UPDATE: See this post first: https://www.wolverineforums.com/for...ral-discussion/29434-yamaha-wolverine-x4-9000-miles-600-hours-2.html#post314946
3K miles and it's time to service the both the primary and secondary sheaves. Hopefully my experience is an isolated case, but as a precaution, I recommend you service/check your secondary sheave much sooner, like at 1K miles. I'm not going to go over actually servicing the primary/secondary replacing grease as it's the exact same process as on the older generations, just that everything's bigger and beefier. Todd from Hunterworks has videos on how to do this.
I've already done a post of my mods which allow removal of the CVT cover without removing your pillar plastic or seat bracket. This holds true only for primary service. For secondary sheave service, unfortunately you still have to remove the seat bracket to get the secondary sheave off the shaft.
https://www.wolverineforums.com/for...eral-discussion/18258-yamaha-wolverine-x2-x4-mods-tips-tricks-5.html#post228018
Now I'm a self-proclaimed Filipino *******, so the welding job you see here isn't pretty using my cheapie Harbor Freight welder. I welded a lugnut to the stock cam plate cover to help hold my primary in place while taking/installing the primary sheave holding nut. The metal is thin so I'd buy another cam plate cover and double them up as after so much torque it flexes.
![Image]()
![Image]()
Pulled off the cam plate and you can see how much debris is in the sheave. The debris is greatly reduced as I've installed an air clean-out port that you can purchase through UTVEngineering.com. I blow out my primary every other week and it greatly reduces the buildup and can extend primary sheave service intervals so long as you're using grease that's better than stock, such as the red formulation many manufacturers offer.
Videos of air cleanout port:
![Image]()
![Image]()
Everything all cleaned up. Keep in mind that this sheave is a prototype that was hand cut and not done on a CNC machine. Frankly I think the performance of this first prototype is good enough for production (simply taking measurements for use to program the CNC machine), a testament to Michael's knowledge of sheaves. HIS VERY FIRST TRY and we hit 60 MPH.
![Image]()
You can see here the rollers are making it all the way to the primary's outer endpoints by the wear marks.
![Image]()
Primary fixed/moveable wear marks.
![Image]()
Stock moveable on the left vs prototype on the right. You can see from the wear marks that the prototype is riding much lower = more low end torque (not like the X2/X4 needed it, but it's welcome). You can also see that it's riding further to the outer edge = the reason we're hitting 60 MPH.
![Image]()
Onto the secondary sheave:
Those of you who upgraded from a Rhino/Viking/Wolverine and think you can reuse your old tools, think again. I had to drop ~$40 on a new adjustable wrench to remove my secondary nut. You'll need something 2.146" or 54.5 mm wrench or socket to be able to remove that nut. I recommend an adjustable wrench as it doesn't take much torque to break it loose but using a hammer/chisel won't work like it did on the earlier generations (at least in my experience). If you're thinking of doing the tire trick to remove the nut, I wouldn't recommend it unless you weigh 300 lbs because the X2/X4's secondary spring is much beefier than the Rhino/Viking/Wolverine's.
![Image]()
Hunterworks has redesigned their secondary spring compressor based on my feedback. Their secondary spring compressor has been beefed up to handle the X2/X4's larger spring as well as larger diameter. Here you can see the older spring compressor won't fit over the spring cup retaining nut.
![Image]()
Secondary spring holding tool:
https://www.hunterworks.com/inc/sdetail/123661/133643
More Filipino ******* engineering. I used a cheap electrical wall plate in conjunction with a steering wheel puller to get the clearance I needed to get the nut off.
![Image]()
X2/X4's secondary spring is on steroids compared to the older generation.
![Image]()
![Image]()
![Image]()
Secondary face wear pattern showing we're getting good belt travel at both extremes.
![Image]()
More measurements for future upgrades
Inner spring cup diameter.
![Image]()
Outer spring cup diameter.
