Clutch / Torque Converter / Self-Adjusting Pulleys?

[frederic]

I'm curious, might any of you have at this very moment, a go-kart torque converter apart where you could take, and post (or email) a picture of the "guts" to me?

A picture being worth 1000 words might help me make something easier than from all the textual descriptions I keep finding on the web.

Thanks!

[Rotore]

it's basically a automatic tranny dude. the pulleys constantly adjust to change gear ratio.

http://www.heeters.com/images/torque.jpg
http://www.northerntool.com/images/product/images/13795_lg.jpg

http://www.northerntool.com/images/product/images/1378_lg.jpg

[frederic]

Thank you for the photos... I guess waht i'm most interested in is the actual "clutch" part.

I'm trying to figure out if it has friction pads on the arms or if it's like a puny chainsaw clutch where it's just a bunch of metal things slung out through centrifigul force against the outer disk/shell.

[Kaptain Krunch]

If you wait till tomorrow (possibly monday), i can take a sled one apart for you, but all i have for pictures is a cellphone. Its much easier to figure it out in person, but you may be able to understand. Its pretty simple the way it works, If someone else doesnt get pictures by the time i do, i'll try to explain each one and maybe edit it with paint to show how it works.

[t0x1k]

It doesn't use shoes or anything like a centrifugal clutch.
At idle the driver pulley is fully opened and allows the belt to be loose. At a certain rpm the spring thingamabobber opens and pushes the beveled outer part of the driver toward the belt/engine and grabs the belt(All the parts of the driver clutch are continously moving, unlike a centrifugal only the shoes move while idling and the outer bell stays either stopped or at the constant speed in which the cart is traveling.). As the rpms increase the beveled outer part moves in closer causing the pulley size to increase in diameter. At the same time as the driver is increasing the driven pulley is being opened and therefore becomes smaller. Once you reach your max rpms it kicks into over drive where the driver pulley is larger then the driven pulley.

[frederic]

Krunch, might you have gotten a chance to take the pictures?

"lame" cellphone pictures are fine. I just haven't been able to find pictures of the "guts" where I could copy appropriately ;-)

[Kaptain Krunch]

Sorry, busy day and now its dark. Tomorrow i promise.

[frederic]

No problem at all :)

[toofarnorth]

Here you go sorry all I had was my phone so some of them are pretty blurry. and I'm too lazy to take apart my driven pulley but they are pretty simple their basically a spring loaded pulley that gets forced apart by the belt because the driven pulley is pulling on it. If someone wants to steal my pics and add to them feel free to do so. And if you see anything that you want to buy in the background let me know it's my leftover garage sale stuff:roflol:

[frederic]

Thank you very much for the pictures. They're clear enough that I think I get how this works.

As RPM increases, centrifigul force increases on the weights, which expand outward against the slope of the pulleys, forcing the one half down towards the other half, increasing the diameter of the pulley?

At rest, the belt rids on a bronze or brass bushing which freewheels?

Is that close?

[Kaptain Krunch]

Basically yes. If you still want pictures of the sled one let me know, it works the same but is a little different in construction.

[frederic]

If it's not too much trouble, that would be great Krunch because I can compare and learn from the differences, even if minor.

[Kaptain Krunch]

Figured i couldnt describe it pics so heres a video
http://s523.photobucket.com/albums/w355/houdinky/?action=view&current=MOV00005.flv

Its kind of vague, the insert is just a tapered steel sleeve, that the sides of the pulley ride one (one is pressed on). Also, a polaris storm is a 750cc sled that put out 140hp stock(the 93' version was at least, after that they went to 800cc).

I can get a video of the driven pulley later.

[frederic]

Thank you all very much for the pictures, video and explainations. Now, I got it ;-)

[EagleTalons]

That takes way better video than it does pictures!

[Kaptain Krunch]

Yea... Makes no sense i shoulda just made you a video haha.

[freakboy]

what kinda phone u got? my phones alright in bolth catagories.

[toofarnorth]

my phone's a sony ericsson w600i It's like over 3 years old but was the latest and greatest when I got it. It's features are a bit antiquated by today's standards 1.3 mega pixels and video with no sound but I've yet to find a phone I'd like better, mainly because it looks so cool I can hook it to my computer to down load pics and i can just drag and drop mp3s on it and use them as ring tones. my wives new phone won't let you use mp3s as ring tones and it wants you to get a data plan and email the pics to your computer so I just send her pics to mine via bluetooth and download them off of mine.

[Kaptain Krunch]

I have a sony ericsson w530i not a great phone but its alright.

I also forgot to mention in the video, you can change the weights and springs to tune it. I also tried to get a video of the driven clutch but i cant get it apart, the snap ring is way too big and i actually broke my pliers trying (its ok there craftsman haha).