A detailed pictorial clutch soak "how to"

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mcatrophy

Privileged to ride a 2018 FJR1300AS
Joined
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I wanted to give my bike its second clutch soak. The first was done by my dealer, but wasn't the miracle cure for all clutch issues like some have reported.

So, I purchased a cover gasket, and using billfjr's excellent post "08 FJR R&R clutch plates, clutch soaking and comments" as a guide, I did my own.

As is my wont, I photographed things as I went along. It might help someone who still has some doubts about doing it themselves, it hopefully shows every stage.

There are some 56 photographs, anyone who is interested can view them, click here. They are captioned to explain what they show.

As with all my web site's photos, you can click on any thumbnail to get a larger view, clicking on that larger view will get the original photo. Note the originals are quite large files, around 5 Mbytes, but show a lot of detail (where I've got the focus right
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).

Couple (I never could count) of examples (click on image for larger view)

Clutch cover off. Note, no oil drains out (bike's on the side-stand, so even residual oil won't seep out). Note the two dowel pins, 4-o'clock and 9 o-clock on the casing face. They just pull out.



This shows one of the pink spots that is supposed to be between the two triangle marks.



All removed parts laid out, in order, outside face down.



OK, confession time. When I put it back together, I made the mistake of putting all my tools away and tidying up before testing. When I then turned on the ignition, it gave me a "SH__26" error code, which means the clutch movement isn't what is expected. I took it all apart and re-assembled it, taking extra care that everything was seated correctly, and this time it was fine. I suspect either the innermost friction plate wasn't properly round the ring it sits round, or the pressure plate's dogs weren't seated properly in the splines. I've noted the care needed for these items in the captions.

Was it worth it? Well, yes. Firstly, the changes are now much, much smoother, especially the first-to-second change. Secondly, it gave me the excuse, "Got to go for a ride to make sure every-thing's hunky-dory, dear"
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.

Hope this helps somebody.

PS. Why the clutch operation wasn't this good after my dealer did the job, I don't know. I know he took it apart because the friction plates weren't correctly aligned (the pink dots weren't where they should be), but all except the innermost and outermost friction plates were dry, albeit with no sign of burnt grease that some have reported.

PPS. If anything is unclear (or even wrong), please let me know so I can clarify (or correct) it, I wrote the captions after it was all working, so from memory. Always suspect with me.

 
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Do you think it still didn't feel right because it was put together wrong? Did any of the parts looked soaked? Maybe he just took it apart, thought, "this looks ok" and put it back together...Glad the second job worked out for you. Good post too!!

 
mcatrophy,

Thanks for sharing and giving the nice pictorial. Job seems to feel better (most likely correct) when you do it yourself.

Congratulations!

 
As above, thanks! My '08 works fine, but my '05 shuddered quite a bit when new and it became better with time, but never left completely. If I had access to a write-up as thorough as yours back then, I would have tackled it.

 
Mcatrophy,

You did a fantastic job with your pictures and your directions showing how to repair a clutch. You should feel good about what you've done. This procedure will definitely be used for a long time. You should request the administrators to pin your detailed instructions on the forum in the how-to section.

Great Job,

Big-D (dan)

 
Good write-up.

Interesting, when I repaired my clutch (Clicky Here) by replacing all the plates, I didn't notice the pink dots. I wonder if Gen I FJRs have them? If they do, well then I guess I screwed up. But that was 80,000 miles ago and I have had no issues since. Interesting.

 
Do you think it still didn't feel right because it was put together wrong?
Probably not. The only assembly bit wrong was the pink dots not where they should be. The only reason I can see for this alignment would be balance, and I don't think that would affect operation.

Did any of the parts looked soaked? Maybe he just took it apart, thought, "this looks ok" and put it back together...
Only the first and last friction plates appeared to have oil on them. I do remember that the job was done by the monkey, not by the organ grinder (the head mechanic was away at the time). I'd have expected him to have done it, but who knows?

...Glad the second job worked out for you. Good post too!!
Feels so much better, well worth it :) .

 
Good write-up.
Interesting, when I repaired my clutch (Clicky Here) by replacing all the plates, I didn't notice the pink dots. I wonder if Gen I FJRs have them? If they do, well then I guess I screwed up. But that was 80,000 miles ago and I have had no issues since. Interesting.
I don't have access to a '06 manual, just for a '03. I only know about the pink dots because of billfjr's post. Hope he's right :unsure: .

 
This pictorial one of the best I have ever seen. I truly believe someone with 2 left hands could do a clutch soak/replacement after following the directions you have put forth. Thank You very much! :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:

 
Just to add one more data point:

2007 FJR with only about 4k miles. Got it a few months ago with 1k on it, and shifting seemed clunky. Clutch would not always disengage immediately when lever was pulled.

Did the clutch soak today. Inner and outer disks were oily; most of the rest were basically dry. Reassembled, and shifting is notably improved. Took about 2 hrs.

I noticed that my manual simply said to "lube" the clutch parts, with engine oil - didn't say anything about soaking overnight. So I only soaked for 30-40 minutes. Seems to have done the trick.

 
Hey All,

First, wanted to say thanks to those who put this info together! It's a great help and if I ever get a chance I'd be happy to buy you guys a few rounds! The "spirit of helping others" really is one of the ghitngs that makes these forums so great.

Stupid question please... when putting the clutch cover back on, are you guys using a sealant with the new gasket? The yamaha repair manual is kind of sketchy on that. They certainly don't address it where they talk about taking the cover off and back on. But in another part of the manual they list all the diff gasket sealers, used in the whole damn engine!

Thanks again to everyone involved! Very Well Done!

 
Missed this post - mcatrophy, you rock.

First time I've seen a pressure plate spring being a plate and curious about the pink tab alignment concept.

 
Thanks for an excellent pictorial... I'm going to put this on my (ever expanding) list of things to do on the Feej once the riding season is over.

Griff

 
There you guys go with that "season" thing again. WTF is up wif dat? :p
[Friday]

Buy a plane ticket up here in February and you will get seasoned. And, while you are here I'll walk you around the Freedom Trail. Bring a Hawaiian shirt, cargo shorts and flip-flops for best seasoning.

[/Friday]

 
Missed this post - mcatrophy, you rock.

First time I've seen a pressure plate spring being a plate and curious about the pink tab alignment concept.
I first saw a "plate" spring on my 1965 Peugeot 204 after I'd managed to knacker its big end bearings. Happy days ...

As for the pink dots, I've never seen chapter and verse on it. My only conjecture is that it's some sort of balance thingy.

Thanks for an excellent pictorial... I'm going to put this on my (ever expanding) list of things to do on the Feej once the riding season is over.

Griff
This one's a pleasure. Usually my "How To's" are consequential to an unfortunate incident, then it's embarrassing
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.

There you guys go with that "season" thing again. WTF is up wif dat? :p
I usually lose two or three weeks in winter, they don't treat my road when there's snow or ice on it. Trouble is, my garage is then so cold I'm not going to voluntarily work on the bike
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. I suppose it's another sign of my maturing years
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.

 
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