Clutch Issue

[Reid]

Hey guys...

I've an '03 with about 20K miles on it and the clutch is slipping. I was a bit ill for most of last year and part of this year, and rode little. The clutch fluid hasn't been changed for about 3 years. Wondering if a change of fluid could help...I did drill the weep hole and there's no leakage. Just realized my Pinnacle warranty won't cover clutches. Not sure what to do...sure could use some help here. Thanks a lot

Reid

[Ted Shred]

Changing the fluid isn't going to help. It's either contaminated with oil from a leaking seal or the clutch is worn,

[rattler50]

Drill the hole in the bell housing and see if you have any seepage there. The clutch on my 03 went out at 19K but it was from the slave leaking before I got the weep hole drilled....Good luck.......... :cool:

[Reid]

I did drill the weephole a couple months ago...no fluid leakage at all...how can a clutch fail at only 20K miles? Oh I forgot, it's a BMW.

[Tom_Becker]

Reid,

I think you might have misinterpreted the reply by rattler50. There are two potential weepholes. In your case you have the weep hole for the clutch slave. Should the clutch slave leak then the brake fluid flows outside the bell housing onto the ground.

However, you can also have a leaking seal (engine or transmission, I think). The oil builds up in the bottom of the bell housing and eventually contaminates your clutch. The clutch will then start slipping.

Good luck. I am hypersensitive to this issues since I've not done either weep hole. I've got a 2003 with 44k miles on it so I'm riding on borrowed time.

Tom

[shoswell]

Rattler and Tom offer a good alternative to check if you have a leak. search the forum and you will see several (including me) that had done this. just in the off chance a leak developes at the rear main seal. very good piece of mind with the added benefits of ease of completion. Nothing to remove, just a small hole at the bottom of the clutch housing. If you have a bad seal, you'll get a small amount of oil under your bike. If this occurs, you are looking at replacing the seal at the least. and "since you're there" replacing the clutch...

Think, slave weep hole but for the rear main seal...

[jdunique]

I did drill the weephole a couple months ago...no fluid leakage at all...how can a clutch fail at only 20K miles? Oh I forgot, it's a BMW.
Reid
My 03 started a similar slip problem at about the same mileage so after having read so much about the problems on here I just figured mine was gone so I bought all the parts got out my manual and dismantled the bike to install, but I did not need the clutch, what had happened was that the transmission seal right in front of the slave cylinder had started weeping oil which after a period of time contaminated the seals in the slave cylinder (there is no boot or othere protection between the transmission and the slave) that caused the seals to swell and the slave cylinder was binding and not releasing the clutch fully. It doesn't take hardly any pressure against the pressure plate to cause the slippage, of course since I had already taken it apart I measured everything (the clutch had only worn .002 even with the slipping) and replaced the seals before reassembling it. It is quite a bit of work to get to the slave cylinder but what I would advise is that you don't buy any parts until you find out what is actually the problem, after seeing this one I would almost bet that others have replaced the clutch needlessly.

[Reid]

Reid,

I think you might have misinterpreted the reply by rattler50. There are two potential weepholes. In your case you have the weep hole for the clutch slave. Should the clutch slave leak then the brake fluid flows outside the bell housing onto the ground.

However, you can also have a leaking seal (engine or transmission, I think). The oil builds up in the bottom of the bell housing and eventually contaminates your clutch. The clutch will then start slipping.

Good luck. I am hypersensitive to this issues since I've not done either weep hole. I've got a 2003 with 44k miles on it so I'm riding on borrowed time.

Tom

I didn't do the bell housing weephole...I didn't see the need at the time, but it's a good idea. The cylinder weephole looks intimidating, but for me it was a 5 hour job...better mechanics on the site can do it in about 2 hours...I don't know how they can do it so quickly...perhaps they've done it before. It's a good idea, I'm sure. I'm thinking I've got other issues with my clutch, don't know right now. No fluid in the cylinder a couple months ago when I did the job...don't see how it could've leaked that much fluid to contaminate in the relatively short time since the procedure was done.

[Reid]

Reid
My 03 started a similar slip problem at about the same mileage so after having read so much about the problems on here I just figured mine was gone so I bought all the parts got out my manual and dismantled the bike to install, but I did not need the clutch, what had happened was that the transmission seal right in front of the slave cylinder had started weeping oil which after a period of time contaminated the seals in the slave cylinder (there is no boot or othere protection between the transmission and the slave) that caused the seals to swell and the slave cylinder was binding and not releasing the clutch fully. It doesn't take hardly any pressure against the pressure plate to cause the slippage, of course since I had already taken it apart I measured everything (the clutch had only worn .002 even with the slipping) and replaced the seals before reassembling it. It is quite a bit of work to get to the slave cylinder but what I would advise is that you don't buy any parts until you find out what is actually the problem, after seeing this one I would almost bet that others have replaced the clutch needlessly.

That's very interesting. As I mentioned, it's only been a couple months since I did the slave cylinder weephole and there was virtually no fluid in the cylinder to indicate contamination of the clutch, and the clutch was fine at the time I did the weephole. So, this really sounds like a possibility.

[Reid]

Drill the hole in the bell housing and see if you have any seepage there. The clutch on my 03 went out at 19K but it was from the slave leaking before I got the weep hole drilled....Good luck.......... :cool:

I did misinterpret your post...read it too quickly. I see you are talking about the bell housing vs. the slave cylinder. I didn't drill the housing hole...figured the cylinder weephole would be adequate...it wouldn't have taken much to do the housing hole at the time and I should've done it.

[jzeiler]

I did the housing hole when mine started slipping back in June. Even stuck a pipe cleaner in there and saw no trace of oil. When I did tear it down it was obvious there was a slight oil leak as all the clutch dust in the bell housing was oily but no drip or sling evidence. Clutch was worn.

[Patric]

I did the housing hole when mine started slipping back in June. Even stuck a pipe cleaner in there and saw no trace of oil. When I did tear it down it was obvious there was a slight oil leak as all the clutch dust in the bell housing was oily but no drip or sling evidence. Clutch was worn.

+1 on the oily clutch dust . I had a leak in the gear box input shaft seal .

[rattler50]

My clutch was toast when I pulled it. The copper strands were coming out of the clutch plate. It was ready to come apart. I replaced only the clutch disc as the pressure plate was not burned. I got the parts very cheap from another member here who thought he needed a clutch but didn't. I lucked out on that. It's still working fine at 64K.......... :D