Just curious, what are the signs that a clutch or a belt may be getting ready to go out? I have a '06 700efi sportsman and have been feeling a thumping on the left floor board or down there somewhere. I thought maybe a stick or something was stuck underneath but I saw nothing. Any ideas before I start tearing into things?

Thanks for any help or ideas you can give me.
Jason

 

On a quad with a swing arm, could be the needle bearings in the swingarm.. Can't remember if your 700 is a irs or not..sorry Not up on the bigger quads... There could be some slop in the needle bearing on the shock or the bushing.

 

take the belt cover off and look

 

I have never had the belt cover off, if something is wrong, will it be obvious?

It seems to only make the thumping noise when I am turning. I don't notice it on straight aways.

 

rear cv joint would be my guess

 

Usually if its a clutch/belt issue is should stay consistent. Might not hurt to inspect belt but it doesn't sound like it is your problem

If it is only doing it when turning that sounds lik an a arm bushing worn out or a cv joint (front or rear) On cv joints if it clunks when you turn its usually the outer ones.

 

How do you tell if a cv joint is bad? i just had to replace the cv boot clamp on my outer rear, the one closest to my tire. I had the whole thing apart last night but it looked ok to me so I put it back together. I did clean it out and regrease it. I don't know how long the clamp had been broke but I noticed it a couple of weeks ago when I was changing the rear gear oil. I saw addition grease back in that area and assumed I had ripped a boot. The boot was ok but the clamp broke.

 

I'd bet you have an axle problem, and not a belt/clutch problem

 

also, I'd check out the CV joint sticky at the top also