SPD Wedge Help Needed Please!

Route 6x6 Discussion Board: Restoration of older ATV's: SPD Wedge Help Needed Please!
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Jeff Schuster Froggy on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I have found an old Wedge that I would like to
restore, but the tranny is a mess. The guy I am
buying it from has removed it because the gears
were trashed, and now he doesn't even know if he
can find it. My questions are:

1) Could I replace the tranny in whole with
something out of an old snowmobile or three wheeler?

2) I believe it works like a differential system
(ring and pinion gears). Could I adapt parts from
another source like an old auto transmission, etc.
to fit the Wedge tranny case if the present owner
does find it?

3) Is there anyone out there who has an old manual
or who could take pictures of their Wedge's tranny
to help me with my rebuild?

I would appreciate the help greatly!
Thanks!
Froggy

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By John Engelman on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Hi Jeff I have a wedge that I am restoring, the trans is a forward-reverse gear box, mine took a dump and broke the spider gears but I got lucky and welded them back together again I can e-mail you some pics when I get my scanner problem fixed.
If by chance you can find a replacment trans to fit please let me know..
John

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By pete6x6 on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Jeff,

Well a T-20 would be an improvement but I'm unsure if you can fit those into a wedge.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Gary Harper (Garyinvt) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Froggy
I too have been looking for a manual for this machine for some time. I have found a copy of the owners manual and it is of some help. Mine has the transmission in it but I have not started it's rebuild as of yet. I would be quite oa job to put a T-20 in there. The current gearbox is a right angle design. The engine (JLO 295) is mounted with it's shaft toward the seating compartment. Thus an whole new mounting would be needed for a T-20. You may be able to adapt something from a snowmobile or a small tractor with a little bit less work.

John, I would be intrested in the the photos as well, when you get them.

So let me know if I can help you guys out and I will do the samme.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Keith on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I just recently got what i believe to be a wedge. it has the jet drive system or whatever u want to call it, i am also looking for parts and to see what the original specs are. the engine that is in it now is not the original and i'd like to find out more info on it, any help and info would be nice. thanks for whatever help you may be able to provide.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Frank Greco on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Hello everyone, I have a complete wedge 295 and just started working on it. It was supposed to have ran when I bought it from a friend but I let it sit for a couple of years and now my friend has passed away. So I would love to find an owners manuel or shop manuel or both. I do have a spare transmission but don't know much about them. Any help would be appreciated. You can email me at harleyguy48@yahoo.com thanks for any help Frank

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By liflod (Liflod) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Just picked up a Wedge this weekend. The engine is running fine and I adapted a new muffler to it along with fixing the exhaust manifold. It was rusted through on the bend. I used 1" strips of sheet metal and wrapped them around the pipe and tack welded the first one to the existing pipe. I wrapped another one overlapping the first and was able to weld to the new piece and so on and so on. I just tack welded then shaped with a hammer and was able to fix it in about 30 minutes.
I adapted an Arctic Cat muffler that fits in the stock location and looks great !! The rear chains are missing, so that is next on the list along with adjusting the chains.I should be able to drive it by the weekend.

Does anyone have a Wedge they actually drive? All I hear about is the bad tranmssions but no feedback on actually driving one !!!!

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By liflod (Liflod) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Has anyone out there ever replaced the chains on their Wedge? I replaced the rear chains and center chains on mine and I can't seem to get them adjusted correctly without adding half links. I don't think they would have put half links in the chain from the factory so I don't think I should. There are 3 chains that come together on a common shaft, but there are only 2 adjusments. Seems like a bad design or I am missing another adjusment.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Eddie Beddingfield on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Liflod, There is a certain sequence to adjusting the chains. I had one and if you dont adjust in the right order they will not come out right.I would need a manual to to it again ,but it seems you start on middle axle chains, then jackshafts , then slide gearbox back last.Really you need a manual and I got rid of mine with the machine. Eddie

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By liflod (Liflod) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

The sliding gear box adjusment has me baffled. The jack shaft moves up and down with one adjustment and it moves fore and aft by loosening the screws and prying it. I can see a slots in the rear under the engine, but I cannot seem to find the other bolts to loosen and slide the whole engine cradle rearward.

I can get any 2 chains tight but not all 3 at the same time. I'll get my mirrors and spotlights out tonight and see if I can find the other slotted holes for adjustment.

