My clutch has stopped disengaging

Hiras · Post by **Hiras** » Mon May 24, 2004 5:50 am

So i'm riding to work this morning. The bike stalled before the reserve kicked in. As I pull the clutch in there was a thump and a bump. I managed to get the bike into neutral and waited for the carbs to fill up. The bike started but it is now pulling even though the clutch is pulled in. I turned around and rode home. When I got there I bled the clutch but it made no difference. Does anyone know what it might be? Is it possible some of the plates have seized\fused together? This is a total nightmare as I need my wheels more than ever at the moment. Any thoughts greatly appreciated, H

dragracer1951 · Post by **dragracer1951** » Mon May 24, 2004 6:24 am

Same effort at the lever???? If so then there is something else besides hydrolics that is the problem. Pull the cover and see if the throw out bearing is in one piece. or (heres a real long shot) has the countershaft cover loosened up and moved causing too much play in the clutch rod? Let us know Jim

Hiras · Post by **Hiras** » Mon May 24, 2004 7:24 am

Hey Jim! Thanks for your reply. Yeah the effort at the lever is the same. The action has not changed noticeably. What's a throw out bearing? Is that one that lives in front of the clutch push rod? I think I remember seeing something like that in the clutch piston area of my ZXR? Where does one locate the countershaft cover? Damn. I'm not going to be able to tear the plastics off before tomorrow night. This is a nightmare.

dragracer1951 · Post by **dragracer1951** » Tue May 25, 2004 10:45 am

the countershaft cover is at the front of the drive chain...has the clutch slave cyl by it...check the slave cyl mount bolts...remove clutch cover...right side engine ...has oil fill cap on it. remove six clutch bolts and remove pressure plate. that's the front thingie on the clutch...there is a bearing in there that puches out on the pressure plate to dissengage the clutch. is it there and alive and well? remove the stack of clutch plates (noting the order of them as this may be important to you.... This should take you about 30 min to get this far as you don't REALLY have to remove any plastic.... I'm assuming that this just happened al of a sudden? Sumpin in there broke..... Lemme kn ow what comes of it Jim

ChuckD · Post by **ChuckD** » Tue May 25, 2004 10:34 pm

Could be old dirty fluid, did you do a complete fluid cleaning, all the way through. If not also consider stainless clutch line. Stock rubber lines go after a while, so if all elso fails, try there. They're only $15.00!!. CHUCK D.

Hiras · Post by **Hiras** » Fri May 28, 2004 8:58 am

Thanks for the advice gentlemen. I have bought a braided hose and the weekend is nearly here so i'll get a chance to do some fettling on Sunday and see if I can at least diagnose if not fix the problem. I'll let you know what occurs. Thanks again, Hiras

Hiras · Post by **Hiras** » Mon May 31, 2004 5:34 am

Yay Jim, I did as you suggested and got to the plates to inspect them and what did I find? Two of the friction plates had broken up into pieces. It's a public holiday in the UK today so no chance of ordering a new clutch until tomorrow <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/frown.gif ALT=":("> Still - I am confident that I can get the parts and reassemble it to ressurect the beast which is chuffing as I have never done a clutch before. My only worry is that despite cleaning out all the visible fragments, some may have gone astray in there which I figure could be catastrophic for the engine!!!!!!

creed12r · Post by **creed12r** » Mon May 31, 2004 9:51 am

Hi Hiras The clutch on these bikes are the major pain to owning one, mine broke the same as yours and I fitted a new clutch - no problem, 2 years later I had to take the sump off and there were two large bits sitting there looking at me, so you are probably alright just to change the clutch oil/filter it would be alot better to take the sump off to ensure everything is cleaned out. Whatever you do remember to soak the clutch plates overnight before you fit them. good luck chris

dragracer1951 · Post by **dragracer1951** » Mon May 31, 2004 8:52 pm

I would also think a set of springs at the same time couldn't hurt And soak the plates in oil! <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/happy.gif ALT=":D"> <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/happy.gif ALT=":D"> Jim

Hiras · Post by **Hiras** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 3:34 pm

Damn! So I soaked my new friction plates in clean oil. Fitted them meticulously, following the manual to the letter. Once in place I swapped out my original hose for a braided one as recommended by Chuck D. I then filled the reservoir with fresh fluid and bled the system repeatedly and guess what? The damn clutch is still dragging!!!! I called a mechanic and he insisted that if I had re-assembled the clutch correctly then the fault must be hydraulic. I have given up and am going to try and ride it to the shop where I bought the bike to ask them to fix the clutch whilst they rebuild my top end. This is so unfunny as I just had this months work cancelled and cannot afford to pay for the labour. On the upside I managed to get my ZXR to fire today for the first time since I bought my EXUP (a year ago.) A small mechanical triumph for me although it's gonna be a bitch to get it taxed and ticketed. Think I might transfer my insurance to it whilst the EXUP gets fixed. ARRGGGHHH!!!!! It's like Ogri says - "A bike on the road is worth two in the shed." And that's where I am right now. With two in the shed. Hiras

flyingcircus68 · Post by **flyingcircus68** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 5:31 pm

Bleeding the clutch is a royal pain. The problem is that the fluid ends up frothing up and there are micro-bubbles of air that keep the clutch spongy. Try waiting a few days to let the bubbles coalesce and re-bleed the system. Another problem that you might have is your clutch boss and basket might have notches worn in from the previous clutch plates. The new plates will try to align with the notches and cause drag. If they are present, you will have to file them off, or replace the basket and boss. You could also try to burnish the plates before digging into the clutch. Hold your front brake, apply a little throttle to get it to 3k and slowly load the engine until it starts to stall. let it idle for a while to cool off the clutch and try it again a few times. don't be too eager and rev it up, or you will glaze the new plates over.

