G16 belt and clutch issues

[Mike D]

Alright fellas, I need a little input. I took my 99 g16 to Disney World to drive around the campground. Everything worked fine until I loaned to my sister and brother in law one day while I took my kids into a theme park. When I went to pick the cart up, my brother in law told me that the cart started to make a strange noise. What ended up happening was the belt had began to seperate by layers. The outermost layer of the belt had started to come off from the rest of the belt. Well, he decided to put some duct tape on it. He ran it, and the tape came off and became a melted sticky covering on both clutch surfaces. The belt was 3 months old, and still measures 1 1/8 inch. Has anyone ever had a belt seperate? The only performance mod I've done so far was to bypass the governor, but very rarely do I run the engine wide open. Is there a better built belt than a stock one? Also now when I drive the cart, it is jerky when the clutch engages/disengages, and the cart shifts at a lower RPM. I can hear the motor bog down under load at the lower RPM. Can I just clean off the adhesive mess on the clutch faces, or do I have to tear them all apart to clean them? What is the procedure for changing a belt?. I know I need a service manual, but of course I don't have it now. Any input is appreciated.

[sho305]

Bad belt? I'd take some alcohol or something and clean it off no need to take apart unless it is wound into the internals or something. Get a new belt. I run belts from the yami dealer never had a problem. Why did he tape it, just let the outside fall off its no good if falling off anyway.

[Mike D]

He taped the belt because it was flapping and making noise. He's not much of a mechanic, and didn't know what else to do. Do you think alcohol will work, because I was originally thinking of acetone. If the internals are affected, could I take it apart and clean it? I haven't had much time to look at the cart, but am trying to get a broad idea of what I may have to do. Any suggestions on changing the belt? Can I just walk it off of the pulleys, or do I have to disassemble the clutch halves? I'm not really sure what will work, I might have to investigate a little further. Thanks for your help sho

[Flintrock]

Just walk the old one off and the new one on. Clean the pulleys well, acetone should get the gummies off of them. Don't scrape with anything that could scratch/ damage the clutch faces. That should solve your shifting problems. Yes, even new belts can be defective and let go sometimes, so always keep a spare handy. Good Luck!

[Mike D]

Thanks fellas, I was planning on having a spare on hand after what happened. I saw that Plowman's offered a heavy duty belt. I might buy those for added strength instead of a regular one. They are about the same price. I'm also going to get a spare starter/generator belt. Thanks again for the input.

[Mike D]

Well I finally got to clean all of the mess and change the belt. Now the cart feels like it is shifting at a lower RPM. I greased the two clutches to see if that would help. That didn't seem to improve anything. It also seems like the clutch engagaes a lot sooner when you step on the gas. The cart also jerks pretty hard if you roll to a stop. Does the new belt need to break in, or is there something that needs to be looked at. Unfortunately, I still don't have a repair manual, so I'm kind of in the dark. Do the ramp shoes or sheaves need to be graesed? I don't see any obvious problems, but there is a difference in the clutch performance. Any advice you guys may have would be great.

[Mike Mac]

Flint, maybe he should take a look inside the primary clutch for a broken weight as well!?
And slide the primary in and out if it slides like a G9 clutch.
Lacquer thinner also works well for cutting glue.

[craig tn]

The new belt will be little short and wider and that will cause it to jerk when letting off gas. Should be better after a couple rides on that part.

[Mike D]

Thanks for the reply fellas. I can yake the primary apart, but I don't know the steps. I could just try it, unless there is something special that I need to know beforehand. I drove it a little more yesterday, and it may have gotten a little better. I'm going to put it the ultimate wife test. She's going to drive it tonight, and see if there's a difference. It's amazing how someone who doesn't work on something knows better the performance than the guy who does the work. If anyonehas tips for pulling apart the clutches, I would be more than happy to attempt it. The primary seems to slide in and out very smoothly, and under power it appears to move correctly.