Where'd my clutch go?

[ryanhenny]

Thats right, that is the recommended Mobile oil. The castrol in the image is the manual's recomendation. I used to use Motul, and changed to Torco, very good oil too. Full synth.

Awesome! Much appreciated, thank you Alberto.

As for the clutch issue I found I have a damaged gasket around my piston in my clutch slave. Part number 8000 A7048. It is backordered at the Husqvarna factory for at least 2-3 weeks! Luckily I found a used one on ebay for $75 and bought it immediately! I hope it solves all my problems when it arrives.
I almost cancelled my order when I discovered Zip Ty sells a nice anodized solution for $99. Good thing I did not cancel though because they make it for model years up until 2010, my bike is a 2012.

 

[shrubitup]

Did anybody find the proper fix for this? I am having the exact same problem with my 2012 TE511.
Clutch lever became super floppy riding switchbacks up a hill. I'd shut the bike off and it would recover within about 30 seconds and be gone again after the first corner.
Going to start with changing my clutch fluid with High heat Dot4 and trying a new motor oil. What oil is everybody running in their TE511s? I've recently read that people are liking the mobil 1 0w-40. Is this is? http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mobil-1-0W-40-Advanced-Full-Synthetic-Motor-Oil-5-qt./23636902

I read in my manual that it recommends Castrol GPS 10w-40. I was unable to find that, but this seems to be the best quality fully synthetic 10w-40 oil of any type that i could find.
View attachment 59988

Any help is much appreciated. THANKS!

11 te449 here. Had same problem on slow first gear trails. Bled clutch fluid and replaced with motul DOT 5.1. It tolerates heat better and cured my problem. Also changed motor oil to Castrol GTX synblend 10w40. Filled with 1000 ml. May have helped but I'm sure the 5.1 helped the most.

 

[ryanhenny]

Ok everybody...problem fixed. I replaced my slave cylinder with the one I purchased off ebay due to the ripped gasket around the piston and took my bike down to Moto Forza in Escondido and they put a vacuum bleeder on it to get every bubble out. They said it took quite a while. It has been functioning great for the past week.

I have diagnosed the cause of my loss in pressure as this...it is my own hypothesis from what I have read on forums and what I find logical. If somebody can chime in on the issue please do... I could be way off.
I THINK THIS WAS CAUSED BY HAVING TOO MUCH OIL IN THE BIKE! ON TOP OF THAT, THE INCORRECT OIL! I BELIEVE THE DEALER PUT IN 50/10 MOTUL LIKE THEY DO WITH KTM'S, BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT THEY HAD ME BUY FOR MY FIRST OIL CHANGE. WHEN I WENT TO CHANGE THE OIL ON SATURDAY THE LEVEL SEEMED WAY TOO HIGH. I THINK THAT THE HIGH PRESSURE FROM TOO MUCH HEATED OIL FORCED MOTOR OIL THROUGH THE O-RING ON THE BACK OF THE PISTON CAUSING IT TO RIP THE GASKET AND PENETRATE ALL THE WAY UP INTO THE MASTER CYLINDER WHERE I FOUND RUBBER BITS. THERE WERE A FEW DRIPS OF DARK OIL BEHIND MY SLAVE CYLINDER AS WELL WHEN I REMOVED IT. REMEMBER, OIL LEVEL SHOULD BE CHECKED AFTER YOU HAVE WARMED UP THE BIKE, TURNED IT OFF, AND LET THE OIL SEEP DOWN IN ORDER TO GET A PROPER READING.

Thanks everybody! I'm happy to be back in action after the 2 week delay!

 

[ryanhenny]

11 te449 here. Had same problem on slow first gear trails. Bled clutch fluid and replaced with motul DOT 5.1. It tolerates heat better and cured my problem. Also changed motor oil to Castrol GTX synblend 10w40. Filled with 1000 ml. May have helped but I'm sure the 5.1 helped the most.

