Maintaining Your Torque Converter

[B.M.800]

So it wouldnt hurt to use it? What should I look for if it isnt working properly?

 

[Blazkowiez]

Look for wear in the aluminum weight pack, or perhaps a buildup of debris. If it works as described on the package there is no reason why it wouldn't work great.

 

[B.M.800]

Alrighty I will try it.
Thanks!

 

[dotsoid]

Were the instructions for maintaining a 40 series ever posted?
Can't find them

 

[Doc Sprocket]

No, I don't think so. TBH, the 40 is so worry-free that it's not really necessary to do much to it. In 4 years of beating mine like a bad dog, all I ever did by way of maintenance was to powerwash a couple of times, compressed air a few times, and I think I may have gently lubed it once. It always performed without a hiccup.

 

[arachnid26]

just a quick question. what is the normal life expectancy of a 30 series belt? i have only been getting about 8-9 hours of riding out of mine. i have 9 hp clone. alignment is fine and everything gets cleaned periodically

 

[Blazkowiez]

Typically it seems like series 30 belts last 8-10 months with moderate riding. You're really not getting anything close to what it should be. That could be caused by the fact you're running a 9hp engine on a Series 30 (doubtful unless its a clone chinese clutch, we've run series 30 Comet on 10hp engines and they last just fine) or it could be a gear ratio problem.

Do you live in excessively hilly terrain, go mudding in this kart, hold gas and break at the same time, putt around under 15mph, or have it geared for massive speed rather than a medium ratio?

 

[arachnid26]

It is a genuine comet tav 30. I have a 9 or 10 tooth final drive sprocket and a 54 tooth axle sprocket. It has a pretty good top speed (40 Mph) according to my iphone gps speedometer app. If possible, i try to keep it there. I do a lot of field riding and its been so dry this year that i haven"t taken it mudding yet. I live in northern indiana and where i ride, there aren't really all that many hills over 15 degrees incline. I even try not to hit the gas too hard right off the start to make the belt last longer. It only gave me an extra hour at most.

I am trying a different setup on it now. Before today, i had half inch spacers between the tav plate and the engine. I just now decided to custom fit it so that it mounts directly against the crankcase cover. Hopefully this solves it.

One other thing, it has been so hot here this summer that after i get done riding and turn the ignition off, it smell like the belt has been "Baked". it is not glazed just extremely hot. Could the excessive wear be a symptom of the extreme heat?

 

[landuse]

It is a genuine comet tav 30. I have a 9 or 10 tooth final drive sprocket and a 54 tooth axle sprocket. It has a pretty good top speed (40 Mph) according to my iphone gps speedometer app. If possible, i try to keep it there. I do a lot of field riding and its been so dry this year that i haven"t taken it mudding yet. I live in northern indiana and where i ride, there aren't really all that many hills over 15 degrees incline. I even try not to hit the gas too hard right off the start to make the belt last longer. It only gave me an extra hour at most.

I am trying a different setup on it now. Before today, i had half inch spacers between the tav plate and the engine. I just now decided to custom fit it so that it mounts directly against the crankcase cover. Hopefully this solves it.

One other thing, it has been so hot here this summer that after i get done riding and turn the ignition off, it smell like the belt has been "Baked". it is not glazed just extremely hot. Could the excessive wear be a symptom of the extreme heat?

Make sure that your driver and driven are 100% aligned. If they are not, you will get belt wear. You belt should also not get so hot, no matter what the weather

 

[arachnid26]

ok. Visually it looks aligned, but how would you go about making sure that it is aligned perfectly?

 

[Swabbster]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg8wPhoFFqY&feature=plcp at about 5 mins he gives a helpful tip aligning the pulleys

 

[Swabbster]

just a quick question. what is the normal life expectancy of a 30 series belt? i have only been getting about 8-9 hours of riding out of mine. i have 9 hp clone. alignment is fine and everything gets cleaned periodically

i have a knockoff tav2 and it went threw the china belt in about 10 hours, and i bought a 203589A belt and i currently have about 25 hours on it mainly in the mountains very hilly with about 1 mm of wear, it is on a baja warrior with 19-7-8 tires 50t sprocket and 10t drive on the tav2 not sure how much the bike weighs but i weigh about 250-260 lbs plus my guess 100 pound bike,
and on your belts do they snap or get worn down to the wires? i know when they hit the wires your not going any where very fast!