![Image]()
Now for the UGLY. This could be due to to waiting 3K miles to service the secondary, it could be due to inadequate amount of grease installed from the factory, it could be due to that grease being not up to par for the job, it could be from too much grease being installed in the shaft cavity causing the guide pins to push out under hydraulic pressure, maybe the beefier spring is somehow causing the sleeve to side-load and bind.........or all the above. One thing is for sure, I've never seen this before and my colleagues haven't either. The pins gouged the spring sleeve very badly.
![Image]()
The BAD. I wasn't expecting this and didn't have a spare secondary spring sleeve to put back in so I had to reuse it. I rotated it 25 degrees so the guide pins have a better surface to ride on but nothing's preventing the sleeve from rotating to a point where the pins are back in those grooves. I'm ordering a new sleeve and guide pins ASAP. Pins aren't as bad but I'll be ordering new ones as well.
![Image]()
The GOOD. The X2/X4 engine make so much damn torque across the RPM range that I didn't notice the lack of it. Obviously the secondary sheave wasn't moving in and out as efficiently as it could have. After putting everything back together I noticed the secondary back/up shifting much smoother than before. Red grease is rated to something like 500 F. If you can show me specs of Yamaha's OEM grease matching that volatility point, I'll concede to using OEM, but for me I'm going red in my Blue
UPDATE: I forgot to take pictures of the spider cage. Make sure you check the grease or repack the bearing inside the spider cage
![Image]()
![Image]()
UPDATE 2: I believe the problem with my spring sleeve probably contributed to my stock rollers flat-spotting:
https://www.wolverineforums.com/for...-x2-x4-cvt-sheaves-wet-clutch/21066-wolverine-x2-x4-clutch-mods.html#post218409
Continuing on with the wet clutch here:
https://www.wolverineforums.com/for...wet-clutch/25412-x4-3000-mile-sheave-service-also-applicable-x2.html#post269820
Here are some torque specs:
Primary and secondary sheave retaining bolts are both 27 mm.
Primary sheave retaining nut 184 ft-lbs
Secondary sheave retaining nut 118 ft-lbs
Secondary spring retaining nut 66 ft-lbs
Wet clutch bolt 96 ft-lbs which is reverse threaded
3K miles and it's time to service the both the primary and secondary sheaves. Hopefully my experience is an isolated case, but as a precaution, I recommend you service/check your secondary sheave much sooner, like at 1K miles. I'm not going to go over actually servicing the primary/secondary replacing grease as it's the exact same process as on the older generations, just that everything's bigger and beefier. Todd from Hunterworks has videos on how to do this.
I've already done a post of my mods which allow removal of the CVT cover without removing your pillar plastic or seat bracket. This holds true only for primary service. For secondary sheave service, unfortunately you still have to remove the seat bracket to get the secondary sheave off the shaft.
https://www.wolverineforums.com/for...eral-discussion/18258-yamaha-wolverine-x2-x4-mods-tips-tricks-5.html#post228018
Now I'm a self-proclaimed Filipino *******, so the welding job you see here isn't pretty using my cheapie Harbor Freight welder. I welded a lugnut to the stock cam plate cover to help hold my primary in place while taking/installing the primary sheave holding nut. The metal is thin so I'd buy another cam plate cover and double them up as after so much torque it flexes.
Pulled off the cam plate and you can see how much debris is in the sheave. The debris is greatly reduced as I've installed an air clean-out port that you can purchase through UTVEngineering.com. I blow out my primary every other week and it greatly reduces the buildup and can extend primary sheave service intervals so long as you're using grease that's better than stock, such as the red formulation many manufacturers offer.
Videos of air cleanout port:
Everything all cleaned up. Keep in mind that this sheave is a prototype that was hand cut and not done on a CNC machine. Frankly I think the performance of this first prototype is good enough for production (simply taking measurements for use to program the CNC machine), a testament to Michael's knowledge of sheaves. HIS VERY FIRST TRY and we hit 60 MPH.
