- Joined
- Dec 3, 2009
- Messages
- 9,282
- Reaction score
- 327
- Location
- Duncanville, Texas
- My Bike Models
- 1981 GL1100 Innerstate("The Turd")SOLD!!, 1996 GL1500 Innerstate
Finally got enough time to delve into rebuilding the clutch master and slave cylinders on the Green Weenie. Started with the slave. Not too difficult to get off, but not a lot of room to swing a wrench. It was quite crusty, with some heavy corrosion on the outside of the housing. Imma guessing water intrustion, since there is NO gasket, or o-ring between the housing the the rear engine case. Got the slave disassembled & cleaned, then installed new piston, with new spring and seals.
Then it was on to the master. Comes off really easily, just make sure you have some plastic bags, and some old rags to protect the plastic parts of the front body/fairing. Mine was almost empty again, so I dint bother sucking out the old fluid. Your results may vary. Master was extremely disgusting inside. Had a hard time removing the snap-ring that holds the piston in, due to corrosion, but it finally came out. The bore looked nice, so no honing on it. New piston, seals, spring, washer, and snap ring comes in the kit. Cleaned the cylinder best I could, and reassembled with new parts. Then the FUN part starts....bleeding. I broke my own rule right off the bat, and spent a couple of HOURS yesterday trying to bleed the darn thing, and got NOWHERE.
I could get fluid to come out of the slave, but could never get the lever to actually build up any real pressure. Ran prolly a couple of quarts of fluid thru it, and finally gave up for the day. Started today attempting it again, and decided, pinch off the hose at the master and see if it had any pressure....it dint.
Hummm.....perhaps I should try to bleed the master and see what happens. EUREKA!! Loosened the bolt on the hose just a tad, and pulled on the lever...got plenty of air. Repeated several times until I had nuttin but fluid. NOW I had a good feel on the lever, and could tell it was actually moving the slave piston. After a few good bleeds on the slave, I had a solid, full pull lever. 
Fired the bike up and checked....yup, all is well in clutchland. Good to go. I tied the lever down to the handgrip with a velcro strap I keep on the bike for just such a purpose, and will leave it there until my next ride.
A few tips I shall share...
1: Be sure to check and clean the TINY orifice in the bottom of the master. It has a small, sheet metal cover over it that will need to be popped out first. I have plenty of guitar strings, so I use one of those to clean the orifice. I keep one of those on the bike, too....for a good reason.
2:Coat seals with clean brake fluid before attempting to install them, either on the piston, or down in the bore. Much easier.
3: ALWAYS bleed the master FIRST!! Again, protect the plastics. Put a slight amount of pressure on the lever, loosen the bolt/fitting just a little, then pull the lever all the way slowly. Tighten the fitting, then slowly release the lever. Shouldn't take but 2-3 times to get the air out. Pull gently on the lever when doing this, and always release the lever SLOWLY, and wait a few seconds allow the fluid time to refill in between the two seals inside. You'll see the fluid level go down as this happens. This is also relevant when doing the regular bleeding...always release the lever(or pedal) slowly, and wait a few seconds between lever pulls. Make sure when tightening the bolt/fitting after the final bleed that it is not too close to the rubber handlebar covering....you want a little space there.
4: Keep plenty of old, used, dirty, nasty, trashable rags handy to keep the brake fluid from getting everywhere, including the garage floor. Clean hands often to prevent brake fluid transfer from hands to anything else. Rubber/latex gloves are handy, but they need to be changed often, for the same reason. Also...brake cleaner will dis-integrate rubber/latex gloves, so....have plenty of brake cleaner on hand, also.
Here's the link to the gallery album for this adventure....enjoy!
Then it was on to the master. Comes off really easily, just make sure you have some plastic bags, and some old rags to protect the plastic parts of the front body/fairing. Mine was almost empty again, so I dint bother sucking out the old fluid. Your results may vary. Master was extremely disgusting inside. Had a hard time removing the snap-ring that holds the piston in, due to corrosion, but it finally came out. The bore looked nice, so no honing on it. New piston, seals, spring, washer, and snap ring comes in the kit. Cleaned the cylinder best I could, and reassembled with new parts. Then the FUN part starts....bleeding. I broke my own rule right off the bat, and spent a couple of HOURS yesterday trying to bleed the darn thing, and got NOWHERE.
I could get fluid to come out of the slave, but could never get the lever to actually build up any real pressure. Ran prolly a couple of quarts of fluid thru it, and finally gave up for the day. Started today attempting it again, and decided, pinch off the hose at the master and see if it had any pressure....it dint. Hummm.....perhaps I should try to bleed the master and see what happens. EUREKA!! Loosened the bolt on the hose just a tad, and pulled on the lever...got plenty of air. Repeated several times until I had nuttin but fluid. NOW I had a good feel on the lever, and could tell it was actually moving the slave piston. After a few good bleeds on the slave, I had a solid, full pull lever. Fired the bike up and checked....yup, all is well in clutchland. Good to go. I tied the lever down to the handgrip with a velcro strap I keep on the bike for just such a purpose, and will leave it there until my next ride.A few tips I shall share...
1: Be sure to check and clean the TINY orifice in the bottom of the master. It has a small, sheet metal cover over it that will need to be popped out first. I have plenty of guitar strings, so I use one of those to clean the orifice. I keep one of those on the bike, too....for a good reason.
2:Coat seals with clean brake fluid before attempting to install them, either on the piston, or down in the bore. Much easier.
3: ALWAYS bleed the master FIRST!! Again, protect the plastics. Put a slight amount of pressure on the lever, loosen the bolt/fitting just a little, then pull the lever all the way slowly. Tighten the fitting, then slowly release the lever. Shouldn't take but 2-3 times to get the air out. Pull gently on the lever when doing this, and always release the lever SLOWLY, and wait a few seconds allow the fluid time to refill in between the two seals inside. You'll see the fluid level go down as this happens. This is also relevant when doing the regular bleeding...always release the lever(or pedal) slowly, and wait a few seconds between lever pulls. Make sure when tightening the bolt/fitting after the final bleed that it is not too close to the rubber handlebar covering....you want a little space there.
4: Keep plenty of old, used, dirty, nasty, trashable rags handy to keep the brake fluid from getting everywhere, including the garage floor. Clean hands often to prevent brake fluid transfer from hands to anything else. Rubber/latex gloves are handy, but they need to be changed often, for the same reason. Also...brake cleaner will dis-integrate rubber/latex gloves, so....have plenty of brake cleaner on hand, also.
Here's the link to the gallery album for this adventure....enjoy!
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