Hammerhead 250SS Drivetrain questions

[6bolt2g]

I just got a used HH 250SS that had been sitting a while and it has a broken shifter. The previous owner was under the impression that the clutch was at fault for the broken shifter. It did appear that the belt was past its prime and the clutch (rear) pulley was spread apart and the part that moves seemed to be rusted in the wide position if that makes any sense. I am currently trying to find a replacement clutch, variator, and belt. I don't want to sink a great deal of money in case the trans is internally broke. Saying that, the few places ive seen specific CF250 parts that mention they are made for the Hi/Lo versions of the motor want $250-$300 just for the clutch and another $150-$200 for the variator. I keep getting mixed info on which parts will fit. I've also seen some of the variators as low as $70 and clutch kits for as low as $85 for stock replacements. Most of the less expensive variators seem to be a half inch too short in diameter. I dont know if this will even work or just kill some top end. If the internals of the trans are in good working order I would then get proper upgrades. Does anyone have any insight on this matter? Any suggestions or advise are welcome.

[2SlickNick]

Previous owner might have broken shifter; by trying to force it in gear.
I know on mine and others stories I have read; sometimes after putting in reverse, the shifter gets stuck and won't go into neutral or forward.
That problem tended to be from idle was to high. If you were to shut engine off it wold shift smoothly again.
Any ways welcome to the forum and hope you get your buggy up and running. They are a blast to drive.

[zman007007]

my Helix does that sometimes, it will not shift out of one gear ,but I can turn off the engine and will slip right in the other gear.

[6bolt2g]

Thank you for the much needed insight. I got the clutch and variator off last night. It looks like I could use new rollers for the variator and it should be fine. Very little wear (no visible marks or low spots) on the pulley parts. The clutch however seems to not be fully closing the gap on the pulley part. It has a bit of rust inside it. I am going to take it further apart and inspect it. Once that matter is taken care of I'll have to try the suggestions with the shifter you both mentioned.

[Miamieddie]

Becareful dismantaling the clutch its spring loaded.I'm hoping youce done this before.

[6bolt2g]

Bit of an update:

I worked on it this weekend a bit. Got the clutch apart, it had quite a bit of rust in the inside of the bell and clutch springs and main spring. The inside where the belt rides the clutch when it is fully spread it had a bit of rust on the surface keeping the clutch pulley halves from fully contracting. It all looks like the cause of this was from the previous owner putting the wrong belt on it. I think they had the 835 when it was supposed to be the 868. This kept the rear pulley spread apart and probably messed up all sorts of other things in the CVT system. I also took apart the variator assembly. It was mostly in good shape other than surface filth. The rollers had a few flat spots. The roller surface seemed to be in good shape. For the sake of keeping a budget, I ordered some new 20g rollers to get the thing going. I also ordered a replacement clutch assembly, belt, and shifter. The more I was looking at the old shifter and all the "rigging" that was done to it, the more I realized it could become a headache to try and repair. I was able to use a few tools and run the trans through all the gears. It managed to get in hi and lo which the previous owner said it would not shift into low. At least this appears that it is not an internal problem yet.