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How to adjust your clutch on a manual shift atv

14K views 2 replies 2 participants last post by  shadetree 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey outlaws, seeing how there has been a few members having issues ( including me lately ! ) with clutches needing adjustments on our manual shift atvs ?, I thought I would post this up, and give ya'll a lesson on how to adjust your clutch on a manual shift atv. sooo..lets start out with my '03 trx450fm..shall we ?. I had a chance to take her out for a all day ride this past Saturday, the ride went very well, cept I noticed she was not shifting the best she should be ?. now..keep in mind, I never touched the motor on this atv when I rebuilt her ?!, the motor ran great back then, sooo..I just left the engine alone. fast forward to earlier today. while I had her In my shop fixing the carb with a carb rebuild kit, new tie rod ends, I was messing around with my adjustment on my clutch, now, I've adjusted many clutches in the past ?, but this one was not acting right to save my life !!. finally at one point, it would not even go into gear ?!. now that was very odd. sooo..I had only one option, and that was to pop the front cover off, and see what was going on ??. this meant..i had to unbolt the front differential, pull it forward, and unhook the front drive shaft, oil lines, then all the bolts. I did drain the oil BEFORE I did this !. I got to the last bolt, and the front case cover just popped right out on it's own ?..that right there was telling me, something was not right for sure !!!. once I got the cover off and out, right from the get-go, I see the metal triangle part that has the bolt through the case with the lock nut, was backed all the way off, and not on the adjusting bolt !!!!!!. yeah..that will cause problems for sure !..lol. soooo..i knew I had to screw the adjusting bolt back into the metal part, and did. sooooooooooo, keep this part in mind when and before you go touching your adjusting bolt on your manual shift clutch ?, ALWAYS loosen the lock nut, turn the center bolt clock-wise while your facing the front of your motor for all of you that have the newer style motors ?, and for all the old timers that have this set up on the right hand side ?, same set-up applies here, loosen the lock nut, turn the center bolt clock-wise until it seats ?, now go back counter-clockwise all the way, until it lightly seats ?, then turn it back clock-wise about 1/4 turn ?, and tighten down the lock nut while you hold the center bolt with a screw driver. that's all there is too it. too test that you adjusted the correct way ?, and you did not get lost in the way I laid it all out here for you ?, do this : turn the key on, crank it up, take your foot, and raise the foot shifter up with your foot...AND HOLD IT THERE !!!. DON'T LET IT GO BACK DOWN !. if you adjusted it the right way ?, while your holding it up with your foot ?, and it's running ?, the atv ahould not move very much at all ?..if any ?. not until you let the foot lever go back down, will it move with throttle. if it still tries to move while your holdind the lever up ?, then go back, loosen the lock nut, turn the center bolt clounter clockwise again, and then turn it back clockwise about 1/8 of a turn ?. then do the test all over again. keep in mind..adjustments will very, going by what condition your centrifugal clutch arms are in ?, and what shape your change clutch friction disk are in ?. these two parts are very important to the way your atv uses the motor to make your atv move.
 
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#3 ·
well, yes, and no. the centrifugal clutch makes the change clutch move, without it ?, you can adjust all day long ?, and it will not help. but thanks !.
 
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