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Rebuilding my Polaris sportsman 500 CVT clutches

33K views 24 replies 7 participants last post by  Madman33 
#1 ·
I recently bought a used 2000 Polaris sportsman 500 4x4. The CVT belt started to shred and CVT was making a high pitch whirling noise, so I decided this was a good time to do maintenance on the clutches. I bought an EPI clutch kit and an EPI severe duty belt because I drive through a lot of mud trails. The kit comes with a new (red or orange) spring for the primary clutch to replace the stock (blue) and new CVT weights. It also contains a new (black) spring for the secondary clutch to replace the stock (white) one along with new helix. I noticed the primary clutch buttons were worn to Hell, so I'm ordering new ones and will replace asap. I had to order the spider removal tool, so I could remove the spider to access the clutch buttons. There are a total of 6. I noticed the bearing inside the secondary clutch looked like it barely had any grease inside it. I was considering replacing the bearing or just cleaning it really well and repacking it with grease. Before I re-assemble the CVT, does any one have any advice on servicing this bearing inside the secondary clutch. I can't find this bearing on my Polaris parts layout diagram and I wonder if it's only sold with a new clutch? Being the bike is 13 yrs old, I am pondering replacing the bearing. The bearing doesn't look too worn but the grease inside it looks like crud. Maybe the previous owner got water inside the cvt case or something? Any suggestions how to proceed? I'm new to Polaris, but I am experienced doing ATV repair on my Yamaha. CVT is a new animal for me.
Thanks guys.:suspect:
 
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#2 ·
You're going to want to do the rollers and pins and ask the bushings while you're in there. A complete rebuild kit is about $160-200 depending on where you shop. You also need a holding fixture to hold the clutch while you break the spider free from its 200ft/lbs. Then you need a torque wrench big enough to put it back together, a press and dies to change the bushings, and make sure you mark it all so it goes back together aligned the same way as its all balanced ad an assembly.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the info "RidingAgain"! I appreciate the tip. I will definitely research the rebuild kit u mentioned. I ordered a bearing shown in Parts diagram for the secondary clutch, but I'm not sure if it's the right one. It was only $16, not $60. Part #24 part on diagram is 3585710 Bearing. I attached the diagram I found online and a photo of the clutch bearing still in the clutch half. My bike is the bottom diagram titled A00CH50AB. I just found a Polaris service manual, so I will look up how to remove this bearing. I know they are pressed in. I just want to confirm which side it slides in before I start putting pressure on bearing to pop her out and risk damaging parts. These clutches are expensive and I want to rebuild her the right way.
Thanx again bro!
:bam:
 

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#6 ·
I was talking about the one way bearing in the primary of you have ebs. The one you got its good to replace as well. If one part wears out it can have catastrophic effects on the rest of the clutch. Look at the threes I starred the other day on a secondary that came into my shop. One worn out part led to that mess.
 
#7 ·
OK, I c what u mean now. Thanks. BTW, the previous owner installed a new belt and it was badly worn on one side only. The side furthest from motor. I turned on motor with cvt cover off and noticed the belt looked like it may be out of alignment with clutches. There was about an 1/8" gap between belt and the stationary sheave on drive clutch. When I would give it throttle the moving sheave would then move belt towards the motor and eventually belt would make contact with the stationary sheave. Then it would engage belt like normal. So basically the belt was making contact on the same side the belt was showing excessive wear. I'm guessing this is out of alignment. Shouldn't the belt stay relatively straight between the clutches? As the moving sheave squeezes the belt it makes belt travel higher on sheaves. I'm thinking I need to remove a shim behind the driven clutch so it will in turn move the belt back towards the motor, moving it closer to stationary sheave on drive clutch. Am I right? I don't want to ruin another belt. I don't own the alignment tool, but I can definitely see where the belt rides with the cover off and engine idling. I hate to keep buying specialty Polaris tools. I lucked out and figured out how to make DIY clutch removal tools from a large Bolt and round bar cut the proper size. I'm mechanically inclined but I don't have deep pockets. If I did I would've bought a newer bike. LOL.
I attached a cpl pix. One pic of primary clutch w new wts and spring and one pic of clutches still on bike.
 

