Clutch number 6

[Dillon]

Bought a 2021 defender hd1000 limited in April 2021.  Ran fine till June 2022 when the clutch went bad.  Had it replaced by the dealer.  Since then have had them put in 4 more.  Which is always tough because it usually takes a month to get all the parts.  Replaced the last one a week ago.  Ran the machine for a hundred miles and it was chewing up the belt, smoking out of the belt exhaust,  took it back in.  Needs a new clutch.  Not sure if it’s the primary or secondary.  Drive it in low under 17 mph, high over 20.  Really at a loss.  The mechanics seem good, but I wonder if it’s something besides the clutch system.  Dealer is rice Honda rapid city sd.  

[Dillon]

Problems started at just over 4000 miles, 8000 miles on it now

[Andystoy19]

You don't provide much information just that the clutch is bad and chewing up the belt and smoking (slipping). There are two clutches in the defender a primary and a secondary.

The primary clutch consists of a spring that controls engagement, upshift RPM and weighted arms that control the centrifugal force that grabs the belt. There is a bushing that may be worn and is causing the sliding half of the clutch to wobble and is an easy and cheap replacement.

The secondary clutch has a spring and ramps with buttons on the ramps that resist the upshift from the primary to keep the necessary belt tension and backshift when the engine RPM slow down. The buttons are plastic and break sometimes causing the clutch to bind and not backshift when it should; resulting in slippage and a loose belt.

Both clutches should have been disassembled and cleaned at the time of warranty work and checked for wear etc. The belt dust can be detrimental to operation of the clutches so its part of regular maintenance.

The third part of your drive system is the belt, is it the correct belt? At 4000 miles (depending on use) it was probably worn way beyond its replacement width 1.445" which is the service limit?

After the clutch was repaired the first time and not fixed I would have been looking for a different repair shop.JMO😉

[Dillon]

Sorry, I can list the parts and dates.  Have a service plan so the machine is serviced every hundred hours or so.  
14 June 2022 4772 miles

v belt, bearing with seal assembly, cup governor assembly, slider shoe set, roller, roller axle.  

24 August 2022 5782 miles

cup governor assembly, slider shoe set, roller axle, roller, bearing with seal assembly - repair clutch, slider, rollers

had a clutch done in October 2022, but they paid for it so I didn’t save the receipt 

december 2033 6716 miles

cup governor assembly, slider shoe set.  Repair/replace buttons/spider-clutch

13 July 2023 8709 miles

belt drive, half-outer assembly, slider shoe set, cup governor assembly, centrifugal lever kit, inner half, roller axle, roller- rebuild clutch

i drive it 100 miles after the last repair and had problems.  Took it in and was told it needed a new clutch.  They didn’t specify which one, or what parts.  Hope this helps.  

 

 

[Andystoy19]

Didn't mean to come off harsh but they look like parts replacers, replacing many of the same parts but no where do I see that they looked at or checked your secondary. 

Good luck with getting it fixed by someone that knows what to look for and the recommendation that you need a new clutch may be a good assessment on their part because they do not appear to be able to figure out and fix what needs replacing.

The shop manual has wear limits on all the moving parts in both the primary and secondary clutches. Before paying them to order and install a new clutch I would ask them to explain why a new primary is necessary and if they checked and cleaned your secondary?

Hope you get it fixed soon and you get at least 4000 trouble free miles.🙂

[Earlt.peeples]

Definitely should not be on the 6th clutch. Pop the cover off and post some pictures of the clutch and maybe a video if possible.

[Dillon]

Got it back, there was a roller or bushing in the secondary that was bad.  Not sure if that was the problem all along or not.  Been good since then.  Put on a few hundred miles with no issues.  The dealership put in new primary and secondary no charge so I do feel better about that.  I know this post was vague, I’m just not mechanical which is why I rely so much on mechanics expertise.  

[Andystoy19]

Good to hear that they finally looked at the secondary and that you are up and running.😉