Transmission slippage?

[El guapo]

Hey gang,
So we got our first solid rain in 2 months yesterday and I wanted to go out and play. My 825i was parked outside and when I fired it up (in a solid downpour) it did not want to move at first. It started fine and shifted fine, but when I hit the gas it only moved very slightly despite the engine revving. It did this in 2wd, 4wd, with the differential locked and unlocked, and in reverse. Eventually ( after about a minute of this) it started to pick up steam. I finally got it out on the road and gave it an Itlian tune up and it was fine after that.
I'm sure it's water related but this can't be normal?. Any ideas?

[jergeod]

Some how the belt was soaked look to see how the water is running on the belt.

[El guapo]

so me running it dried it out and improved the friction, right?

[jergeod]

You got it! you get the belt wet and you loose any motion, the belt just slips till it starts to dri off from the heat made from slipping.

[DominiEarl]

the belt just slips till it starts to dri off from the heat made from slipping

[BrynaCecil]

so me running it dried it out and improved the friction, right?

[DIXIEDOG]

so me running it dried it out and improved the friction, right?

Correct

[duling]

Is there a way to tell if the belt is loose and needs tightened?

I had a hard trail riding weekend and I feel like its a little looser than it was before... I feel like it doesn't engage as quick...

Any suggestions??

[K-DOG]

Your clutch's belt cannot be tightened, you need to figure out how water got into your clutch housing. Have you had it in water over the running boards? If not, the only way I can see a hard rain getting in your clutch housing is through the intake filter (drivers side) if the gator was parked perfectly with the direction of the rain. The cover and tube comes off fairly easy. The clutch housing air exit is underneath the back of the box on the drivers side, you can take a flash light and look down and see the belt. How many miles do you have on the gator? John deere recommends changing the drive belt at 800-1000 miles. I changed mine at 700 and it was an 1/8 of inch narrower than the new one. (which is a lot) This can cause slower engagement because the primary has to close that much farther to grab a hold of the belt. Dusty conditions can also cause issues with clutch's if you don't clean them out. I would first take the housing off inspect, clean with compressed air and change the belt if you have a lot of miles on it. Drive belt are 50.00 bucks.

Is there a way to tell if the belt is loose and needs tightened?

I had a hard trail riding weekend and I feel like its a little looser than it was before... I feel like it doesn't engage as quick...

Any suggestions??

[duling]

Wow, thank you so much! I will take that apart as soon as I get home. Hopefully just cleaning it will work. Thanks again.