1984 Clutch Problem

[alexvitojustin]

My 1984 has been sitting a while.  I start it up regularly.
The clutch lever travels all the way back with no resistance.

Where do I start?

Fluid?  Thanks.

[Motofun]

First, inspect the clutch slave cylinder (just above the oil filter).  Look for massive leakage and damaged paint.  Unfortunately this is a common failing for FJ's.  If bad (and the fluid had to go somewhere....) you'll need to rebuild the slave cylinder with parts from RPM.
After the slave is good, verify the banjo fittings are good, again look for local damage.  Short of a crash, I've never seen these to fail except for poor previous maintenance practices.
Finally check the master cylinder.  These too can go bad, especially if left with water or other "fungus" in them.  Rebuild as needed (again RPM is your friend).  Finally you're ready to refill and start the tedious process of bleeding the clutch.

Or, you can just add fluid and hope for the best.  In either case, good luck.

One more thing...the previous owner may have lost the little ball bearing that goes on the end of the clutch push rod.  If everything looks good, this may be a thing to check.

[Waiex191]

FJ hydraulics tend to do poorly when sitting.  On this page of my thread, third post down, I talk about the clutch hydraulics.
https://fjowners.com/index.php?topic=19343.45

There is a little more on the following pages.  Honestly I'd recommend pulling it out and cleaning it up at least.  New seals and stuff would not be a bad idea, although with the clutch I got by with a cleanup.

If you look at the first page of my thread you will see the disaster of having the front brakes sit for a while.

[alexvitojustin]

Thank you for the information.
I will mess around with it today.
I did not see any fluid leaks.

Appreciate it.

Alex

[Millietant]

You might not see any fluid leak Alex, but if you have paint bubbling or missing anywhere like you can see inside the yellow oval on my photo below, you have it leaking past the slave cylinder seal.

My bike has done around 90,000 miles and that paint stripping on the oil filter housing and the sprocket cover casing, is the result of 3 separate clutch slave cylinder seal failures (each time after the bike was parked for a while), over 33 years.

I think over this winter I'll repaint them  

[alexvitojustin]

I installed a new clutch cylinder from RPM and trying to bleed.
It there a trick to it?

I have the hose on the bleeder screw and cylinder full of fluid, it is not pumping-no fluid is moving.

I assume it is like bleeding brakes on a car?

Thanks

[red]

I installed a new clutch cylinder from RPM and trying to bleed.  It there a trick to it?  I have the hose on the bleeder screw and cylinder full of fluid, it is not pumping-no fluid is moving.  I assume it is like bleeding brakes on a car?  Thanks

Alex,

There is a hole in the bottom of the clutch lever reservoir.  Hydraulic fluid can squirt up from the hole, and get onto your paint.  You can put a coin (or an old-style metal beer bottle-cap) over the hole, to prevent the hydraulic fluid from squirting all over.

Leave the bleeder screw loose, until you get the slave cylinder full of hydraulic  fluid.  Sometimes it is helpful to release and let the clutch lever spring back open after you pull the clutch lever, as fast as it possibly can.  Repeat as necessary, until you are moving the hydraulic fluid.  Then proceed normally.

The vacuum bleeder machine is a great help, here.  Borrow one if you can, or if nothing else works, they do not need to cost a lot.  Shop around.  Your friends may want to borrow it sometimes, of course.  Vacuum bleeding is good for any hydraulic system on the bike, because you can replace all of the hydraulic fluid at one time.  Old hydraulic fluid is dangerous in brake calipers, and rough on the clutch hydraulic system.

[Motofun]

The FJ jinx is in full on mode.  After checking both my FJs they both needed slave cylinders to be rebuilt and local parts to be stripped and repainted.  While I'm at it I'm going to order a new petcock for the '89 tank.  That nylon fitting that turns the gas off is a piece of junk.  I went to turn the gas off and it just disintegrated.   

[Waiex191]

The FJ jinx is in full on mode.  After checking both my FJs they both needed slave cylinders to be rebuilt and local parts to be stripped and repainted.  While I'm at it I'm going to order a new petcock for the '89 tank.  That nylon fitting that turns the gas off is a piece of junk.  I went to turn the gas off and it just disintegrated.  

I have a Briggs and Stratton shutoff valve downstream, under the side cover. Much more convenient.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0038U3JKM

[ribbert]

The FJ jinx is in full on mode.  After checking both my FJs they both needed slave cylinders to be rebuilt and local parts to be stripped and repainted.  While I'm at it I'm going to order a new petcock for the '89 tank.  That nylon fitting that turns the gas off is a piece of junk.  I went to turn the gas off and it just disintegrated.   

I use fuel line clamps and don't touch the tap, but if it broke I'd just put an elbow there instead.



These cost $5-$10.

Noel

[alexvitojustin]

Got er dun
Thanks for the tips.


Easy and works great!