Lance

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By T Edwards on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Hello everyone
I have wanted a Wedge for some time. I had a deal on one a couple of years ago but lost touch with the guy before I could go pick it up in Indiana. Anyway, it would be great to see pictures of your various Wedges and opinions about how they actually drive.
Thanks
T Edwards

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Michael Robertson on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Mr Edwards

I was at Richard Clark (owner of this site) picking up my
restored Max last week, he had two of those SPD Wedges
You may want to check with him

Michael

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By T Edwards on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Thanks so much, Michael! Ill email him now.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By mike abbey on Unrecorded Date: Edit

i havnt adjusted chains on mine yet ,but i did order a manual from richard last week .if nothing else i might get a things to check list.sone as my carb kit comes in i will give her a spin

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By liflod (Liflod) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I did get the chains adjusted. The whole engine cradle can move toward the rear to tighten the chain from the clutch to the jack shaft. The fore/aft adjustment on the jack shaft is to allow the engine cradle to move and keep the jack shaft in place.
Still havn't had the chance to take it for another test ride.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By liflod (Liflod) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I did get the chains adjusted. The whole engine cradle can move toward the rear to tighten the chain from the clutch to the jack shaft. The fore/aft adjustment on the jack shaft is to allow the engine cradle to move and keep the jack shaft in place.
Still havn't had the chance to take it for another test ride.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By mike abbey on Unrecorded Date: Edit

the transmission problem is the dog clutch that engages the fwrd or revs gear there are three dog theeth as there called on the slider or dog clutch with a matching set on each gear,the shifter fork is atatch to the dog clutch.I would bet 99% of the trans problems where becuase people didnt keep the clutch brake adjusted.this brake stopped the driven part of the clutch and engaged whene the shifter handle was pushed down and eliminated grinding wich wore the theeth on the dog clutch and its engaging gear to a radius.now the engaging surfaces no longer have good flat matching surfaces to mesh this causes the tranny to slip out of gear under pressure.the detents in the shifter fork and the shifter cable wont resist this force.The fix is to remove the dog clutch and the two driveing gears to a machine shop and have the surfaces milled square agian but now you will have more backlash in the trans i fxed the by silver soldering 1/8x1/16 tool steel to the mating surfaces of the dog cltch and the gears now those surfaces are hardend.the quick fix is to fip the dog clutch and echange places of to gears betting that the reverse gear isnt as worn as fwrd ggear (they do interchange as there the same gear)

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By liflod (Liflod) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Thanks for the info Mike.
Mine won't stay in reverse, but forward works fine. I think the clutch brake is a wonderful invention on the part of Sperry Rand. The grinding gears is a common problem on vehicles that have a belt driven torque converter. Coot and Pug owners have the same complaint that their engines have to idle down too far to keep the transmission from spinning, but there is so little drag on the transmission when it is in neutral, the input shaft does not want to stop spinning.
I'm not ready to open the transmission yet. When no reverse becomes my only problem, I'll take care of it.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By david berger (Davidrrrd) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

my 1971 terra -jet's have a cluch brake too, davidrrrd

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By mike abbey on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I just ap/u anouther wedge the shifter is wired into forword gear.but it has a jetpump and its good for parts to keep my good one alive,i noticed the extra cable from steering wheel to change the directional ball or what ever its called on a jet pump and it looks like some kind of shifter to engage pump, i found it back at pump drive end but i havnt found whats at the other end of the cable,cant find any thing at the other end,but the weather been cold and wet and i havnt had time to check it out good since iv been back,then to top it off my brother inlaw had to rescue a tera tiger over in shipshe so we where checking it out last night.but back to the tranny its a real simple box with three helical cut miter gears the small one is afixt to input shaft the two larger gears are freewheeling on output shaft the dog clutch is keyed to output sliding left or right=frwrd or reverse

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By liflod (Liflod) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Well Dave,
There is a Terra-Jet on my want list, I just haven't found one that is cheap or free. My cousin had one in Newfoundland when I was alot younger. I wanted one then and still want one now !!!

Mike, you must have picked up the machine in Iowa ??? Too far for me. 800+ miles for a parts machine is a little much. I've done 600 for a parts machine, but I really needed the parts.
I would like to find a factory roll cage for mine if anyone has one that is cheap or free and within a reasonable distance from Pittsburgh PA. Joe's Garage has a picture of the inside of a Wedge transmission and it doesn't look that complicated.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By MIKE ABBEY on Unrecorded Date: Edit

IT WAS 450 MILES ,IT COST THE SAME TO GO GET IT RYAN AND HIS DAD HELRED LOAD IT UP LATE MONDAY NIGHT,ITS NICE TO MEET GOOD PEOPLE ALL ACROSS THIS COUNTRY.I DIDNT GET THERE TILL 1100 AT NIGHT THEN DEAD HEADED BACK TO I-80 BUT STAYED OVERNIGHT AT FIRST AVAILIBLE REST EREA.STILL A LONG TRIP WITH TRUCK CAMPER AND TRAILER.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By mike abbey on Unrecorded Date: Edit

HEY LANCE ! Did you drive your wedge yet.dude im hanging in suspence here,man instead of working on mine Ive been helping my brotherinlaw with teratiger,tonight mine comes out of storaged carb kits in the mail .

