2006 trx350te Honda rancher 350 es clutch plates

[Ejwill]

Should the clutch plates be so tight together that they can not be moved side to side? There is no play in them at all, will not move at all.

[Gwbarm]

Sounds like they are all stuck together, can you free them up. is this with them still in the clutch basket.

[Ejwill]

Yes I just took the clutch cover it will not shift manually and I sure not on the electric shifter.

[Ejwill]

They will move some with flat head screw driver they spring back in place together. Which I’m assuming is ok they are real tight though.

[Gwbarm]

They sound OK, what happens when you try to shift it, what happened when it stopped shifting.

[Ejwill]

With the manual shifter it will not shift at all. Can’t get it back to neutral, it had shifted up a couple of times now I can’t get it to move. I have the clutch housing cover off, the rear is jacked up and the tires move freely backwards but is locked up trying to move them forward.

thanks for your help, I’m an atv repair idiot. I’ve work mechanical maintenance but nothing on atv’s. Thought I’d give it a try but probably should have paid someone. I’ve got a repair manual on the way maybe that’ll help some. Thanks again for any help.

[Ejwill]

Gw, a little more info on my atv it had been running fine when it left my house . My grandsons borrowed it when it came back it wouldn’t crank. It set up for a couple of years , I finally decided to take a look at it . I got it to crank but it would not move. The electronic shifter would not shift at all , so I used the emergency shifter tool to shift to 1st. It sounded like it did shift, but I tried it, but it would not move, it would sound like it shifted into the upper gears and back to neutral. Now when I shifted to the upper gears it locked up and will not return to neutral. Now it will not shift at all. I don’t know if it was really shifting into upper gears or just sounding like it. Anyway it will not move and it will not shift at all. Like I said the tires rotate backwards but not forward. Thanks so much for your help.

[Gwbarm]

It sounds like the electronic shifter mechanism might be stuck, you might follow the wires down to find that and take a look to make sure its working properly. Lets hope it not the transmission.

[Mech]

It should shift with the lever. If the wheels rotate backwards but not forwards then it is in gear. 

Given the circumstances I'd say it is almost certainly just needing to have the wheels rotated back and forwards enough while operating the shift lever enough times that it slowly makes one shift at a time down to neutral. Sometimes when you are moving the shift lever you may feel it only goes a half distance when you try shifting down. When that happens it can get the ratchet on the lever jammed and you have to change back up again(while rotating the wheels) then have another go at changing down. You just keep rocking and turning the wheels back and forwards quite forcefully while trying to down shift with the lever. If it goes down try for another down shift, if it feels like it moved half a travel, change back up one gear and then start moving down again.  Just keep rotating the wheels quite forcefully so the engine turns and it should eventually get to neutral.

Once it's in neutral and you can start it, try riding it using the shift lever. That will test the shift linkages inside the unit and the gears themselves. If the bike rides and has all the gears then start checking the electrical shift mechanism.

[Mech]

Actually..  if and since you have the side cover off it might be easier and surer diagnosis to take the pressure plate off the clutch pack and remove the plates so the gearbox turns and can shift independently.  Is it still apart ?

[Gwbarm]

Good idea, because sometimes the fiber plates get stuck to the metal plates and they appear to be moving but are really stuck.

[Ejwill]

The front cover is still off. I’ll try taking apart to release the plates. Once the plates are released should it shift, if they were stuck. Like I said this is all new to me. I have worked in steam, hydro, and nuclear plant maintenance but never engine repair. I don’t have a repair manual yet but it’s on the way. All of you are great trying to help me. I’m 70 years old and you know what they say about old dogs and new tricks. Thanks again.

[Gwbarm]

My thoughts are since you have the cover off you can go ahead and make sure the plates aren't stuck and you can inspect them for wear and replace if necessary , and as mech said with the plates out you are taking the clutch out of the equation, then you can see if it shifts, and you will know for sure if the clutch was causing it.

[Mech]

And you'll be able to turn the gearbox shaft and shift gears to your hearts content..  we hope.

Then suss why the electric shift doesn't.. 

And.. if you're interested.. when it's all assembled and going, there are two clutches, one centrifugal one that controls the take off from idle, and one flat plate type, and that gets operated by your shift mechanism so the gears don't graunch. There is also another sort of ratchet mechanism in the centrifugal clutch that keeps the clutch driving and providing engine braking when you are rolling down a hill at low revs. It's that ratcheting mechanism(which they call a sprag clutch), that's causing it to be easy to push back, but not forwards, while it's stuck in gear. It's trying to provide engine braking.. 

