# 02 Prairie 650 ---Grooves in primary sheaves



## GNX Guy (Feb 18, 2010)

HI,

My 2002 Prairie 650 with 960 miles went into limp mode last weekend. It has 28" Dirt Devils, stock original belt and stock clutch springs. Every thing is stock but the tires. Last night I pulled the belt cover to find the belt switch tripped and a worn belt. Measured the width with calipers and it was 27.2mm. So I guess I need a new belt. Belt was in 1 piece. Edges of belt, you could tell were a bit worn.

What I also noticed was some slight grooves in the bottom of both primary sheaves. Is this normal? Should I replace them? If so, are there any aftermarket ones I should look at?

Thank you

Joe


----------



## IBBruin (Feb 10, 2009)

I ran mine like that for a couple of years. The grooves will cause premature belt wear. I found a used primary off of a Brute and ended up replacing mine. By the time you replace 2 or 3 belts you could have spent the same money on a good used primary.


----------



## 15brute (Jan 24, 2010)

The sheeves may not be grooved up, it may just be glazed over pretty bad. you can use sandpaper, I think 600 grit to remove the glaze and brakeclean to wipe em off clean. Your belt has probably stretched quite a bit so I would put a new one on and check your deflection with the new belt and see how far you are off before removing any shims. i think the older prairies run about 19mm on deflection but im not sure. the best way to check deflection is by looking where the belt rides in the secondary, slightly above sheeves is where you want it, dont get too tight or you will creep at idle


----------



## GNX Guy (Feb 18, 2010)

Ah, good idea, you can certainly see the belt edges are glazed. Will brake out the green scotch bright later this morning when I head over to my office and give that a try.

Thanks

Joe




15brute said:


> The sheeves may not be grooved up, it may just be glazed over pretty bad. you can use sandpaper, I think 600 grit to remove the glaze and brakeclean to wipe em off clean. Your belt has probably stretched quite a bit so I would put a new one on and check your deflection with the new belt and see how far you are off before removing any shims. i think the older prairies run about 19mm on deflection but im not sure. the best way to check deflection is by looking where the belt rides in the secondary, slightly above sheeves is where you want it, dont get too tight or you will creep at idle


----------



## GNX Guy (Feb 18, 2010)

Well, there is definetly some groves on both of the primart sheaves about a 1/2" from the bottom. Also looks like some mile groove on the driven sheves about 1/8" from the top.

Worth replacing. I don't want to get 4 hours out of a belt.

ATV is 90% used for farm use and a bit of trail riding in the woods and over logs.

Thoughts?

Joe


----------



## phreebsd (Dec 16, 2004)

if it were me i'd throw a new belt on and let her ride! You might want to look into throwing a secondary in to gear you a bit lower and help with those tires.


----------



## GNX Guy (Feb 18, 2010)

Was thinking the exact same thing.

What would you recommend for 27" Dirt Devil's --no other mods.

Should I do a Primary spring too?

I'm going to go with the OEM belt.

Thanks

Joe


----------



## bayou_boy_22 (Mar 13, 2009)

almond secondary for sure. and stick with the oem belts they seem to hold up better than alot of the more expensive ones.


----------



## phreebsd (Dec 16, 2004)

personally based on your description of the bikes usage, i wouldnt touch the primary spring at all.


----------



## 15brute (Jan 24, 2010)

almond secondary (epi) and stock primary


----------



## gpinjason (Nov 10, 2009)

15brute said:


> almond secondary (epi) and stock primary


Agreed... I wouldn't replace the sheaves yet... just clean them up and throw in a new spring...


----------

