!

Looks like lack of maintenance to me . Lol
If not cleaned and maintained chit comes apart .
 

snopro

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Let me tell you a lot of BRP 's clutching problems started in 2007 when Team Industries took over building clutches from Rotax. Not a big fan of that company.
 

jhurkot

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Looks like lack of maintenance to me . Lol
If not cleaned and maintained chit comes apart .

The mechanic at a cat dealer told me to check my primary for cracks before every single ride. I have seen firsthand and heard of lots exploding. I took 2 sleds to the dealer with 1000 miles on them and both primary clutches had a crack. I do not think this is a maintenance issue. Important to note that once you explode the primary clutch your engine will fail 3-4 rides later.
 

pfi572

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The mechanic at a cat dealer told me to check my primary for cracks before every single ride. I have seen firsthand and heard of lots exploding. I took 2 sleds to the dealer with 1000 miles on them and both primary clutches had a crack. I do not think this is a maintenance issue. Important to note that once you explode the primary clutch your engine will fail 3-4 rides later.

I believe it’s a problem as well and was commenting on the one pic that was posted .
Stand by my comment on that one .
 

jhurkot

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I believe it’s a problem as well and was commenting on the one pic that was posted .
Stand by my comment on that one .

What do you see in the picture that makes you think that’s why it exploded?
 
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