Engine removal

stinger440 · Post by **stinger440** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 3:53 pm

So my v-max is turning into way more of a project then I originally thought. My question... Is there anything I need to pay specific attention to when I pull the motor.

Also when did yamaha go to the comet 108 clutch? It appears that is what is on my sled.

Thanks everyone. its fun to work on sleds in 95 degree heat.

vmax-540 · Post by **vmax-540** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 4:15 pm

There has to be something wrong with us when we work on snowmobiles when it is 95 degrees , but who cares we just love our sleds!! To answer your question pulling an engine from a Vmax is no different then pulling one from any other sled, just not as much room as soon others.The one thing that I would do while it is out is replace the ball joint on the bottom of the steering shaft because the only way to get to it is to pull the motor ,so as long as you have it out change it. Just make sure you get one from Yamaha as the after market ones don't last . And Yamaha never put 108's on from the factory, Comet just quit making the 102's for it . But you can get one for an 81 SRX as they still make that 102 ,you will just have to realign you clutch and use the Vmax weights and spring , but you have your motor out so you will have to realign the clutch any way.

stinger440 · Post by **stinger440** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 8:17 am

Thats what I thought about the clutch. I read all the other posts on the clutching situation and when I checked mine sure enough there is the tell tale burn mark on it. So would I be better off reworking the sled so the 108 works better or get the SRX clutch and put on. OR I heard a rumor the P-85 polaris clutch works well. I want the thing to run right but I don't want to have to do fab work on it to try to make it work.

thanks for all the great info.

opsled · Post by **opsled** » Sun Aug 05, 2007 6:49 pm

The P-85 Polaris will work but is the same diameter as a 108 and is setup for an 1 3/8" wide belt (1 1/4" for stock Vmax) so you will have to do more mods and setup work than the 108 to get it right. I am using the P-85 on my mod but I have the jackshaft that allows me to use the matching Polaris secondary so my only issues are going to be calibration which I would have anyway because of the mods to the engine. The simplest solution is to do what Jeff said and get a 102 for an 81 SRX and recalibrate it for the Vmax or get an original Vmax 540 "Yamaha-Comet" 102 that is good or rebuildable but those are very hard to come by. I have a complete NOS Yamaha-Comet 102 for a Vmax 540 but really don't want to get rid of it as I doubt I will ever find another. The last time they were available they listed out at over $500 and you could probably setup two 102's for that amount. The bottom line is that it will be much easier to get a 102 to work right than a 108 if you can find one that will fit the sled. There are others on this site that say they have a good setup for the 108 and I don't doubt them so look back through the threads and you will find some more advice on them.

Good Luck, Phil (opsled)