Primary clutch service and maintenance

[Yammy1320]

Hi all.... first post here, new to golf carts and this forum but a long time hard core mountain snowmobiler/yamaha guy and moderator on the biggest snowmobile forum.

Anyways, enough with the intro's and on the the meat and potatoes of this thread... Forgive me if this has already been covered but I read thru the last couple months worth of threads and didn't see anything and I also don't see a search option. I'm sure I will be proven wrong on one or both of these statements tho.

I recently picked up a couple carts, a 2003 and a 2004; I think they are G22's but I wouldn't put any money on that yet.

They both are a little sluggish starting. Over the winter I will replace the tune up parts and clean the carbs (might want some carb adjustment advice at some point) but at the moment my question is regarding the primary clutch.... is it normal for it to engage and move the cart before the engine has actually fired? I'm thinking no, and that might be part of my problem. Lets hear what you guys have to say!

[Mike Mac]

Yes the minute the crank turns, the prim. clutch engages. There is no stall with a stock clutch.

[Yammy1320]

Ok, so scrap that idea I guess. Over the winter I will service the clutches anyways... If it's anything like a sled clutch there is lots of parts that move and wear in the primary especially and it is critical that it is operating correctly for optimum performance.

So on to a new direction, what can I do to get these carts to start somewhat like a new one? I know they are older, but there has gotta be some tricks....

[Mike Mac]

Yammy, just start reading the whole Yamaha site! You'll learn tons!! Good luck! and enjoy!!

[JcXtreme72]

Yamaha put a grease zert on the primary clutch. Pump a few shots in it every couple months. TADA maintence done.

[Yammy1320]

Originally Posted by Mike Mac

Yammy, just start reading the whole Yamaha site! You'll learn tons!! Good luck! and enjoy!!

Oh don't worry, I have been.... and will continue to.... was just kinda hoping to find some direction to my current issue I am trying to address. Hopefully someone comes along with some answers.

[Yammy1320]

Originally Posted by JcXtreme72

Yamaha put a grease zert on the primary clutch. Pump a few shots in it every couple months. TADA maintence done.

I was aware of that, Gonna pull the primary and inspect the internals. I would be amazed if there isn't some worn parts inside.

[Mike Mac]

There are rollers inside the cover on the prim. that get flat spotted. Need to replace rollers if they are. But there is a whole lot to understand with the whole system. Being a snowmobile guy, shouldn't be hard to see problems!

[bigstik40]

With the very limited amount of HP available on these carts, proper clutch operation is extremely important. I experienced night and day performance difference on mine after only replacing rollers in the primary and installing a heavy spring torque kit in the secondary. There are many other "tricks", like the double cogged extra wide drive belt and cut sheave secondary for low end grunt plus many engine mods for higher top end. As suggested, just start reading, they are all here. I have found this to be a great forum with a lot of very helpful people. You've come to the right place. WELCOME !! - RAY

[Yammy1320]

Just a quick update, pulled the belt off today and it fires up instantly.... I am
Pretty sure I have a combination of clutch AND carb issues that are compounding each other. I'm going to go thru the primary and service/adjust the carb and see where that gets me.

While on the topic, any advice on carb cleaning and service?