Post by **jjs777** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 6:30 pm

You say the clutch is still dragging? How much is it dragging? If the bike is on stands and in neutral you may still see the rear wheel move a just a bit...so my question is how much is it really dragging? This may be the first time attempting the clutch repair but reall not difficult with the proper advice. Have you brought the exup to the dealer yet? If you haven;t brought it to the dealer for the clutch servicing, then at least look at the fiche of the clutch plates and the order they go in... <a href="http://216.37.204.203/Yamaha_OEM/Yamaha ...  Just select year and make above and then select clutch to view the exploded diagram. ALSO when I did my clutch the first time it is easy to misalign the clutch springs - bolts - and washers so that they align and go thru the outer clucth cover. As far as bleeding the clutch - nothing could be simpler WITH a hydraulic one way bleeder device. I bought one from a local cycle shop and all it is a one way device with two hoses attached. One hose goes on the nipple easily...while you ensure you have plenty of fluid in the cylinder above...then just open the bleeder a bit to let a little fluid out and keep pumping the clutch handle - you'll see all the bubbles come right out. This device should be common to your local parts stores. Find what the bleeder looks like here...no cyclist should be without one to aid in brake and clutch maintenance... <a href="http://store.azmusa.com/hydbrakbleed.ht ...  Also...did you visually inspect the clutch diaphram ? This is the thing that is connected on the left side of the bike opposite the clucth cover (with YAMAHA logo). It is the device that pushes the rod to disengage the clutch. When inspecting it ensure the diaphram is not rotted etc where it meets the rod. I have seen this before on my 90 and it needed replacing. Edited by: <A HREF=http://p072.ezboard.com/bexupbrotherhoo ... >jjs777</A> <IMG HEIGHT=10 WIDTH=10 SRC="http://home.comcast.net/~john.stempien/ ... larger.gif" BORDER=0> at: 6/15/04 9:49 pm

Post by **FZRDude** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 11:47 pm

The only thing that I have to add to this topic is be very careful when dealing with the clutch pack and slave cylinder at the same time. There is a push rod that goes from the slave cylinder. through the motor to the clutch basket. on the end of this rod is a small ball bearing. It is VERY easy for this to fall into the motor where it WILL end up in the oil pump. Happened to me on my FZ750. Not good. Tim <img src="http://img69.photobucket.com/albums/v20 ...  Dir. of Entertainment<a href="http://eddieandthecruisersmc.com" target="top"> Eddie & the Cruisers</a>

Hiras · Post by **Hiras** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 4:07 am

I have a bleed kit that I have employed (too many times) but I think it's shite (you pay for what you get after all) and mine is a £6 Halfords job....... The bearing at the end of the push rod was thankfully intact and has not gone astray and the piston was working just fine. I managed to get the bike to a rideable state so i could get it to the shop where I bought it for them to complete a long overdue top end rebuild. The whole nightmare of the clutch was that I rushed to put it in as I had to get the bike to the shop for the rebuild before I went away for a month. I wish now that I hadn't rushed as in retrospect I think I have realised my mistake in how I reassembled the clutch. The bugger of it is that I have now asked the shop to look at it whilst they have the beast there no doubt incurring an additional unaffordable labour cost. The upsides in the whole debacle is that at least I have tackled the clutch and so have a better understanding of how one works for next time and in addition to this I have managed to fix my ZXR 750 which had been knackered and in storage for a year so at least I am not without wheels whilst my beloved fizzer is being repaired. Thank you very much to everyone who offered advice. I'll let you know when the beast is returned. I hope it comes back in time for me to run it in before Snetterton at the end of July. Hiras.

MyYammiBeetch · Post by **MyYammiBeetch** » Mon Jul 05, 2004 3:58 am

Hi brothers An old boy told me this one a few years ago and it works a treat for bleeding exup clutches. Firstly, remove the master cylinder cover, drain the clutch fluid through the nipple. Then fit a long pipe to the bleed nipple long enough to go above the master cylinder. Attach this end to a clean oil can filled with fresh brake fluid (still held above the master cylinder) and simply pump the oil can until the master cylinder is full (so you are filling it in reverse through the nipple), then bleed one or two pumps in the conventional manner, hey presto! Sorted.

dragracer1951 · Post by **dragracer1951** » Mon Jul 05, 2004 7:11 am

<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/eyes.gif ALT=":rolleyes"> Well....I've bled brakes adn clutches that way too, and it works...Then I bought a mity vac and that works even better YMMV Jim

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My clutch has stopped disengaging

My clutch has stopped disengaging

clutch

Re: clutch

clutch no workie

Re: clutch no workie

Nice one.

So I found the cause of the problem!

clutch

clutch

Bollocks!

Re: Bollocks!

Re: Bollocks!

Re: Bollocks!

yeah....

Clutch Bleeding

Help....I'm Bleeding