[Ejwill]

Thanks to y’all for the help I got a repair manual in the mail today. After looking it over I think I’ll have to go back to school to figure out how to use it. It jumps back and forth from chapter to chapter and doesn’t seem to finish anything but I’m going to give it a try. Thanks again for the help.

[Mech]

You need to find two parts in the manual. One part has a flow chart of questions about what you need to check at each step, and that is normally in a trouble-shooting section near the end of the book, or near the end of the section, such as near the end of the gearbox shift section. Then you find the gearbox section of the manual where it should also have a diagnostic section where it will tell you where every component is and how to test it to get the answers you need in that first trouble shooting section.

There is a manual for your bike in the manuals section of this site. If you download that and confirm which one it is you have grabbed, I will help you find the right bits to read, and work through the process from the same book..

[Ejwill]

I removed the lifter plate and springs the plates of course are moving freely. The rear tires being jacked up now rotate forward and backward without any restriction , but the emergency shifter still doesn’t shift up or down. It’s like it locked up. Don’t know if it should shift now since the plates no longer seem to be in play.

[Mech]

Sounds like there is a problem with the internal shifter mechanism then, that being the shafts and linkages and ratchet etc.. The manual shift and the electric shift both use the same shift mechanism down in the front case. If neither manual or electric shifts work then you have a shift mechanism or gear problem.

There is a star shaped washer in there that the shift linkages act on, that's meant to turn to move the gears inside the box. If you operate the linkages there should be a ratchet mechanism that turns that washer and drum one bump on the star washer every time the lever goes up or down(with the rear wheels turning). If it doesn't seem to turn then I'd take the linkages off and try turning that star shaped washer by hand(with a pail of big pliers), while turning the gear shaft or back wheels.

If the shift drum/barrel that's attached to that star shaped washer won't rotate, then there is a problem right inside the cases and the motor needs to come out and be stripped right down.

[Ejwill]

Crap, I think I’m getting too deep for my skill level. Might just need to take it out to my son’s house and see if I can just set it. I’ll take a gallon of gas with me and set it —- ON FIRE!!! Getting to be pretty complicated. Should have taken it to someone capable of fixing it.But they would have charged me an arm and a leg, but that’s out because I only have one leg now so they want be getting the other one.🤣

[Gwbarm]

Im still hoping you don't have too split the case, that is a pain and things don't always play well going back together, plus hose honda transmissions are pretty resilient, as Mech said find the  star shaped washer which is the back side of the shift drum, turn it gently to see how solid it is, if it very solidly stuck try turning the wheels which should be  jacked up off the ground, at the same time as you are trying to turn the shift drum, hopefully it will unstick itself. I think you can do it and those Hondas are really nice machines  when you get everything worked out

[Mech]

Yup. If the start shaped washer turns and changes the gears then your problem is just in some of the linkages you are seeing right in front of you there where the start washer is. The fix will be easy.

That star washer has a roller sprung loaded against it to hold it in each gear, and a ratchet that turns it. You should be able to turn the star washer without using the ratchet mechanism. If you lever the roller out from contacting the star you should be able to turn the star using your fingers as long as the gearbox shafts are turning at the time.

[Ejwill]

I was going to take the centrifugal clutch off and got down and found a bearing stuck in front of the nut. Evidently the bearing had come out of the cover. Now I’ve got to pull that bearing off to get to the lock nut. Which by the way do you know the size of the nut on this clutch is and the one on the change clutch. It would be good if the manual said what they were they are hard to get to to measure and guess at. It said to use a special tool on this one and the change clutch, I checked and at least one of them sells for $179. I’d like to get around spending that much on a tool I’ll probably use only once. Thanks for your help. This is getting worse and worse. I guess if that bearing doesn’t fit tightly in the cover I’ll have to get new cover.

[Mech]

The parts book says the centrifugal clutch nut is 20mm and the plate clutch nut is 18mm.

You can sometimes lock the shafts to undo the nuts by putting a bit of soft metal in the teeth of their gears, positioned so it will be drawn in and jamb.. Copper, aluminum or lead are all ok..

[Ejwill]

Thanks I will try locking the gears. I have some aluminum strips I can try.

[Gwbarm]

Just a note, the centrifugal clutch on a TRX350 is left hand threads, you might already know that, just thought I would mention it.