Clutch installation?

[William W. Young]

I purchased a new clutch to mount on my 5/8th. in. shaft 3 hp. Briggs and Stratton engine for my basic 'lil indian minibike. The clutch seems only to be able to be installed with the sprocket on the outboard side as the allen set screws are on the inboard side and neither the keeway nor the shaft are long enough to flip the clutch side for side. Any thoughts?
Sincerely , Bill Young

 

[trinik7597]

how long is the shaft ? pics would help .

 

[William W. Young]

The shaft length is 1 1/4" long. I apologize for the no picture but I have no way to take the picture and upload it right now. I appreciate the help.

 

[trinik7597]

yeah that is what i thought your shaft is too short probably because of what your 3 horse came off of . best way to handle that is to change the crank :thumbsup:

 

[William W. Young]

Quick question. In my minds eye I remember the clutch on my 1969 'Lil Indian I got new was thinner and the sprocket was inside between the clutch and the engine. Am I goofy?

 

[trinik7597]

that might be right if you can find one . all clutches can be run inboard or out board . sprocket near the engine or sprocket facing away from the engine . but i think standard legnth on a briggs shaft is like 2 1/4 and most clutches fill that entire space:thumbsup:

 

[rmm727]

all clutches can be run inboard or out board . sprocket near the engine or sprocket facing away from the engine .

Careful, not all can be run either way.

 

[trinik7597]

Careful, not all can be run either way.

you are right not all :thumbsup: i should have said most my fault :thumbsup:

 

[Patch1st]

How was the other clutch installed? Cant you just find the same clutch and install it the same way the old one came off?

 

[The Restore Kid]

there are several quick fixes to that..BUT..

1 and 1/4 inches is TOO SHORT!! That is ALWAYS going to be your problem.. The way the center-fugal clutches work, the clutch would break in half trying to run it on that short shaft..

You don't have to use the set screws.. You can actually just run a bolt down into the end of the crankshaft with a washer on it to hold the clutch down, which is actually the better way to go..

Problem is, the 1 1/4 inch crank, won't be driving the drive hub of the clutch.. Even if you were running the clutch outboard, the tension of the chain pulling, and violence of the engine being an engine, will still break the clutch in 1/2..

You could remedy that by putting a bushing to make up the difference, with a bolt in the end, all aimed to be perfect when assembled.. But that doesn't help you inboard..

The original clutch actually was a little bit thinner than a max Torque, or Hillard is, but just a fraction.. Not but 1/4 inch or something.. Very little.. They all work the same way and are about the same machine..

You just need a different crank....