83 XJ900 Starter Clutch

OK, I got the bike in a pile of boxes.. I have pretty much everything back together, just need to torque down the head after my new head washers arrived.
As the bike had been quite heavily modified, I was testing the wiring circuit (Still no neutral light) And turned the engine over.

I have been doing this at various stages of the build and all has been well. I used some Auto engine oil 10w30 during assembly with the intention of replacing once I get it started a few times. SO! Anyway.. turned it over last night and it just sounded awful.. like the teeth were stripped or something. I tried it several times, sometimes it would turn over a couple of times before the scary noise. I pulled the starter motor and that works/looks great, nice set of teeth, idler gear OK and everything else I could see. So I guess my starter clutch has failed.

I'm wondering if I drained the oil and tried to flush what was in there out? Like I said.. I still haven't nailed everything down yet. From everything I read, I would need to crack the (freshly sealed) case again. Not what I had in mind, but I guess I can replace the primary tensioner and check out the neutral switch while I'm at it.
Oh Joy.. more $$$

So, I did look at the clutch when I installed it and it "looked" ok.. but to be honest, I wasn't sure what I should have been looking for. All seems pretty simple. What breaks on these? Will it be obvious? If I see missing pins, or springs I'll be happy.. in a sick sort of way. But if it looks good.. then I'll be head scratching.

So, if anyone has pics, details or suggestions.. or all 3 then thanks in advance for sharing.

dossbag.

 

The springs weaken with age/ heat cycles, and the rollers wear (you can't hardly see the wear). The automotive oil may be the culprit. If it is HF or HE rated then it has friction modifiers that will keep the starter clutch from grabbing the alternator shaft.

 

Thanks for the reply.. I think you live here

Progress.. sorta?

I drained all the oil out. And I had plugs in to keep the crap out. I removed the plugs and now it works fine.
So it works great without oil or spark plugs haha
Laugh or cry
Would weak starter clutch springs crap out under load.. Like I say, remove the stress and it works fine.
So, sounds like I bite the bullet and replace pins, springs and rollers. Maybe. I'll replace a plug at a time and see what happens.

 

Yep.. works with one plug in.. but any more and it's ear plug time..

wow, it's quite a horrific noise..

I better crack on... busy times ahead.....

 

Remove the starter and spray some carb cleaner towards the starter clutch. Follow up with any cheap oil that has a JASO MA rating. It can take a bit of time to get all of the friction modified oil out of the engine. If it still dosne't grab then plan on bump starting until the winter, then you can split the cases to rebuild the starter clutch and put a new primary chain guide in if you haven't already done so.

 

I really did think about that.. Problem is, I just rebuilt the engine in the first place (came in boxes and looked in good shape) I will need to do quite a bit of setting up (I imagine) so I expect many start attempts during tweaking. Bumping it everytime would be a tad tedious.
I got my Harley and my Chinese enduro to ride. Dicking about with this stuff is half the fun (although I was looking forward to trying this out in a week or so) I also have a Triumph that I put on the back burner to do this.
Nothing is ever simple is it?
How come a rotor bolt torqued to 50ftlbs last week suddenly takes about 3,000lbs force to get off! lol And I was worried the rotor would slip.. but the damn thing is on there fast. Scouring for a 16mm 1.5 puller now.

 

A weak battery, or worn starter/starter brushes can cause that too ----

Gotta have a good strong battery to make things really throw out and grab tight during starting

 

OK, I split the cases AGAIN And I'm glad I ordered the complete starter clutch rather than the bearing rollers and springs because the casing was split, shich is why it wasn't working under load.

 

waiting for the primary chain guide. Might need a neutral sensor too. Thats enough for today.

 

The neutral switch is a simple plunger and spring. Give it a good cleaning first and see if it dosen't get back to working.
I neeed to apoloise for not mentioning the possibility of the starter clutch housing being cracked. That is one of the few weak areas in the engine.

 

Hey, no problem Sir! I had read some older threads where it was mentioned and I didn't want to take any chances.. MAN, am I glad for his forum
And as for replacing the rollers without splitting the cases... Absolutely NO WAY!! Although it would be very possible to cut a crescent window and add a plate in the case for future mishaps.. but I'm not expecting this issue again for at least another 20 years.. Ha.. Just jinxed myself..
I'll go over the sensor as you suggest. Thanks again!

 

The window has been done. Still not reccomended, even by the man who did it.

 

No, it's probably not worth diminishing case integrity.. By the time the starter clutch goes, there are probably many other reasons to open the case. I am finding this, and once again am grateful for your help. Here is a picture of my primary chain guide.
I'm not sure how much longer it would have held out. My replacement should be here later today.

 

I'm writing this one down for future reference. Learn something new everyday.

Gary H.

 

Whoo! That chain guide looks like it has about fifteen minutes of life left in it!