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By liflod (Liflod) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Not yet. I did get the chance to ride a little bit on Sunday. I took the Attex out for about 30 minutes. I managed to climb "the Hill" that I have been wanting to try. It looks like the neighbors have been going up and down it so at least there was a trail. Its the first time I actually climbed a long steep hill. I never try anything too risky , but since there was a trail already, I went up with no problem ,came down it and went up and down again , just to get a little more comfortable.

Maybe this weekend, I'll try the Wedge. Chains are new and tight, the engine starts and runs great, but it only has 4 wheels on it right now. I'll post after trial run #5.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By MIKE ABBEY on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I know what you mean about the hills.my starcraft with a 440 dosnt like steep grades much,it has a t20 and if the engine dies or flutters there is very little control to stop gravity from taking over,so its getting 4 stroke soon but i will have wedge going before all that.I am curiose the adds for these say they will climb 45% hill thats enough for me,at least the wedge has brakes and steering if the moter wont go up.I NOTICE TO ITS HARD TO BAIL OUT OF THE WEDGE BUCKET SEAT TOO!

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By david berger (Davidrrrd) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

mike maybe your wedge would still look nice with a roll bar.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By mike abbey on Unrecorded Date: Edit

O i have a factory rollbar on the restored wedge'its hard enough to get mt fat --- out when its sitting still,i just coundnt imagene trying to bail out with it moving,the starcraft seat isnt as bucket shaped as the wedge.man your in for duration.I guess at my age my hillclimbing just aint my bag,i just get pariniod in the starcraft knowing if the moter dies yuor in trouble last time it got my heart beating faster.checked my mail box again today [no carb kit yet]

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By liflod (Liflod) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Why do you have a problem if the engine dies? Can't you just pull back on the sticks to stop it on the hill? My Attex has a foot brake that I kept my foot real close to it while going up the hill and I used it to control my speed going down hill and just used the laterals to steer.
I know the Starcraft is a fairly rare beast. Does it have a foot bbrake on it?

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By liflod (Liflod) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

One other thing is the Wedge and the Attex are both dangerous if you throw a chain at the wrong place and time. My Attex has the big discs on the transmission and the Wedge brakes are connected to the axles via chain. So if you loose that particular chain, you just lost brakes on that side also. At least with a machine with brakes on the front axles, if you loose any of your chains, you can still stop.

Another thing I don't like about the Wedge is the axles are basically locked together when you are not turning the steering wheel, so pushing it backward and forward is easy, but to turn the thing while moving it around, you have to slide the front end around and skid the rear tires.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By mike abbey on Unrecorded Date: Edit

NO!there is no foot or parking brake,and the starcraft is at least as heavy as wedge.whene the engine power is gone rollind backwards goes against the bands,going forward there is a wrapping of the bands on the drum,but if you roll backwards the drum rotation unloads force and the mechanical advantage diminishes,cuasing me to plant my feet into the dash and pull like h--- to stop or slow down,with no directional control.If i cuold jam it into reverse every thing would be fine,but 2 feet on dash and 2 hands on the laterals,I just coudnt let go to shift,A foot operated parking brake would solve the delema for sure.to make this peticuler incident worse it was a curve going up the hill a i was only getting 1/2 the way and it would stall,whitch set me up to run backwards into a very deep ravine with 8 inch trees at the bottom,NO WAY! DUDE I AM HANGING ON FOR DEAR LIFE!Fortunatly someone was there to hand push rearend over where it needed to be so i could decend back down.this happend several times that day and once on the2002 humphry ride crashed in to a max no damage but i got the guy had a few choice words for me at the bottom,L.O.L.You are correct about moveing wedge not under power.terratiger,scrambler,sidewinder,amphicat all use clutch and brake set ups they do push and direct hard

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By MIKE ABBEY on Unrecorded Date: Edit

well the carb kit finaly arrived,and i got carb back togather.had batt on charger over night its got a short in it,so this will delay firing it up.i know i could use the recoil,but then i would be to tired to ride,I just installed electric starter on inlaws terra tiger,man thats a bonus,If moter didnt start after three pulls we would find him passed out in tiger L.O.L.Whene jlo295 dies i have him convinced on four stroke conversion,mybe today i can get wedge fired up OH THE SMELL OF 2 STROKE IN THE MORNING!

