4-stroke centrifugal clutch

neum5464

neum5464

New Member
Hey guys, I ordered the 4g t-belt drive kit and got it mounted and running on my cruiser. It revs through to WOT and idles fine for days but it just doesn't go anywhere. I know that the problem is the lack of engagement by the clutch but I don't know how to adjust the clutch pads because it is not a spring washer stack, its just a spring and a bolt.

I looked through several youtube videos and threads on here and couldn't find anything about adjusting a centrifugal clutch with three shoes.

Any suggestions would be helpful, thanks.
 
Which type of 4G do you have? There are 2 types, each with a different clutch.

"Honda-style" or "5/8 shaft": the clutch bell is flat, clutch is on a keyed shaft with an end bolt to hold drum in place

"tapered shaft": the clutch bell is domed, clutch is pressed onto a tapered shaft.

This info will help diagnose your problem!
 
Can you wiggle the clutch shoes on their posts to be sure that they can move freely?
Are you sure that either the clutch bell, large drive pulley or the final drive sprocket is not slipping on the shaft?
Whatever you do, never try to check the clutch by reving it up without the clutch bell in place. Very bad things will happen faster than the blink of an eye.
 
It is the 5/8th shaft with the locking key. I can try wiggling them to make sure they can move, and I never run it without everything assembled for just that reason.
 
That PDF did help because I didn't know you could add/subtract washers to change the RPM engagement. But is there a certain torque the bolts should be set to? If they are too tight, would that cause the shoes to not engage?

This is the first 4-stroke kit I have built so I am not familiar with all the torque conversion parts.
 
The torque of the clutch shoe bolt itself should not affect shoe engagement, as it's the springs that cause resistance. The bolt will seat once it's threaded into the hole completely. I have never used a torque wrench on the clutch bolts; what I do is put blue Loctite on the threads and tighten the bolts wrist-tight.

By not tightening them enough they may come loose. Too tight and you risk damaging the threads of the clutch base. The blue Loctite should help avoid the former, the latter will likely be avoided unless you have the 12" wrists of George Foreman :D

Also, double check that the key between the engine's PTO shaft and the clutch hasn't popped out. I don't know how they look these days, but my kit-supplied key wasn't worth a dang. The keyed shaft Huasheng unfortunately has a Metric keyway. You might want to consider "making" your own key by filing/grinding/sanding an SAE 3/16" key to fit.
 
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