1984 FJ1100 - Leak on lower left-side?

[baldy3853]

I look forward to meeting you Baldy...is it rally time yet!?

Leon
[/quote]

LEON
Shall be a pleasure we'll have a few sherberts to celebrate a rarity 
baldy

[IronBuddha]

Ding ding ding...Main seal huh? Whoaaa, where's the love? 

Even a blind sow finds an occasional acorn...

How do we explain the main seal leaking brake/clutch fluid, as stated earlier?

And that whole bandanna thing has me wondering...WHAT THE HELL!?

Tin,
I know it may sound a bit confusing. Originally I thought that the dirty, thin, watery-like fluid leaking from around my front sprocket shift area was too "thin" to be motor oil. It did look like dirty brake fluid. This is the first of my over 15 motorcycles I ever had that had a "wet" clutch (hydraulic). I've never worked on one before. And I've certainly never bled one before (which is now kicking my butt), so I thought it was like they stated in the post that it was my hydraulic clutch thing leaking. What was causing the leak was a rolled up bandanna, that I probably forgot to put on my neck one night when I was riding back from a friends place. It was dark, and I must not have noticed it maybe fell off the seat into the chain or something. Anyway that bandanna was wrapped around that front sprocket like it was made on there! And it had a combo of grease from the chain and oil soaked into it. There were fibers everywhere, and it was a mess!!! I should have taken a picture, but I was too busy digging it all out. All I can say is that thing was so jammed in there, it had to put pressure on the seals. I had no leaks whatsoever before this happened. I do vaguely remember slowing down off an onramp one night and I heard and felt this big shudder...like I had ran into something or the back wheel was locking up somewhere. I did a quick inspection but didn't see anything. I consider myself lucky I didn't have my chain lockup at 70mph!! So now I've ordered #24 from Randy, and I'm hoping it does the trick. My clutch fluid is filthy and needs changing out. I was topping it off for now, and would get to the flush/fill job later. No such luck because I didn't realize I had to bleed the thing. I put the bike in first and it lurched off. I'm like "What the heck?" Then I tried to ride and couldn't get out of first gear. This sucked, so I tried to bleed the clutch like I do brakes, and it wasn't working. I was pissed because I thought I broke something. Anyway, I've found some instructions ( I don't have a service manual yet), and I'll try to bleed so I can shift again tomorrow. I have the MSF Experienced Rider's course on Friday morning and my bike aint ready. Wish me luck. I hope this explian my own private hell. I'm open to suggestions/comments and thanks for reading this long post.
PS
What the hell is a "Pink Stripe?"
IB

[FJmonkey]

Your slave hopefully only has a small leak. Make sure the master is topped off, use a cable tie or rope or string that will hold the clutch lever tight to the grip over night. Let the air find its own merry way up (gravity still works on FJ's). Check for clutch feel the day after. Then rebuild your slave ASAP after your MSF!!!

[1tinindian]

PS
What the hell is a "Pink Stripe?"
IB

Oh man, no problem, you sound like you have your problem trouble shot!
When I bleed my clutch, I let gravity do it's thing.
Sure, it takes some time, but not as bad as you might think.
Good luck with your upcoming course, and get those repairs finished up!

See my avatar about the "pink stripe", it's a 1991 thing that most everybody has a comment for and I love the attentions it brings!

(You did know, that the 91s were the best year for FJs, right? Well, you do now!)

Leon

[1tinindian]

LEON
Shall be a pleasure we'll have a few sherberts to celebrate a rarity  
baldy

I'd be happy to drink with you Baldy, but my Australian Slang dictionary has no entry for "sherberts".
Are you toasting me with some f-king colored ice cream!

http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html#J

Damn internets, I sure hope when we meet, we won't need a translator!

Leon

[Harvy]

LEON
Shall be a pleasure we'll have a few sherberts to celebrate a rarity  
baldy

I'd be happy to drink with you Baldy, but my Australian Slang dictionary has no entry for "sherberts".
Are you toasting me with some f-king colored ice cream!

http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html#J

Damn internets, I sure hope when we meet, we won't need a translator!

Leon

Leon.... sherberts = beers

Harvy

[1tinindian]

LEON
Shall be a pleasure we'll have a few sherberts to celebrate a rarity 
baldy

I'd be happy to drink with you Baldy, but my Australian Slang dictionary has no entry for "sherberts".
Are you toasting me with some f-king colored ice cream!

http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html#J

Damn internets, I sure hope when we meet, we won't need a translator!

Leon

Leon.... sherberts = beers

Harvy

Thanks Harv, that was my guess!

Leon

[IronBuddha]

PS
What the hell is a "Pink Stripe?"
IB

Oh man, no problem, you sound like you have your problem trouble shot!
When I bleed my clutch, I let gravity do it's thing.
Sure, it takes some time, but not as bad as you might think.
Good luck with your upcoming course, and get those repairs finished up!

See my avatar about the "pink stripe", it's a 1991 thing that most everybody has a comment for and I love the attentions it brings!

(You did know, that the 91s were the best year for FJs, right? Well, you do now!)

Leon

Well Dudes...I finally have a happy ending to my post. I can't believe the amount of post there are here on this site. I can't wait to start bombing around this site. Anyway, the main seal was so bad that it just fell apart in my hands!!! It was really shot. The rubber was just brittle. I even saw strands of that damned bandanna right up close and personal around that failed seal. I guess it was getting ready to go anyway, and the extra friction of the cloth helped it out. The STRANGEST thing I found, and glad that I corrected, was the huge 36mm nut (I don't have the # diagram handy, but you all know what I'm talking about) that holds the sprocket on. After I peeled back the small metal stays/washer that keep the nut from turning, the damn thing was on there HAND-TIGHT!!! I just turned it off with my hand!! Well, I hope nobody comes back and tells me that its supposed to be like that, because after I replaced the main seal, I snugged that sucker up good! I know there has to be a torque value for that nut, but I didn't have the reference with me. That part of the evolution really freaked me out.
Lastly, after a couple hours of pumping, I finally got the clutch bled real good. I'm back on the road with no apparent leaks. I'm trying not to overdue riding the bike very hard. I'm wondering if that seal takes time to wear in or something. Also, I wasn't sure how far to seat that thing in, so I tried my best to make it flush. So far no leaks, but I may have seen just a slight "moisture" of oil pooling off the bottom of the engine, but not enough to drip off. I think that may have came from the seal as it is seating in there. If anybody can shed some light on that, it would be much appreciated.
adios amigos and THANKS,
IB

[SlowOldGuy]

I've seen several hand tight countershaft sprocket nuts.  I don't really think it's a big problem as long as the retainer is in place. The shaft is splined and there is practically no side load on the sprocket trying to force it off. 

That said, I would recommend torquing it to spec, which I think is around 60 ft-lb (?)

DavidR.

[IronBuddha]

Thanks SOG,
You know I think I'm still getting a slight weeping from that seal. Its not much. It makes a very small spot on the pavement. I really don't care at this point though unless it gets worse. Its not even enough to wet the chain anymore. Maybe the seal didn't quite seat perfectly.
Take care,
IB