Mule Owner Question - Drive Belt Issues?

[Mr.RonGilbert]

Quick question for Mule owners -

I own a 3010 and the belt started going out about 9 months ago... had it replaced and the shop would not warranty it, said that it looked as if I had stressed it by pulling something too heavy. Kinda ticked me off but what was I going to do.. I had hauled deer stands and corn on a trailer but never thought that I abused it in any way. I don't think that I exceeded the 1200# towing capacity. I paid the money ~$300 or so buck to get it back.

This weekend my dad's belt went out, his is a 4010 and right at a year older than mine. It may have ~150hrs total on it, all around the lease. He pulls the same size trailer (the same trailer used to haul it) for corn/feeders/stands etc... mostly just to and from the stand. We dropped it off today (different service place) and I am interested in hearing what they have to say..

Anyone else have issues with the belt with general use?

I am not sure how you can check the belt... or if it is even possible with it being enclosed, mine had some warning signs before it completely quit, allowing me to get it fixed before it left me stranded. My dad's failed pretty fast once it started to go, I had it pointed back towards camp when it quit but was still about a mile or so... at least the weather was nice for a walk.

[muddyfuzzy]

cvt's are not really made for pulling it's their only down side. a cvt trans does not like to engaged, disengaged then re-engaged. stab it and stay on it. excessive wear is usually caused by having too light spring tension on the secondary pulley which causes the belt to slip under a load and burn the belt. once the belt develops slick spots on it hooking the clutch up is almost impossible which leads to a loss in performance and ultimately belt failure.

a lighter/heavier spring in the primary controls what rpm's the clutch engages and the secondary shift out or gearing. weight can also be added to the primary depending on the design to increase belt pinch.

clutching a cvt is not rocket science but takes a little trial and error. we have clutched two nationally ranked can-am mud racing bikes that were putting tremendous power to the ground so it can be done. i would suggest calling epi and dalton industries and see if the offer clutch kits for your mule, dalton is the best while epi is more in the spring side of the game. you may also want to look into an aftermarket belt as some of the oem's are not that great.

the wear on the belt can be checked and you service manual should have these instructions, which consist of visual inspection as well as measuring the wear on the belt. make sure you cvt is clean and free of dirt and i would recommend snorkeling the intake and exhaust if you get it in water above the cover.

[Wayne Meuir]

What are the symptoms of a belt failure on a Mule. My son and I borrowed a Mule from a friend of my Son's on his lease. We noticed the very first time we got in it that it sorta vibrated when first taking off, but then smoothed out and pulled very well, however, after about 30 minutes, we noticed at first a faint smell like something might be getting hot, then within about a minute a worse vibration and a sound like maybe a piece of wire had wrapped around a rear axle, sort of a flop, flop, flop like something slapping. We stopped, took it out of gear and turned it off. We raised the back cover up and looked at everything and could see nothing obvious and no hot smell or anything. Got back in, started it up, and it would not move at all. Shifter felt as though it was not going into gear but cables on top of motor appeared to be moving correctly. We walked back to camp and got my truck and towed it back to camp. We called the owner, who was not at the lease at the time, and told him what happened and that we would do whatever he wanted us to do to get it fixed and we would pay the bill. We did not have a trailer, so we left it at camp in a shed. Owner is going to pick it up this week while he is down there hunting and get it fixed.

Just wondering if this sounds like a belt issue or something worse. It is a 2005 and belt has never ben changed and it has been used quite a bit.

Wayne

[Randy]

Weve had 5 mules over the past 7 years and Ive only had to replace one belt. Actually didnt even have to replace it.. The torque converter had gone out on our diesel 4010 and they replaced it hoping it would fit the problem and they wouldnt have to warranty the converter.

What youve been doing isnt even close to the amount of abuse we put ours through but we also trade one in every year or so.

[mjhaverkamp]

I think I went through 3 belts in 6 years, I did do a lot of heavy pulling and ran through some really bad mud roads and rough terrain, I do know that it is better to pull in low range, also I think they may make a heavier after market for a mule, may want to check that out.

