| Author | Message | ||
     Scotter_trash |
If someone could give me advice on how to proceed I would really appreciate it. About a week ago I got caught in a major downpour about half way through my 400 mile travel day. It rained hard for at least 200 miles for alot of the ride I was also stuck in traffic. ( Clutch in clutch out over and over ) On the way home the bike ran fine but a few days later I went for a ride and the bike started to make a clanging rattling noise from the primary side when I pulled in the clutch lever while in gear. I removed the clutch inspection cover and found what looks like heavy white cream. My understanding is that water got into the primary cover some how. Any ideas on areas of concern that could have allowed the water to enter and possible fixes ? Could the noise be bad bearings,clutch problems or worse ? What procedure should I use to clean out the bad oil and replace with new ? I love this bike and any help would be appreciated. | ||
| Hogs |
Not sure, but one way the moisture/water gets in can be where the Clutch cable half way down where one adjusts the cable the rubber boot can let water in there... I use a zip tie and close it up tight at the top of it so it is tight against the cable.... another way is taking the bike for short drives and NOT letting it come up to temperature to get rid of any condesation... so go for less short rides..... Depending on how much white cream sort of speaking ya see when ya drain it or take the clutch cover off...I wd drain and refill with new..drive and maybe drain and refill again.... check the hose too around the rear shock up top under the seat that is the vent for the trans etc...just make sure that is pointing down not to let any water in etc... Thats about the only way I know of..Good luck! | ||
| Scotter_trash |
Thanks Hogs for your response. Under the boot on the clutch adjuster it looks like its been wet, thanks for the tip I'll be sure to use a zip tie on top and maybe bottom from now on. I also checked the breather hose under the seat. It's zip tied to the shock in front of the fan pointed down. The placement kind of makes me wonder if water could get blown or sucked up into that hose during a long heavy rain ride. I think the fan was on from time to time but I can't remember for sure. I picked up 2 quarts of the HD primary oil and plan on doing what you suggested using one to flush (maybe I'll need more than one to flush the white stuff is very thick ). I'm not sure if I should bring the bike to operating temperature before the first drain though. In one way I'm thinking that things have had a chance to drain off the inside of the primary and if I run the bike it'll just splash all over everything again. In another way I'm wondering if getting it hot would be better and allow it to drain more throughly. I'm also leary of starting the bike with that junk in there. | ||
| Blake |
Don't get it hot until most moisture is removed as it can flash to steam and cause a real mess. Rubber boot covering clutch cable adjuster at top should seal to metal ferrule, NOT the cable itself. The larger ferrule diameter provides for a good seal. If moved up onto cable above ferrule, the rubber boot acts like a funnel directing water into the primary case. Small hose clamp may provide better seal than zip tie, and is reusable. | ||
| Scotter_trash |
Thanks again for all the help guys. Yesterday evening I started to drain the primary on the Buell. I let it drain overnight to try to get as much out as possible. This afternoon I was able to refill the primary with 1 quart of HD primary lubricant. The level came right to the bottom of the clutch diaphragm spring as in the spec. I did the clutch adjustment from the Buell service manual. I also did the clutch cable adjustment. I had my fingers crossed when I started it up but the noise was still there as loud as before. I decided to recheck the primary chain free play and found it to be a little loose for a cold engine so I tightened it some. The noise was only there when I was in gear with the clutch lever pulled in at the bar. I think that means disengaged but for whatever reason I can't keep that straight. I decided to take it for a ride to see if running it might help. At first it didn't improve then little by little it got some what better. When I pulled up to the garage at the end of the ride in first gear and pulled the clutch in I waited about 15 seconds and it never made the noise. I'm draining the oil overnight and I'll be refilling it with fresh lubricant tomorrow. I'm feeling cautiously optimistic about the bike. Blake thanks for the tip about making sure that the rubber boot is on the metal part of the fitting not on the cable itself. I found the sealing diameter of the boot over the cable not where it should have been. So it looks like we've located the entry point for the water. I'll let you guys know how things go tomorrow. Thanks Blake and Jugs. | ||
| Hogs |
Glad ya got it worked out! | ||
| Buell_bert |
My bike and my brothers were 2 bikes of about a 100 or so that a delivery truck knocked over by a wave of water from a flash flood during the S&S anniversary celebration. They laid in about 18 in. of water for a bit. I got mine started with out much problem and had to go for parts for my brothers bike. The bike did not shift worth s--- and made some noise. I ended up getting it home and changed the primary oil about a dozen times. The first 6 just to clean it and the last 6, change and ride a bit, till it came clean. Had to do the same with my brothers and both turned out fine. OH, the primary was FULL of a water/oil creamy white mixture. Well that's my story and I'm stickin to it. | ||
| Scotter_trash |
Hey Buell bert, there,s no way anyone could makeup a story like that. Wow, that's amazing and I'm sure an enormous pain in the behind for you your brother and the other 90 or so people that were caught up in that mess. I'm really glad to hear that after all the flushing of the primary your bikes wound up OK. It gives me hope for mine. After my first flush the fluid didn't look nearly as bad as what I drained out to start with. What was weird though was just like during the initial drain when I removed the clutch inspection cover before the second drain the inside of the cover had the same white creamy and sticky stuff stuck to the inside of it as before. I guess there's more moisture left in the case than the lubricant showed. What did you use for all your flushing ? I was thinking I'd use the same HD product for all the flushing but if I had to do it many more times that would cost quite a lot. Did you use something else to flush and then go back to your regular lubricant when you were finally cleaned up ? Thanks for your input Buell bert, I really appreciate it. ( I was going to work on my bike again today but life got in the way, I'll try again tomorrow.) | ||
| Buell_bert |
I flushed it with the same stuff I use in the primary and engine normally. Yep 15-40 Wally World oil. I did not want to FLUSH with anything else because the friction disc's will absorb it to an extent. And when I change the engine and primary fluid I refill with 2 qts. and 1 qt. respectively, not a little more or a little less. I do have a couple other witnesses also. My other Brother and a Brother inlaw were there they just got there earlier or later (I can't remember) and parked in higher ground. Also my Brother that needed the parts got wheeled into the S&S booth to get wrenched on as my other Brother was working at S&S. I'm still sticking to my story. Good luck. | ||
| Scotter_trash |
Good news, I changed the fluid again today ( #2 )went for a ride and the bike sounded and performed well. The noise from the clutch has disappeared and it's not slipping anymore. I'm going to remove the clutch inspection cover tomorrow and see if it still has any of the white stuff stuck to it like before. If it does I'll change the fluid again if it doesn't I think I'll ride it a little more and then change it (#3) one more time. Good point Buell burt about not flushing with anything different than what is normally run. Thanks to all for your help, this is a great website! I hope I can return the favor to a fellow Bueller some time. | ||
| Scotter_trash |
I forgot to mention that I hose clamped the boot to the ferules top and bottom. I hope that this takes care of the problem. Does anyone have any experience with other points of entry for water into the primary? I'm planning on riding to Indy at the end of the month for the Moto Gp. Anything I could do to reduce the odds of this problem happening again would be time well spent. |