You can see here the rollers are making it all the way to the primary's outer endpoints by the wear marks.
Primary fixed/moveable wear marks.
Stock moveable on the left vs prototype on the right. You can see from the wear marks that the prototype is riding much lower = more low end torque (not like the X2/X4 needed it, but it's welcome). You can also see that it's riding further to the outer edge = the reason we're hitting 60 MPH.
Onto the secondary sheave:
Those of you who upgraded from a Rhino/Viking/Wolverine and think you can reuse your old tools, think again. I had to drop ~$40 on a new adjustable wrench to remove my secondary nut. You'll need something 2.146" or 54.5 mm wrench or socket to be able to remove that nut. I recommend an adjustable wrench as it doesn't take much torque to break it loose but using a hammer/chisel won't work like it did on the earlier generations (at least in my experience). If you're thinking of doing the tire trick to remove the nut, I wouldn't recommend it unless you weigh 300 lbs because the X2/X4's secondary spring is much beefier than the Rhino/Viking/Wolverine's.
Hunterworks has redesigned their secondary spring compressor based on my feedback. Their secondary spring compressor has been beefed up to handle the X2/X4's larger spring as well as larger diameter. Here you can see the older spring compressor won't fit over the spring cup retaining nut.
Secondary spring holding tool:
https://www.hunterworks.com/inc/sdetail/123661/133643
More Filipino ******* engineering. I used a cheap electrical wall plate in conjunction with a steering wheel puller to get the clearance I needed to get the nut off.
X2/X4's secondary spring is on steroids compared to the older generation.
Secondary face wear pattern showing we're getting good belt travel at both extremes.
More measurements for future upgrades
Inner spring cup diameter.
Outer spring cup diameter.
Now for the UGLY. This could be due to to waiting 3K miles to service the secondary, it could be due to inadequate amount of grease installed from the factory, it could be due to that grease being not up to par for the job, it could be from too much grease being installed in the shaft cavity causing the guide pins to push out under hydraulic pressure, maybe the beefier spring is somehow causing the sleeve to side-load and bind.........or all the above. One thing is for sure, I've never seen this before and my colleagues haven't either. The pins gouged the spring sleeve very badly.
The BAD. I wasn't expecting this and didn't have a spare secondary spring sleeve to put back in so I had to reuse it. I rotated it 25 degrees so the guide pins have a better surface to ride on but nothing's preventing the sleeve from rotating to a point where the pins are back in those grooves. I'm ordering a new sleeve and guide pins ASAP. Pins aren't as bad but I'll be ordering new ones as well.
The GOOD. The X2/X4 engine make so much damn torque across the RPM range that I didn't notice the lack of it. Obviously the secondary sheave wasn't moving in and out as efficiently as it could have. After putting everything back together I noticed the secondary back/up shifting much smoother than before. Red grease is rated to something like 500 F. If you can show me specs of Yamaha's OEM grease matching that volatility point, I'll concede to using OEM, but for me I'm going red in my Blue
UPDATE: I forgot to take pictures of the spider cage. Make sure you check the grease or repack the bearing inside the spider cage
UPDATE 2: I believe the problem with my spring sleeve probably contributed to my stock rollers flat-spotting:
https://www.wolverineforums.com/for...-x2-x4-cvt-sheaves-wet-clutch/21066-wolverine-x2-x4-clutch-mods.html#post218409
Continuing on with the wet clutch here:
https://www.wolverineforums.com/for...wet-clutch/25412-x4-3000-mile-sheave-service-also-applicable-x2.html#post269820
Here are some torque specs:
Primary and secondary sheave retaining bolts are both 27 mm.
Primary sheave retaining nut 184 ft-lbs
Secondary sheave retaining nut 118 ft-lbs
Secondary spring retaining nut 66 ft-lbs
Wet clutch bolt 96 ft-lbs which is reverse threaded