Nice. I'll try that 5.1 if it happens again. Manual says that if you change oil and filter to put 1,150 ml in. I found that to be too much, maybe I didn't successfully drain all the old stuff out though. Just be sure to check your level once you've warmed up the bike.

 

[shadetreeYT]

I was running into this exact problem, regular complete flushes of the fluid solved all my problems. Can't just top it off, you have to flush the entire thing with new fluid.

 

[greeves03]

hi all
found this thread again and thought you would be interested in my "successful" fix to my loss of clutch problem.
After changing oils, cleaning/inspecting master cylinder and replacing the slave cylinder proved unsuccessful the only thing I had not done is replace the master cylinder; or actually install a rebuild kit.
I ordered a kit (at great expense) and whilst waiting for the kit to turn up my mate suggested I fiddle further with the master cylinder. I suspected that because throughout all the clutch failings I was not loosing any fluid, I deduced that the fluid was not returning back to the pressure side of the master cyl. He suggested I remove the primary cup and put a small sliver of shim brass under the cup to 'pack' the cup out a smidgen.
Refit to the bike and 'Voiala' (or whatever) did a good ride and no further problems.
Furthermore!
at the same time I also have a 2005 TC 450 (for sale $3000-) with the same problem.
I put the new kit through my TE and installed the now shimmed piston into the TC with 'success' and now have two perfect clutches.

Bruce R

 

[Eoin]

Awesome! Much appreciated, thank you Alberto.

As for the clutch issue I found I have a damaged gasket around my piston in my clutch slave. Part number 8000 A7048. It is backordered at the Husqvarna factory for at least 2-3 weeks! Luckily I found a used one on ebay for $75 and bought it immediately! I hope it solves all my problems when it arrives.
I almost cancelled my order when I discovered Zip Ty sells a nice anodized solution for $99. Good thing I did not cancel though because they make it for model years up until 2010, my bike is a 2012.

Just for info (I know this post is 5 years old), Oberon Performance in the UK sell nice anodised slave cylinders for most Huskys and ship anywhere.

 

[greeves03]

cheers but the master was the culprit

 

[Eoin]

You can never have too much colourful anodised bling.....

 

[waserman]

I just got an 09 te450 (newb here on cafehusy), rode it to work a few times with no issues, then all of a sudden the lever started to lose it's pressure. Adjusted the master cyl plunger to get a little more, but it would go. If I stopped I would get some back. I was assuming it was due to vibration rather than heat??

I took the Master cyl cap off, level was ok, added a little mineral oil to be sure, and clutched over and over again and each pull I could see a little string of tiny bubbles come up. After about 5-10 min, the clutch felt great again. I had been doing some pretty long wheelies, and clutching mid-wheelie, any chance that let a little air get pumped by the Master Cyl being tipped at an angle?

It was easy enough to get the bubbles out, and get perfect clutch again, but I'd hate to deal with this on an adventure type ride. Doesn't seem like heat OR vibration alone should cause this.. ideas? Thanks

 

[waserman]

I have an 09 TE510 since new . I have used nothing but ELF 10-60 full synthetic engine oil since new and never have had a clutch issue from using it. The clutch system was notorious for slave failures due to the piston being able to cock in the slave bore and wearing them out. I am talking about the stock slave and piston . The original fix was a quad ring o-ring or x-ring on the stock piston , replaced before it wore out the stock slave cylinder. The only fluid I've ever used was Magura Blood , or mineral oil for the clutch system changed at least once a year. I still have the original fully functional slave and piston that came with the bike. Zip-Ty racing sold a slave cylinder and 7602 racing sold a replacement piston and seal ring which worked flawlessly, with routine maintenance . These parts were for the pre X-lite motors if I'm not mistaken and I'm not sure if the companies mentioned are still providing support for those platforms. The procedure for fluid change/replacement is filling from the bottom or back bleeding. I will also say that it sometimes takes a while for all the air in the system to rise to the top even when filling from the nipple on the slave using the suggested tool and method. If all else fails buy the master rebuild kit, they wear out also especially if the fluid is dirty causing more wear.