Disappearing Clutch Fluid

[Phoenix]

On my husband's 2009 TXC 450, the clutch fluid seems to be disappearing out of the reservoir. I've tried back bleeding the system and refilling the reservoir, but the level keeps declining. My husband never noticed because he has a Rekluse and rarely uses the lever (well that and he is not so great on bike maintenance - a testament to the strength of these Huskies. lol) Would this be a symptom of the clutch piston failing? The case guard is currently stuck to the bike, so I have yet to be able to get at the clutch slave cylinder. Any tips for what to look for on this problem?

 

[Bobby]

Yes, sounds like you have a bad O-ring on the clutch slave piston. The best all around fix is a new piston, X ring and cover (if you want the bling!) Fortunately the Mineral oil isn't going to mess up his engine oil too bad but still not good to have contaminates getting into the crank case.

 

[Phoenix]

Thanks for the info, Bobby. Sounds like some bling is in order.

 

[Colo moto]

There are two places it can be leaking. I have personally had two leaking clutch lines. One the clear plastic sheathing got cut and leaked, and the second the crimping came loose. Look the line over carefully for any evidence of a leaking line. Dust around a certain part etc... The second place is the clutch piston. Pull the slave cylinder, remove the C clip holding the piston in, and then remove the piston. Look inside the bore of the cylinder for 1 or 2 half moon silver wear marks. If you see these marks chances are that your stock piston can't seal on the cylinder walls anymore.

I'd check the line first as it is easiest to diagnose. If you do pull the clutch slave cylinder make sure not to pull the clutch lever while the slave is off the bike. You will pop the C clip groove off the cylinder and then you will HAVE to replace it.

 

[Phoenix]

I never ceased to be amazed by this website and the excellent responses received to threads. One of the many reasons I love owning Huskies!

I didn't see any fitting leaks or excessive wear on the cable, but I will definitely look it over again just to make sure before I go any further. Unfortunately, the allen heads holding the slave guard are rounded and will have to be extracted somehow before I can get to that slave cylinder. :P

 

[JasonfromMN]

(well that and he is not so great on bike maintenance - a testament to the strength of these Huskies. lol)

Sounds like a testament on on having a great wife. Doing his maint not to mention some of the problems you've had.

The answers you received are spot on. My bet is on a grooved slave bore and bad o ring or did you ever put the x ring in?

 

[Phoenix]

Sounds like a testament on on having a great wife. Doing his maint not to mention some of the problems you've had.

I'm not so diligent at housework, so I have to make myself useful somehow. haha

Well here's what I found so far:

There was no groove in the slave, but the O ring on the clutch piston was pretty flat. Its flush to the edge of the piston at best. Is there an advantage to the piston that 7602 sells or can I just get the x ring and install it on the stock piston? The ring looks wider in the photos...but photos can be deceiving. Maybe Colo Moto will see this.

I also found that the clutch hose was damaged. Though it just looks superficial, I decided to replace the hose anyway. It looks like it has been making contact with the cylinder. The local KTM shop happened to have a hose made by Enduro Engineering. It looked too short, but they said I could bring it back if it didn't make length so I took it home and tried it. Perfect fit - as in you have to route it carefully to optimize the length so that there is still a bit of slack. This hose is a lot beefier than the stocker and has banjos on both ends.

 

[Phoenix]

There was no groove in the slave, but the O ring on the clutch piston was pretty flat. Its flush to the edge of the piston at best. Is there an advantage to the piston that 7602 sells or can I just get the x ring and install it on the stock piston? The ring looks wider in the photos...but photos can be deceiving. Maybe Colo Moto will see this.

Found the answer to my question in the 7602 section posted by colo moto.

Here is a pic of what we have been working on for the clutch problem. The stock piston has very thin walls that allow it to kick sideways as it is traveling back and forth in the slave cylinder. After a while it makes little notches in the cylinder wall and the o ring can't seal against these notches.

We built a new piston that has a thicker piston skirt. We also switched from an o ring to a quad ring. The quad ring is moved towards the back side of the piston so that it doesn't have to travel over the notches worn by the old piston. From what testing I have been able to do so far, it is working awesome. No leaks yet, and all seams to be working well.

 

[Luiz Andre]

Hello There,

I own a Husqvarna smr 510 2007 and I am facing simillar problems with the hydraulic clutch.

I refilled the reservoir with oil, but since I did, the handle has been too easy to pull which let me to think it is just air in the pipe. In any case I want to verify the system for any other problems.

I cant see any apparent leak in the crank case or in the handle bar.

Any light is greatly appreciated , photos/videos , disassembling / assembling instructions on the o-ring and slave piston referenced in this thread will be greatly appreciated too :-) (or any related data).

best regards, Luiz

 

[HUSKYnXJnWI]

Luiz-
Back bleed the system with proper fluid- the feel or pressure should come back. Look for how to back bleed in <<<this thread>>>

Ride the bike like normal and if the feel goes bad again you will have to inspect further- If the fluid level went down and you have no leaks THEN its likely that you have the same problem as the topic of this thread... its leaking fluid past the piston/oring in the slave cylinder internally- You'd then be looking at one of the solutions illistrated on this page changing the oring/ or getting the 7602 piston. Rebuilding the Slave Cylinder seems pretty easy- 7602 probably has instructions or they can be found somewhere on cafe'husky- I plan to get the 7602 piston this spring myself and rebuild mine as it is starting to show some signs too.

 

[ken510]

Throw a 7602 piston/o ring in the slave. Easy fix at a reasonable price and excellent customer service!

 

[Dirtdame]

Hmmmm....I let my TE450 sit for a couple of months, and suddenly the clutch had no resistance. Sure enough, the reservoir was empty. I filled it up and bled the air out. All seems well now, but I suppose that since the bike is five years old with nearly 9000 miles on it, maybe I should inspect and replace the piston and o-ring.

 

[mdubya]

Hi guys, great advice in this thread. I just spoke to Clay at 7602. Ordered a piston and he also had all sorts of other really good advice and info. Thanks so much!