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Clutch lever offers little resistance? XJ550k

Discussion in 'XJ Technical Chat' started by Grieverlust, May 23, 2010.

  1. Grieverlust

    Grieverlust New Member

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    Hey Everyone!

    I have been diligently working through all areas of my xj550 project and I am a little stumped with this latest discovery.

    The Clutch lever ( on the clutch housing cover ) is easy to swing forward. Much much easier than the clutch lever on my parts bike. I took the cover off and replaced with the arm perpendicular to the gasket surface as the manual suggested and still nothing. Replaced the clutch springs with new ones because the old were out of spec.

    Any ideas what would cause these symptoms?

    I cant run the bike because I am painting the tank right now and don't feel like jimmyjacking some tupperware to fit on the fuel filter.

    THANKS! :D
     
  2. bigfitz52

    bigfitz52 Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Sure. Don't worry about that nonsense of trying to reinstall the cover with the lever in a certain position. If you miss by one gear tooth it's gonna be wrong.

    Take the lever OFF. Rotate the throwout shaft clockwise until it stops.

    Reinstall the lever so that the end of it lines up with the REAR of the little square "pip" cast into the clutch cover:

    [​IMG]

    Reinstall cable, adjust as follows: Screw the adjuster at the handlebar in until it's threaded in about halfway. Adjust cable for basic free-play of about 3mm-5mm when reinstalling on clutch cover end.

    Do your fine adjustment at the handlebar, until your play is 1.5mm-3mm.

    Re-adjust after about 100 miles.
     
  3. Grieverlust

    Grieverlust New Member

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    Thanks Fitz. I am on it.
     
  4. Grieverlust

    Grieverlust New Member

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    Replaced the lever as you described and found in that position ( throwout shaft clockwise to the max with clutch lever reinstalled ) The Clutch lever will not move forward at all. there is about 1/5th of a rotation the clutch lever will move freely anticlockwise.

    Any thoughts?
     
  5. bigfitz52

    bigfitz52 Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Sure. It won't move, not by hand anyway. And barely even with big pliers; ONLY with the cable.

    Moving further clockwise than the position pictured means you're lifting the pressure plate against the pressure of the clutch springs, you need the mechanical advantage of the cable system for that.

    Now if it won't move with the CABLE, then something's not right.
     
  6. Grieverlust

    Grieverlust New Member

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    Yeah it wont move with the cable.
     
  7. bigfitz52

    bigfitz52 Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    WAS it moving before you had it apart?

    If so, then something's jammed inside.

    -where did you get the springs, did you compare them to the originals for being at least close to the same?

    -Did you replace the bolts and/or washers as well?

    -how far apart did you have the clutch? Did you have the pressure plate off the stack?
     
  8. Grieverlust

    Grieverlust New Member

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    It was seized before I had the clutch cover off.

    This was a follow up post to get things lined back up again.

    Replacement springs were from Bike bandit and they were very close to the originals.

    The most I have done is basic probing to get a feel for the clutch insides. Bolts and washers were in great shape and were not replaced.

    I did remove the pressure plate while replacing the springs.

    Would pictures assist in any way? If I know what I am looking for I can try to be your eyes.

    -B
     
  9. bigfitz52

    bigfitz52 Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    There is a "dot" cast into the pressure plate and one in the basket, they need to be aligned.

    [​IMG]

    If the pressure plate doesn't engage the hub properly, you can and up tightening the screws and effectively "locking" it down.

    (That's one possibility.)

    Also, be sure to inspect the throwout shaft gears, a chipped or broken tooth is not uncommon and can cause this problem too:

    [​IMG]

    (another possibility.)

    Is the cable itself free?

    You do have it attached to the lever, you're not trying to pull it with a pair of pliers?

    Did you have the clutch "stack" itself apart?

    (thinking out loud)
     
  10. Grieverlust

    Grieverlust New Member

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    I took everything apart and saw the dots were misaligned. Thanks for the help! :D Things are really coming together now :)
     
  11. BaldWonder

    BaldWonder Innocent Bystander

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    Thank goodness for this thread. I'm in the same position as Grieverlust now: I have never had the clutch apart, I merely bought a new cable to replace a fraying one. I followed the above directions to a T and also cannot get the throwout lever to move with the clutch lever. Any attempt to go into anything other than neutral results in a violent lurch-jump and the engine then stalls.

    So my next step is to open it up and inspect for things like broken teeth, yes? Anything else that could be wrong? (This is an XJ650J, btw.)
     
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2015
  12. FtUp

    FtUp Well-Known Member

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    if it worked before, it should work now. are you sure the release lever is in the right place? cable is adjusted properly?

    FU
     
  13. BaldWonder

    BaldWonder Innocent Bystander

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    That was my thought process as well, but it hasn't panned out. I'm no longer sure of anything! :)

    Before I removed the throwout lever, I had two stopping points: as far as I could get by hand and as far as I could get with visegrips. Let's say the lever is supposed to point at 12 o'clock. I was able to move from about 9:30 to 11 by hand, then from 11 to 12:30 with the visegrips. I adjusted the lever so that turning it with visegrips made it stop at 12. Then I connected the cable and tightened everything up. Now when I use the clutch lever, I'm able to get the throwout lever to move to almost 12:30 if I squeeze with both hands and make that "Nnnnnhh!" sound.

     
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2015
  14. FtUp

    FtUp Well-Known Member

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    here is what my 750 maxim looks like...

    clutch releas arm.jpg

    it looks like you need to back off the adjuster at the handlebar and move your release arm.

    FU
     
  15. FtUp

    FtUp Well-Known Member

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    wait, you cant even pull the handle to the grip? don't forget, fitz's thread is all about the 550 not the 650/750. they are 2 different animals. I think you have clutch issues and need to replace the friction discs, but I could be wrong.

    FU
     
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2015
  16. BaldWonder

    BaldWonder Innocent Bystander

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    Hmm, didn't realize they were that different. I fear you may be right. On the plus side, I need to drain the oil soon anyway, and I may have a line on a set of used plates/discs for a decent price if mine are in fact in bad shape.
     
  17. rocs82650

    rocs82650 Well-Known Member

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    1. Remove the cable from the arm.
    2. Remove the arm from the spline.
    3. Turn the spline cw as far as it will go (this is complete throw out).
    4. Replace the arm. Align the mark on the arm with the mark on the cover.
    5. Replace/adjust the cable at the perch. Fine adjust at the handle. If this doesn't work and you know it's not the cable imo it's internal.

    Gary H.
    '82 650j
     
  18. BaldWonder

    BaldWonder Innocent Bystander

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    Thanks Gary. I definitely noticed the mark on the clutch case, but I didn't notice a mark on the lever to line it up with. I may just be blind. I'll try again tomorrow, but I'm thinking it's going to be time to crack it open and see what's going on inside. Wish me luck.
     
  19. dkavanagh

    dkavanagh Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Since photobucket is a big ef'en turd, This was all I could grab to represent the original image Fitz put in the 2nd post.
    Screen Shot 2017-07-10 at 8.10.05 PM.jpg
     

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