ASW helix transmission problem

[ftwendy]

So...my girlfriend was driving the helix in the snow today when she got stuck, buried the rear axle, and tried rocking the kart back and forth. Unfortunately, she did this with her foot on the gas (several times) and the damage was done before I could assist her. Now the transmission sounds like its full of loose parts...sorta like gravel floating around. Any thoughts on where to start my repairs? Thanks - Happy New Year!

[bige]

sounds like a few gears are toast, you will need to remove the cover and reverse assembly to find out what is broken. there are several small parts in there that could have broke.

[ftwendy]

Awesome... thanks for your quick reply Bige. Once I have the trans cover off I'll start shooting pics with subsequent questions. Are there any suggestions about removing the bolts gently and in one piece. I've read that they can be a real bear to get out.

Thanks - wish me luck.

Cheers

[bige]

just pay attention to what goes where and remove stuff slowly

[BuggyMaster]

They are not too hard to take apart. You'll have to see how the clutch section looks first and if it's in pieces, that's actually better cause it will be easily fixed. If you get in there and the clutch section looks great, that could be a little worse because that will likely mean your gears are toast. The parts should me easily had though. Go through gokartsrus from the left pane of the front page for the parts.

[joshstep1]

Wow, as soon as I read "girlfriend driving the Helix" I know something bad was coming. As for where to start, I have no idea. Sorry

[24evanwilson]

me niether lol

[ftwendy]

Cheers fellas - I'll post more details once I've had a moment to dig into this. I've watched buggymaster's youtube video on upgrading the slider weights and spring and, based on what I've seen, think that portion of the disassembly is within my ability. Hopefully it's not the gears, as I haven't found any vids that address the process of replacing a gear.

Additionally, should I have a replacement transmission gasket on hand just in case I rip the original? Thanks!

[BuggyMaster]

It shouldn't take much to know where you should look. You can have the side cover off in short order to have a look around. Be sure to post back on what you find.

[ftwendy]

Late update (forgiveness all) - the problem was an extremely loose chain, knocking against the brush guard. Made me feel foolish and relieved all at once.

Moral of the story: these chains stretch substantially and need to be retensioned frequently. Cheers

[joshstep1]

Yeah, I've had the chain stretch so much it was slipping on the gears. I had to drive home so slowly so I didn't eat up the gears.