OK guys here is another stupid question. that is the purpose of a tork converter. my friend has one and it sucks. i am not sure if the clutch is shot or we just don't know what we are doing. the first problem is that the back tire doesn't spin free. the other problem is that when it is running the clutch wont engage. any help would be appreciated.
Sure does. If the belt is tight it will make constant drag. If you take off the outer half of the pulley on the motor and you have the belt setting in the outer part of the driven one you should be able to pinch the slack out of the belt and have a gap of 1/8 to 1/4" around the pin in the drive pulley. You could also have the wrong belt. The kart supply sites have charts to tell which belt you need based on center to center distance of the crank and the driven shaft. They also have a picture of the way I described checking the belt tension. The belt should look terribly loose with the engine not running or idling.