[huntresss]

We just traded our 3010 trans for a Kubota partially because of wanting to get away from the cvt (but mainly because of poor service from the only dealer in town). It just seems to be an inherent issue with the cvt. To be fair though, we put alot of hours (about 300-400 a year) on our Mule, hauling our hunters and their hogs around pretty rough terrain and have to trade them every other year or so. We couldn't afford to be down so we changed the belt every year as part of our routine maintanance schedule and never had a belt fail on us. At around $400 (parts and labor) each time, it wasn't a cheap fix, so we asked our mechanic if anything could be done to prevent wearing the belt out so quickly and he told us to drive in low gear whenever possible, even if we didn't have a load. I don't totally understand the mechanics of a cvt, but from what I understand it keeps the belt from wearing on the same location, thereby extending the life of both the belt and the pulleys.

[boomer453]

not the mule but i have had the CVT Kawasaki's (brute force and teryx) since 2005. Spend the 100 and buy the aftermarket kevlar belt. takes a few hours to install but well worth it. Everyone i know who has a machine with a CVT (me included) puts it in high and never takes it out. all those times you putt along nice and slow while in high are damaging your belt, once the edges wear down it will start to slip.

[huntresss]

I just checked with my husband since he did all the maintenance on our Mule and he said that he had the belt replaced every 200 hours, and that's what the manufacturer recommends. Sounds like the kevlar belt is the way to go.

[Mr.RonGilbert]

Thanks for the replies. Good to have folks that know what's going on. I will call and have them put the Kevlar belt on my dads and order one for mine as well.

Anyone have an electronic copy of the service / tech manual?

What are the symptoms of a belt failure on a Mule. My son and I borrowed a Mule from a friend of my Son's on his lease. We noticed the very first time we got in it that it sorta vibrated when first taking off, but then smoothed out and pulled very well, however, after about 30 minutes, we noticed at first a faint smell like something might be getting hot, then within about a minute a worse vibration and a sound like maybe a piece of wire had wrapped around a rear axle, sort of a flop, flop, flop like something slapping. We stopped, took it out of gear and turned it off. We raised the back cover up and looked at everything and could see nothing obvious and no hot smell or anything. Got back in, started it up, and it would not move at all. Shifter felt as though it was not going into gear but cables on top of motor appeared to be moving correctly. We walked back to camp and got my truck and towed it back to camp. We called the owner, who was not at the lease at the time, and told him what happened and that we would do whatever he wanted us to do to get it fixed and we would pay the bill. We did not have a trailer, so we left it at camp in a shed. Owner is going to pick it up this week while he is down there hunting and get it fixed.

Just wondering if this sounds like a belt issue or something worse. It is a 2005 and belt has never ben changed and it has been used quite a bit.

Wayne

Sounds like the same symptoms to me Wayne.

[La Calavera]

We busted the belt on a 3010 in Mexico and replaced it with two new ones, but it did not work correctly. We caked up the tires with mud and would not spin so we left it out in the pasture because we did not want to strain it more than we had. I think we busted the transfer case or rear end. It shakes when you take off in high gear, but works pretty good in low. If you have slight mechanic skills it won't take you but 30 mins. to change it, all you do is take the plastic cover off and the front pulley .

[Bobcat]

Find a guy that knows how to fix them that doesn't work for a dealership and don't skimp him on his labor. We've found that is the best way to get something fixed for good. Mule +10 yrs old.

Might try calling a Kawasaki rep? Surely there is a regional person that trouble shoots these issues. Get them involved. At this point you're either dealing with a repair that isn't dealing with the issue or being given faulty straps. Third option is that Mules aren't up the task. Bring it up, betcha he'll get involved.

[Mr.RonGilbert]

Anyone know the PN for the Kevlar belt? Or a website reference so I can get them on the way.

One is a 3010 and the other is a 4010. Both are four seaters

[Longhorn1952]

Dose anyone know a safe way that you can get a 2009 mule 3010 go faster than 20 MPH please PM me

[Mr.RonGilbert]

Go down hill????

PM me too BTW lol