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#10 ·
I have an update for my 2000 sportsman 500. I finally finished installing my new heavy duty cvt belt and EPI clutch kit. Bike runs nice now. I had to buy a special Clutch Spider Removal tool to remove spider off the pulley and replace the worn out buttons inside. Now it has new belt, weights, new springs, new helix, and new buttons in spider. I put her all bk together and she shifts into gear without grinding now! WooHoo! The EPI kit is designed for taller tires which I haven't bought yet (27" to 28"). I'm still running stock 25" tires, but plan on swapping for mud tires. This kit makes the bike take off like a rocket! I've only test drove bike up and down street. I need to test it on trails and report how she runs. So far it's very responsive. FYI - Polaris marks all the primary clutch components on one side with a small "X". When u re-install cvt parts bk together confirm the X's all line up on same side. These parts are balanced from the factory and need to be fastened together the same way. Beware, this clutch spider removal tool uses a 3/4" drive! The largest I had was 1/2", so i had to run out to Ace and buy a 1/2" to 3/4" adapter and use my breaker bar to unscrew this beast. I built a jig to hold the shaves in place while I turned unscrewed the spider off. Worked like a charm. I admit it looks ******* as Hell, but Hey, it worked! Beats paying the ATV shop $50-100/hr.
 

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#11 ·
Glad you got it all done. Did you check the rollers the weights ride on when you did the buttons? They wear out and flat spot. But they last a lot longer than the buttons.

Also on a note of the marks, make sure in the future to mark the sheaves with a marker so you get the lines lined back up again. Then you know you got it torqued tight enough. Should be 235ft/lbs.
 
#13 ·
Ridinagain - Yes, I checked the rollers. They looked ok. Thanks for the tip about marking the sheaves. I hadn't thought of that. :fing02:
Thomasj - To answer your question does my bike have EBS, I'm not sure. I think the NEW(er) Polaris models have EBS with one way bearings, but I have the 2000 model. The CVT will naturally slow the bike down when u let off the throttle. It doesn't bring the bike to a complete stop like I'm guessing the new EBS does. I don't have a new bike to compare it to. I didn't see a one way bearing in the primary clutch when I had it apart. When I'm cruising on my bike and let off the throttle it does immediately start to slow down but at some point it feels like it's coasting. I'm guessing it's when the belt is no longer under tension of the sheaves. I didn't drive it with cvt cover off to check. It doesn't coast as bad as my old '92 popo Trail Boss 4x4 cvt. That bike wud roll forever. Polaris has made a variety of different CVTs. They look very similar, but I THINK the new(er) style has what u speak of. Any one can chime in if I'm wrong. This Sportsman 500 is only the 2nd Polaris I've owned so I'm new to the popo design. My other bike is yamaha with semi-auto shift. Different animal entirely.
 
#15 ·
Ridinagain, The older primaries were different.

I was just asking cause if it has EBS, then you have the wrong belt on it. 2000 EBS models should have ribs LONG ways on the belt. The one way bearing in the older EBS clutches had ribs in the one way bearing. It looked very similar to a serpentine belt on an automobile. Here is a thread showing the older EBS primary.

http://www.polarisatvforums.com/for...19-500-wirth-ebs-primary-clutch-question.html

This Shows the correct belt and part number you should be running.

http://www.polarisatvforums.com/for...500-ho-belt-replacement-question-dscn0321.jpg
 
#16 ·
Ridinagain - Hey thanks bro! I didn't know I had the wrong belt on. I did a search online and found EPI sells a Heavy Duty belt which is what I bought. Do u think I could just leave it on there until it wears out? I finally got to ride the bike LONG term and it drives great. It pulls strong in Low or HIGH range and the engine braking works good too. The bike goes approx 55mph in High range and when I let off the throttle it slows down immediately. I'd hate to buy another belt since this one wasn't cheap. Do u feel this one will damage my cvt parts? It fits perfect, just is a little thicker not in width but in height vs. the belt it replaced. BTW I ride in a lot of water trails and sometimes deep mud. How well sealed is the Polaris CVT cover? I siliconed mine shut when I bought it (to waterproof it) which made it a total bitch to re-open to chg belt. This time I just smeared some lithium grease around gasket for added protection from water. Any tips r greatly appreciated. BTW the bike doesn't grind into gear any more since I installed clutch kit. This bike is fun to ride again.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Great catch Thomas! I was wondering the same thing as I read through this thread about if Madman had an EBS clutch or not.

I have an 01 sportsman, so the older bikes do have EBS clutches too. As I understand it , the newer bikes come with EBS as an option......more $$$ if you want it......personally I love my EBS function! Way less brake use and no need to try and work the brakes hard for panic stops. These bikes are heavy and hard enough to try an stop without EBS .

If your primary clutch center pulley is grooved like the picture Thomas showed, then it is an EBS clutch. The belt you have isn't the proper one if that's the case. EBS belts are shorter and rely on the one way bearing to slip and turn while you sit still at idle. Using a different belt won't hurt anything IMO,you just won't get the "slow down" feature that the EBS gives you. As you said , it shifts and works fine so I would say "just drive it!" :) If the belt doesn't move at idle, that's what you want, it shouldn't grind any more when you change gears.
The one way bearing is only used at idle anyways and not at all when your driving, so don't sit still....keep moving! haha!