 

[Swabbster]

i have a knockoff tav2 and it went threw the china belt in about 10 hours, and i bought a 203589A belt and i currently have about 25 hours on it mainly in the mountains very hilly with about 1 mm of wear, it is on a baja warrior with 19-7-8 tires 50t sprocket and 10t drive on the tav2 not sure how much the bike weighs but i weigh about 250-260 lbs plus my guess 100 pound bike,
and on your belts do they snap or get worn down to the wires? i know when they hit the wires your not going any where very fast!

just looking over my china belt it is not down to the wires, i thought they were wires it just the string! i am going to throw it on my bike and see what it does, my old go kart after about 10 hours the go kart would not move very fast slipped like hell i changed the belt and it was like new, why?

 

[Blazkowiez]

i have a knockoff tav2 and it went threw the china belt in about 10 hours, and i bought a 203589A belt and i currently have about 25 hours on it mainly in the mountains very hilly with about 1 mm of wear, it is on a baja warrior with 19-7-8 tires 50t sprocket and 10t drive on the tav2 not sure how much the bike weighs but i weigh about 250-260 lbs plus my guess 100 pound bike,
and on your belts do they snap or get worn down to the wires? i know when they hit the wires your not going any where very fast!

Not to start a conversation regarding these clutches and the Chinese baja bikes, BUT switch that to a 9 or 8 tooth 5/8" sprocket from Azusa and you'll notice the torque converter clutch will open up much much better on these bikes and improve performance.

 

[Swabbster]

are they #40/#41 chain? link please!

 

[arachnid26]

on your belts do they snap or get worn down to the wires? i know when they hit the wires your not going any where very fast!

I have never had a belt snap, but yes, it gets frayed and broken string bands all the time. Especially when the belt gets worn down more. i also tend to run the belts till they are unusable. normally, the belt ends up getting shredded or pretty well torn up before i replace it. another thing to consider on my belt wear is that i am running it on a 300-400 lb gokart plus my weight (200 lbs). also i like to ride in fields wHich can be kind of rough, so i do a lot of slowing down and speeding up.

I know people have been asking how to delay the upshift on these 30 series tc's. one way is to put the spring in hole 3 and twist the moveable sheave backward an extra 3rd of a turn. It also seems to help with belt slip on higher torque motors.

 

[Gwiz89]

Maintaining your TC

Thanks guys, toystory said to me that there was lots of help here and I just wanna say thanks again for all the help...

 

[manco36]

Manco Dingo 8HP briggs 40 series

Just bought a Manco Dingo with a 8hp BS. It has a 40 series torque converter. When I first accelerate the go kart jerks and makes a weird clunking noise only to go away after building a little speed. Is this due to a dirty converter? Also I have a little bit of rust built up on one of the inside top parts of the converter which i think is damaging my belt over time. I removed the bolt in the center of the converter to try and remove it for cleaning but its stuck on. Any ideas on how to get it to unsieze? Don't want to hit it to much cuz I dont want to damage it. Also I have no idea how to adjust my alignment, it might be a tiny bit off. My belt is also has some play in it which I think is ok when its not running. Biggest thing though, is the jerking because of the dirty converter? Belt is in fair condition. Thanks

 

[landuse]

Just bought a Manco Dingo with a 8hp BS. It has a 40 series torque converter. When I first accelerate the go kart jerks and makes a weird clunking noise only to go away after building a little speed. Is this due to a dirty converter? Also I have a little bit of rust built up on one of the inside top parts of the converter which i think is damaging my belt over time. I removed the bolt in the center of the converter to try and remove it for cleaning but its stuck on. Any ideas on how to get it to unsieze? Don't want to hit it to much cuz I dont want to damage it. Also I have no idea how to adjust my alignment, it might be a tiny bit off. My belt is also has some play in it which I think is ok when its not running. Biggest thing though, is the jerking because of the dirty converter? Belt is in fair condition. Thanks

Start a thread of your own to get some proper help.

Oh....and to the forum

 

[2010iron883]

My torque converter doesn't have the brass bushing. It don't look like it could have one , but is it possible it got misplaced with previous owners? Would the cart run good without it, it seems to be running and pulling awesome. .