hmm... changing my sprockets. did i just screw up my clutch?? :O

i'm changing my sprockets and chain today, following this guide:
Chain, Sprocket Replacement - VFR Discussion

i've removed the speed sensor and what this guide call the "clutch slave".

(this is the picture from the guide...)

then the entire round black clutch thingy fell off, and something is dripping from it. i guessed this was the fluid from the clutch, and as i suspected there is no pressure on the clutch handle anymore. also this blank shiny bolt that goes into this clutch-thing is loose and easy to move in and out.

did i just crap up my entire clutch and need a garage, or do i just finish the sprocket and chain job, reassemble the thing and refill with "DOT 4" brake fluid on the left handlebar?? what do i do with the blank shiny bolt??

"this if how your learn!" somebody told me. "just try and error". did i cross the error-line?

i miss my mechanic family 750 miles away....

 

" Raeva mi verker!"


Don't spoil our illusion, mate, as we generally think most Europeans are wizards of mechanics.

Force the cylinder back into its hole by hand or using a C-clamp and bleed normally. What you did was to change out the old hydraulic fluid accidentally, but it needed changing anyway.

 

haha! i'm such a lame mechanic that i really shouldn't be near tools. but i'm also broke, so i have to

force the cylinder back into the hole in front of the sprocket (where it is now) or into the hole in the loose round thing which i do not know the name of? what's the function of that cylinder? it goes in and out by the pressure of the hydralics, doing what?

 

You must push the piston back into the loose round thing that you do not know the name of. By the way, this is the clutch slave cylinder. It engages and releases the clutch via the clutch pushrod (that blank shiny bolt that protrudes from the case) when you manipulate the clutch lever on the left handlebar. Don't use any solvents to clean the piston and don't tear the seals when you push it back in.

Make sure you wipe up all the fluid - don't let ANY get on a painted surface. If the fluid gets on the paint IMMEDIATELY wash it off with soapy water. Then, like the squirrelman says, you'll have to replace the fluid and bleed. You might want to buy a bleeder to make this easier (Mityvac for about $45)

A shop manual is essential if you are doing your own work.

 

By the way, if you pulled the clutch pushrod out, coat it lightly with engine oil before you replace it.

 

okey, i've been checking out the shop manual for the clutch, it it doesn't seem like rocket science. but the manual also mentions a bleeder or bleeder hose in just about every step. i have neither, and since it's Easter all shops are closed and i can't find one for a week. i was hoping to get this done during the Easter to be ready for next week. is there a way to refill fluid and bleed the clutch without any special tools?

 

Sure! I'd just connect a piece of tubing to the bleed valve and punch a hole in the top of an old water bottle and run the tubing through there. Then you can just pump the lever while you slowly and carefully pour new fluid into the master cylinder until it starts coming out clear. Then you should be able to hold the lever 'engaged' while you close the bleed valve. If you can't reach, just tie it.

 

ok, so the function of this tube and bottle would basically be to give the brake fluid safe passage away from the bike and into storage, as well as being able to see what comes out (color/air etc). it really doesnt sound much harder than filling the IV-tubes at work with medicine and no life-threatning air bubbles except those tubes are see-through, so it's easy to seethe air.

so: close the slave cylinder with the rod and everything. rig a tube and a container on the bleeder, unscrew the bleeder valve and the master cylinder. then fill the system with new brake fluids from the master cylinder while keeping the clutch handle pressed. when the new fluids start coming out the bleeder, shut the screw on the slave, fill the master to the correct level and close the lid on the master cylinder, still with the handle pressed. and then the pressure should be back? the clutch handle should be pressed (or tied up) until everything is closed, or should there be some pumping involved? would pumping the handle fill the tubes with air?

 

Basically, get the whole clutch slave assembly back together again and mount it back up. Then, connect the tubing (I use clear tubing but shouldn't matter since you can see in the bottle) to the nipple on the bleed valve. Open the bleed valve. Some might flow out the tube but probably not much.

Start pumping the clutch lever and it will start sucking the fluid in the master cylinder reservoir and pushing it through the bleed valve into your waste bottle. Ordinarily with this valve closed it would just make hydraulic pressure, engaging the clutch. But since you have the valve open, it shoots out.

As the level of fluid in the reservoir starts to drop, fill it back up with clean fluid from a NEW container. Don't let it go dry. If you keep it from going dry you shouldn't get air bubbles in the line.

Keep doing this until the clean fluid starts coming out the bleed valve - therefore all the dirty stuff is [mostly] gone. You want to close the bleed valve when the lever is SQUEEZED/engaged.

 

ah, this is gold! last thing: when the bleed valve is closed with the handle squeezed, do i just release the handle before assembling the master? or does this matter at all?

 

Nope once the handle is held shut and you have closed the bleed valve, you can let it go. Then fill the mastery cylinder appropriately and close-er-up.

 

Let us know how it turns out for you.

 

Thanks a bunch. Going to the gas station to buy me some DOT4 now. Trust me, i'll let you know!

 

Oh and please have a soapy wet towel on hand in the event of a splash/drip/etc. DOT4 really is an awesome way to strip paint!

 

will do! most of my plastic is stripped at the moment though, only the front is still on. but i'll bring the towel just in case

 

I actually had stuff drip out and flow down the fork into the front fender. Good thing I saw it when cleaning up my tools - never even looked.

 

And after all that, if you still can't build pressure, bleed at the banjo bolt. It's the bolt next to the reservoir holding the clutch line on. I couldn't get any pressure because I forgot to do that.

 

Yes, but wrap the brake line and handlebar with absorbent cloth so any fluid that leaks out is absorbed.

By the way, Lars, have you spent time living overseas? Your English is impressive.

 

puh! it took me a few hours of work, but now the sprockets are brand new, the chain is installed and riveted, i found the missing plugs and changed those and bled and fixed the clutch! and all for the first time ever and with no physical help doing it! *proud*

after the good pointers for you guys, and some googling to see how others did it, it actually ended up being no trouble at all. the assembly was pretty easy, and i went to work (the hospital) and stole some big syringes and rubber tubing made for the oxygen masks we have at the ER. i guess the system was pretty much empty of fluid when i started, and when i took the slave apart the rest found the concrete floor. after assembling it and removing the cover on the master i first tried opening the slave valve and do the clutch handle. that didnt work for me like you discribed it, elwray, hardly anything got sucked in. so i sucked out the fluid from the master with a syringe, filled another clean syringe with new fluidand filled it from the slave bleed valve, from the bottom and up. got lots of air bubbling in the master before dirty fluid started filling up. sucked that out again, and before i knew it it was filling up with new fresh fluid. pretty fast there were no more bubbles, i ever sucked out some at the bottom with the closed fluid syringe, got a little air but soon nothing. closed the valve, pumped the handle and got pressure imidietly! oh joy! pushed it a few times with the valve open again, good pressure, before closing it again under pressure. filled up, closed up, no biggie!

thanks a lot, now i know how to do that! now Humpty Dumpty's back together again and ready for driving to work tomorrow morning! in five hours! crap...

 

Good job! Need to do it myself but the screws holdin my master cylinder together are seized on!