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By mike abbey on Unrecorded Date: Edit

OH THE SMELL OF TWO STROKE WAS NOT IN MY FAVOR TODAY.Wedge has been on the trailer for a week i didnt even think about all the rain and drizzle we had .20to1 mix was in the tank hit the starter and amouse nest and a quart of water blew out the exaust,i was standing behind the machine ,hoolleey mooley that was a lot of water .turns out if you leave your wedge out in the rain the water runs down the exaust outside the pipe and seeps into the flex pipe.I had to remove moter and remove lower drain plug where anouther cup flowed out ,then i got it all back togather and fouled the plug or flooded the moter witchever comes first.its a odd plug nobody carries so 4 of them got ordered overnight.those wedges look cool but they are a pain in the --- to work on.we are in the process of removing the jet pump from the other wedge.I found the missing link or the shifter for the pump.there is a small lever under upperbody left side to engage jet pump.I dont know why it was difficult to see. this wedge looks like it got buried in mud or sunk in the lake its got mud in places i dont how it would get without being submerged and it looks like it was that way a while.it will take a while for me to free up pump and the drive mechnism.with luck we will try to ride the wedge on sunday

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By liflod (Liflod) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Thanks for the great information. I took the transmission out of the Wedge last night and took it apart. You were right. All I had to do was reverse the gear postitions and now all the mating pieces are flat and like brand new. I cleaned up the brake band and drum on the clutch and I will make sure they are adjusted and the transmssion will stop completly before shifting. Now that I see what breaks, I can be careful when shifting or I will only shift while the engine is off. I get a few days off for Thanksgiving so I will take it out and see how she does !!

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By mike abbey on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I hope so Lance i need some insperation,I got wedge carb on but it only runs for short bursts with choke on so i need to go back and readjust needle,i made it flush with body of carb but i am not getting enough fuel,i also got some water in pulse line i need to drain.I noticed the gears in tranny on joes garage are straite spider gears i dont think those where stock mine are helical cut,one of my gears have also been welded,I also may get some time this week to get wedge running .

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By T Edwards ( - 24.0.56.202) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

HEY EVERYONE I BOUGHT A WEDGE!!!!
After literally YEARS of searching I finally found one that appears complete and was in my budget. I have never owned (or even seen) a 6 wheeler in the flesh but I always thought they were really neat. The Wedge I wanted because they look so cool. The machine is in Ohio and Im going to make a road trip from Texas to get it soon. Ill definitely need everyone's help with the restoration. Im so excited Im giggling like a school girl. Im still waiting for someone to make a post about how these things actually perform.

T

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By T Edwards ( - 24.0.56.202) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Hey everyone--
Are normal drive items like chains, sprockets, and axles still available or will there be all types of custom fitting and fabricating (read expensive) necessary? How about those old balloon tires?
T

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By liflod (Liflod) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Congratulations !!! Looks like a serous project.

Well, I was hoping to take my Wedge out this weekend. Last night I was going to repaint the dash and started looking at the steering column. The telescopic steering is frozen, so this morning I took the whole damn thing apart. I'm going to take it to my dads and try to use the press to get it loose. If that goes well, I may be able to get her together and try it out.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Fred Sowerwine, Montana's Max dealer (Fred4dot) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Lance, If it's rust/crud frozen try Pblaster. It's the best penetrant I have used and works pretty fast.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By mike abbey on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Man i havnt seen a wedge yet that the steering colum wasnt frozen on,I suppose it was a good idea telescoping steering wheel,but the shafts where made out of steel and they rust,never have gotten mine free.axles can be made from 1.187 stressproof steel one end machined to fit 3/4 IDto fit inside bearing,bearings are std and can be found anywhere,tsc,msc,bearing headquerters.you could even improve some by getting outside seals and greasable bearing covers.I havnt got the steering gear off parts wedge yet jet pump adds extra cable to the mix. I have mud busters on wedge now and i dont know how it will behave with these tires Igot a set of rawhides with parts wedge I can try if others dont work.less aggressive i am sure would be better as the wedge is heavy.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By liflod (Liflod) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I got the steering column working again today. I started soaking it with PB blaster a few months ago. It needed real force. My dad has a 30 ton press and that did the trick. Once it was out, I was able to sand and grease the thing to get it to move freely.

There is nothing easy to work on on the Wedge. I have about 4 hours into fixing the steering column, but I was not stopping until it was telescoping !!!!!

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Mitch Garstang (N2ri) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

where can I get a pdf manual or ? for a wedge?
also engine & trans & steering wheel, gas tank?
etc. Thanks! Mitch


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