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I am going to be putting a new clutch in my wifes 400ex, I have never put one in before is there someone who can tell me the steps and anything special to look for. Should I buy oem plates or is there a better aftermarket alternative? Thanks so much :)
www.rockymountainatv.com
sells a TUSK clutch kit that is very inexpensive & high quality....I ran it in my 400ex & loved it. I'd reccommend them. ;) a OEM manual tells you pretty well how to change the pads & stuff...you may need a new gasket:confused:
i have been told that the oem fibers are the strongest ones u can get..they have been proven to last through a whole race season.. its a great idea that u get heavy duty clutch springs too.
oem fibers are very expensive....if you have the money get them..if yo uwant to save some money (about $65 probably) & get some other high quality fibers & plates then get the Tusk ;)
I like the OEM plates, but like the others mentioned, there are much cheaper alternatives. If money is no object, then I would go with OEM components, because to me the stock plates seem to last the longest and they seem to be the easiest on the basket too.
A service manual would help you greatly and will show illustrations of some of the critical steps. Even though I don't have any illustrations, today could be your lucky day, because I've been thinking of writing this up and putting it on my site anyway, so now is as good a time as any to go through it all and write it all down.
1 - Drain the oil
2 - I always remove the rear brake pedal just to give me more room to work, but you can leave it in place if you have the patience to try to work with it in the way part of the time.
3 - Remove the clutch cable bracket and remove the clutch cable from the lifter arm.
4 - Remove the two oil lines at the lower front of the side cover. Be sure not to lose the o-rings or dowel pins from the side cover.
5 - Remove all the bolts that hold the side cover on. Don't forget that the front oil filter cover bolt needs to come out too, as it goes all the way through the side cover and into the center case. Also, for your convenience, lay out the bolts in the exact pattern that you take them out, this will make the process go a lot smoother when you put it all back together.
6 - To get the side cover off, you'll have to turn the clutch lifter arm (what the cable hooks to) counterclockwise to get the spindle to release from the lifter piece as you're pulling the cover off. So be aware of this before you start trying to yank the cover off.
7 - Pull the cover off. If it's never been off before, you may have to hit it with your hand or tap it a few times with a rubber hammer to break the gasket loose. Don't lose the dowel pins that align the side cover to the case and don't lose the three o-rings that are in the lower front portion of the case.
8 - Loosen the 5 clutch spring bolts in a criss-cross pattern to prevent the spring tension from warping the pressure plate. Do the loosening in several steps, loosening each bolt just a little bit and then going to the next bolt and loosening it just a little bit. When they're all completely loose, pull out the bolts and springs. If the bolts don't want to loosen without trying to turn the entire clutch, just put a ratchet and socket on there and tap on the end of the ratchet handle with a wrench or something to break the bolts loose quickly.
9 - Pull out the pressure plate with the small lifter piece still in it. The lifter piece can come out, so don't drop it and lose it. Pay attention to where the outermost fiber plate is positioned, it is in a small groove in the end of the basket fingers. Pull out all the old plates. If you already know how all the plates go in, you can grab the plates and pull them out at the same time you pull out the pressure plate.
10 - Before you start putting it all back together, go ahead and clean/scrape off the gasket surfaces of the case and side cover, being very careful not to gouge the metal. You may have to remove the dowel pins from the case to get all the gasket off. If this is the first time its been apart, you may want to use some gasket remover and you'd better have some patience, the old gasket will be stuck pretty good. Be sure to clean out any pieces of gasket that fall into the case or side cover.
11 - Now put the new plates in. Some fiber plates require being bathed in oil for a certain period of time before installation, but others say to just oil them as you put them in. I always let the fiber plates soak in oil for a while even if they don't require it. The plates should go in starting with a fiber plate and then alternating fiber and steel plates. You should always begin and end with a fiber plate, and you should never have two plates of the same kind against each other. Also, remember to put the last fiber plate in the groove in the end of the basket fingers.
12 - Put some oil on the lifter piece and bearing that's in the pressure plate. Install the pressure plate with the lifter piece in it.
13 - Install the clutch springs and bolts. Tighten the bolts in a criss-cross pattern to prevent warping the pressure plate. Tighten them in several steps too, just tighten a little bit at a time and then move to the next bolt. You may need someone to hold the clutch assembly and keep it from turning while you tighten the bolts. Be warned that these bolts can be broken, the bolt towers (for lack of a better description) can be broken off the basket, or the threads in the basket can be stripped out if you overtighten these bolts. These bolts have to be snug, but remember, they have spring pressure holding them tightly in the threads, so they don't have to be extremely tight to stay in place.
14 - Make sure the dowel pins are in the case for alignment, put the new side cover gasket in place on the case and let the dowel pins hold it in place. Make sure the three o-rings are still in the lower front portion of the center case, make sure they aren't damaged, and put a little oil on them.
15 - To install the side cover, the clutch lifter arm will need to be turned back slightly in a counterclockwise direction. As you put the cover into place, you'll have to turn the lifter arm clockwise to re-engage the spindle onto the lifter piece. Put a couple bolts into the cover by hand to hold it in place, then look all the way around the cover to make sure the gasket is properly in place. Install all the bolts except the two that hold the clutch cable bracket in place and tighten them.
16 - Connect the clutch cable to the lifter arm and re-install the clutch cable bracket.
17 - Make sure the o-rings and dowel pins are in the lower front of the side cover. Inspect the o-rings to be sure they aren't damaged, put some oil on them, then reinstall the two oil lines.
18 - Reinstall the rear brake pedal if you had removed it.
19 - Check the clutch free play and adjust if needed.
20 - Refill with oil.
Nice Reply WOODS!
That should go into the maintinance forumn:D
Remember to inspect the drive hub the part the inside of discs ride on carefully for grooving, also the clutch basket for grooving.OEM is probably the best my opinion for all clutch parts you use if you have a mild to stock motor.
EX's are pretty simple!
I would go with OEM. I tried to save some money and went with a cheaper clutch kit and ended up smoking it in only a couple rides. Everyone I've talked to said that OEM was the only choice.
looking back at my invoices i bought oem fibers and barnet Heavy Duty clutch springs the total came to 87.45..the clucth springs were 67.95 and the springs were 14.95..also i didnt have to wait for them to be shipped i got them at Art's ATV Salvage and its about a 10 minute drive for me so it was the quickest and probably cheapest for me
my friend had anything but a stock 400ex motor..he had a completely redone 426 !!everything!!! was redone and he still ran OEM fiber..so u can run oem form stock to highly modded