Hey madman......I made my clutch tools too from someone's idea on this site and they worked perfectly well. No sense spending $250 if you don't have to. It's not being cheap, it's giving you options as to where you spend your money. Personally..... beer is worth buying , not clutch tools if you can make them! :)
 
#19 ·
Kevkules - yea I agree with u bro. Save yer money for beer! Luckily most tools are available online, but I always try to avoid buying any specialty tool if I can get by with shop tools I already own. Well even tho I have wrong belt on bike the EBS seems to be working great. My clutch kit has rejuvenated this old bike. I have noticed sometimes my left front hub seems to lock up or slightly drag when in 2wd. Usually if I jog the handle bars it stops, but I'm wondering if the internal part inside the strut arm is worn. I changed the fluid in it but seems to still engage intermittently. It's weird. I doesn't happen often while driving. Its typically when I turn bike off, put her in neutral, and start to roll her in garage to park it. All the sudden the wheels turn left because the left wheel is locked up and dragging. I jacked bike up, turned her on in 2wd and I had 3 wheels spinning. If I wiggled the handlebars the front left wheel would disengage. Any saving this left Hilliard clutch assembly or do I need a new one? They r not cheap BTW. I did find a used clutch online for sale, but who knows if the used one is in better shape?
 
#20 ·
Mad take the hub cover off an clean inside..may be some junk in there....then refill....I seen on another forum a guy had sorta same issue..took hub cover off an sprayed brake cleaner...then blew it dry.....refilled an problem solved....this spring i will clean mine ....then refill....being yours does it with no power makes it seem you may have some grime in there...
 
#21 ·
Hey Madman

I'm not too familiar with the front hilliard clutches as mine have been working fine so far. (knock on wood!) One of the biggest issues that I've read is what was already stated , to clean them as good as you can. Most of the time it just needs a drain ,refill, ride a little ,drain and refill again , then your good.

I would suggest making sure your connections from the 4x4 switch to the clutches are good and clean. By wiggling the handle bars and then your clutch releases ,makes me think of a weak connection somewhere.

Sorry I can't help much , but I will be watching your thread to see what you find. Good luck....
 
#22 ·
clutch

Hey good ideas guys. I did drain the fluid and add fresh but I didn't think to remove clutch and totally clean her before adding fresh oil. It may just have some grime in it. i will def try this. Since I bought her used I have no idea if previous owner was good about routine maintenance. The air filter was clogged full of dirt dust made me think maybe he wasn't one for maintenance until something broke. Bike rides smooth and has strong motor. This is the only annoying thing about bike, the stupid left wheel sometimes dragging.
 
#23 ·
madman ..after you clean the hubs out an add fresh fliuds...take pod cover off....clean to 6 wired plug that goes into speedo....use electrical cleaner...then add a bit of die electric grease before you re insert it....be gentle taking it out....spray it an use a old tooth brush to clean..do plug an speedo...go lite on the spray to speedo...dont want any seep in as a possibility...see if this help...also clean the 2 plugs on left side i believe on the front diff....clean an grease....

little hint get a can of G5 Deoxit contact cleaner...little pricey but worth it..take a day an clean all plugs an sockets...then grease it....helps keep these gremlins away...good luck..keep us informed....
 
#25 ·
Sportsman Front hubs update

It's been a while and just wanted to report my 2000 sportsman 500 AWD is working good again. I ended up replacing all the bearing and seals in both front hubs and replacing the fluid. My manual says you can use Polaris drive fluid or ATF, so I opted for ATF since I had some on hand and it's cheap. Both sides had a leaky seal and every time I drove in mud water they would fill with nasty mud water contaminate the hub fluid creating a muck stew inside hub and making my front right hub lock up intermittently. I removed all the bearings and seals and the Hilliard clutch assembly. I had to unbolt the A-arm, disconnect the tie rod end, and I removed mounting nut on top of strut to easily pop out the front axles from the struts. I sprayed the Hilliard clutch down with parts cleaner to remove the debris and reinstalled everything, including fresh fluid. She runs good now, but what PITA to do. I pray the seals don't fail again any time soon. These Polaris front hubs are a complicated mess IMO. All is good now tho. Hope my photos help someone attempting to service their quad. Sorry I didn't upload any photos of the clutch itself. FYI; DO NOT disassemble the Hilliard clutch. If you stretch out the retaining spring that holds all the bearings and guts inside it won't work properly. These things are very expensive to replace. Keep your fluids fresh and clean and you shouldn't have to ever replace them.
 

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