Want to know more about there fluid drives

DeviantSRX

DeviantSRX

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Want to know more about those fluid drives

I was just reading another thread about these fluid drive yamaha sleds and was quite intregued. I've obvoiusly been around the typical belt driven sleds for a while but I've honestly never heard anything about a fluid drive sled. I'm assuming they run off some kind of pump and something like a torque converter? Like I said I've never heard anythig about these sleds before and am rather curious to learn more about them. From reading the other thread it sounds like there are some very knowledgable guys out there who can hopfully teach a youngster a thing or two. Thanks guys
 
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The belt is notched and is never loosened . The sleds all
have a neutral position in the chain case to start when
cold . As it has no engagement speed , it drives like a
automatic car. If your sitting on ice it will just slowly
wonder off, thus these were the first sleds to have
a parking brake latch. If you barred it , it would rev up to
about 4500 and stay there until the converter locked
at about 35 mph and then would continue to rev higher
and go faster..
The wide tracks used the same hi-n-low chaincase as a
regular sled . The units had a slipring inside which meant it
would coast when you let off and if you throttled up again
there was no jerk like when belts have to re engage.
I have had a 74 TL433F since it was new and it runs every
year and I have never replaced the belt or tighted it.
..The unit including the drive cog weighs about 5 LB LESS
than a normal clutch and secondary..but must have cost
a lot more to make them...Sled was about 12 percent more
than a GP433 at the time in Dec of 73.( $120.)
I hope that has answered some of your questions
and passed on some history for the future sledders.
Ron
 
That is pretty interesting. Now i just wish I could see one of these up close and in person. I would really like to actually look one of these things over, they sound pretty neat. I was an engineering student so I would love to mess around with one and learn about it. About how fast does one of these go?
 
The locked up ratio must be very close to an ordinary
SL433 at the time as mine topped out around 70 mph,
probably a real 60 mph. The faster GP etc were rated at
a higher rpm and therefore got a little faster top end.
My single carb 433 puts up 31 hp according to book.
....I don't know who in MI has one currently....
I found the patent on the unit . It was granted in
Dec of 1969. At that time every brand had belt failures.
The clutches were only lined up straight at middle speed
and when running wide open at full speed , the belt was
misaliged by at least 1/2 inch and that was when they
tended to blow off. Yamaha must have decided to "fix"
the problem by eliminating the slipping belt..It is a very
complicated system compared to a couple tin pulley's
...If your going to be lost north of Toronto sometime
send me an email.
72 AND 73 EW643, 74 TL AND TW , 75 TL, 76 AND 77 PR
Ron
 
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These things sound pretty cool... Ive been pokin around on the web and cant seem to find that much info on them tho. How many years were they actually produced? Maybe that will help me narrow down the search. Ive been trying to find some schmatics or something to better understand how they actually work, any pointers as to any place I might be able to find something? Thanks for the info so far... definatly got me intreagued to know more.
 
Hi ..Dev...
I have the tech books and they explain it well on how it works
and good pics....
Someone always has these on ebay for sale ...
Models EW643 ,, TL433F and TL433G and TW433F and PR440 Prestige.
Maybe a manual might be the easiest way to get the info you want..
Your local dealer may still have these as some over lapped into GP series
...I used to have a lot of pics on www.acscc.com but the site
crashed and burned big time last spring and it was discovered
the provider had never backed up the info on it ,,,,start over...
Ron
 
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Sounds good Ron. I'll see if I can find one of those manuals, your rite, thats prolly the spot to find what I'm lookin for. I'm pretty good friends with the guys at my local yamaha shop, I went to school with most of them and still ride MX with them. I didnt even think to ask them if they could find any info. I'll do some pokin around over there when I get a chance and let you know what I find. Most of them are into different technical stuff like me so I'll see if I can get them interested too and send them on a mission to see what they can dig up. As always thanks for the info. Take care.
 
Ron, I noticed in one of your posts above you said you have tech books for the hyd. sleds. Do you happen to have one for the '74 TL433F? I need one for my tear-down and rebuild. If it has an ISBN # on it can you let me know what it is so that I can use it to find one?
Any help you can provide would be very much appreciated!
Mills
 
Hi Jkenosh.....The 76 and 77 had extra stuffing on the hoods and
covered in the engine which created an air flow problem ..They
put the extra snorkel to the recoil for cooling the engine and added
width to the cooler rad...Snorkle loves to take grasses, twigs and
cat tail fluff down and jams them into the cooling and burns out
pistons.....The extra cowl around the engine cuts back air flow
on the left side and can run the cooler hot....
My 74 TL433 has dragged sleds home and pulls a small groomer
and a xcountry ski track setter each year (for fun) and I have
not added dextron for years..
I have found them very dependable , but these are sleds that
have never seen a modern groomed , club trail...4000 mile
is a long way when you seldom were more than 10 mile
from home.
.
Hi Mills.......How deep are you going ?? something I could fax??
Keep track of where each hose goes. maybe take some dig. pics at
different stages of disassembly ,,wire routing etc.
I will have a look at the cover of my manual , but it is
marked 74 TL433F and GP433F.
 
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