Leaking oil through base of clutch slave cylinder housing??

[macca__macca]

Hi all,

Today I put a 15t front sprocket on my bike. In order to do this, I had to remove the front sprocket cover and the slave cylinder cover, and in doing so I managed to get a bunch of air into the lines (no worries, it bled out successfully).

Putting the slave cylinder back on was hard because i had to force the cylinder piston back in when doing so because it naturally extends out when there's no pressure on it. Anyway, I took the cap off the master reservoir and did this successfully, too.

Problem: After reassembly, I appear to have an oil leak at the base of the slave cylinder housing!? Where could this oil be coming from? I'm pretty certain it feels and looks like oil and not the green Dot 4 fluid in the clutch line.

Anyone have any ideas about this? Around the slave cylinder housing is normally a gasket, which I replaced with some gasket sealer. However, at the very base of the housing is a small notch/hole that looks like it's meant to be there to allow whatever's in there to drain out - is that right or should I plug that little hole as well?

Hope what I'm saying makes sense... I can take photos if necessary...

Thanks all!

[Wicky]

Probably clutch hydraulic fluid (or excess chain lube runoff). How does the clutch feel?

Next time you have the sprocket cover/ clutch slave unit off simply tie back the clutch lever to alleviate the need to bleed afterwards.

If it continues leaking clutch fluid check the slave seals/cylinder bore for scratches from grit that can work its way into that area.

[MacV2]

Probably clutch hydraulic fluid (or excess chain lube runoff). How does the clutch feel?

Next time you have the sprocket cover/ clutch slave unit off simply tie back the clutch lever to alleviate the need to bleed afterwards.

If it continues leaking clutch fluid check the slave seals/cylinder bore for scratches from grit that can work its way into that area.

NoNoNoNooooooo...Don't tie it back that will put put even more pressure on it. Take the clutch lever off & remove the pressure totally !

[popkat]

Probably clutch hydraulic fluid (or excess chain lube runoff). How does the clutch feel?

Next time you have the sprocket cover/ clutch slave unit off simply tie back the clutch lever to alleviate the need to bleed afterwards.

If it continues leaking clutch fluid check the slave seals/cylinder bore for scratches from grit that can work its way into that area.

NoNoNoNooooooo...Don't tie it back that will put put even more pressure on it. Take the clutch lever off & remove the pressure totally !

Just Put a small g clamp on the piston or even use a cable tie to stop the piston moving.

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[macca__macca]

Hmmm. What about the little hole at the bottom of slave cylinder housing? It definitely looks to be there by design.

There is no excess grease or oil from the chain as I thoroughly cleaned everything after putting the sprocket on and haven't ridden the bike since.

It does seem like oil though because I also recently changed it and it is very clean, and I don't detect any green colour when wiping up the leak with a white tissue...


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[Wicky]

Hmmm. What about the little hole at the bottom of slave cylinder housing? It definitely looks to be there by design.

I've got an old one in my hand and can't see a hole in the base of the clutch slave. Can you post a photo of what you mean or descrive wherabouts on the this ad's pics ? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-VTR1000 ... SwT6pVwgOy

[macca__macca]

Ah yes, looking closer the hole is 'D' shaped and is actually on the sprocket cover itself. It runs flush with edge that the cylinder housing sits on if that makes sense. It is located at the very base of where the cylinder housing sits (ie nearest to the ground) which is why it seems intentionally made as though to allow some drainage?

Maybe I have slightly overfilled the clutch fluid reservoir after the bleed and this is actual excess being forced out? Dunno but it didn't happen before the bleed and sprocket change so I have definitely done something!

I will take a photo when I get home tonight.

EDIT: I found a picture of the little hole I'm talking about online - it's NOT a picture from my bike but you can see the hole I'm talking about at the bottom of the cylinder mount - it's a little check cut out that is kind of covered in gunk in this photo: http://www.superhawkforum.com/forums/at ... 270800.jpg

It's just weird that i never had a problem/leak until now all of a sudden - could the pressure I had to exert on pushing the cylinder back in when putting it back on to the sprocket cover have caused it to leak permanently now?

[kev64]

Theres a lot of mess going on behind that cover, outputshaft seal, clutch pushrod seal, clean it all up refit it all
and re bleed after its all been reassembled. I seen oil coming from that area before and running
down the sidestand, and don't overfill the clutch master cylinder!!

[Wicky]

If it's slowly leaking fluid from the sprocket cover then you'll need to disassemble it all again to get to the root of the problem to properly identify source of said fluid . i.e check seal hasn't blown or that that ingressed grit hasn't damaged seals / scored cylinder bore.

How does the clutch lever feel? as a slow leak of hydraulic fuid will gradually cause you to lose the biting point and render you immobile.

[macca__macca]

Just a reminder that the pic is NOT my bike, just a photo I found online whilst at work to illustrate the little notch at the base of the mounting location of the slave cylinder.

I thoroughly cleaned my slave cylinder housing and it was nothing near as dirty as the one in that photo.

My clutch feels fantastic - never better - maybe I have slightly overfilled it, it's the only thing I can think of?

Regardless, do you guys have that little hole sealed or not?

Thanks for the input!


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[darkember]

Mine had the little hole as described. Is you model got the larger tank and upgraded clocks ie: F2. Also what is the colour of the oil. If it is really clean then it will be dot fluid from the clutch slave unit. Engine oil will be a lot darker. Best thing to do, as said above buy a replacement seal kit and give it a good over-hall you've had the practice so it should be easy. Best way to remove the piston is to GENTLY apply the clutch with the slave removed just remember to catch it in a rag

[popkat]

Brake fluid and engine oil feel completely different, engine oil slippery, brake fluid sort of dry feeling between your fingers, it would be easy to tell which it is leaking out. if it's engine oil I'd say look first at your clutch pushrod seal. remove the rod and see if you can wipe round inside the seal, it might just be a bit of grit in there.


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[macca__macca]

Brake fluid and engine oil feel completely different, engine oil slippery, brake fluid sort of dry feeling between your fingers, it would be easy to tell which it is leaking out. if it's engine oil I'd say look first at your clutch pushrod seal. remove the rod and see if you can wipe round inside the seal, it might just be a bit of grit in there.

Hey popkat, yeah I know it sounds silly but since I just put brand new oil AND brand new Dot 4 in, and to my fingers the viscosity feels very similar between them both - the Dot 4 is slippery stuff. I do think it's most likely oil because there's no colour to it and my brand new oil is quite light in colour in such tiny quantities like 'one drop's worth'. Either way I need to check again tonight as the bike's been sitting for 2 days now and see if there is a drip there that has a discernible colour.

If it's oil then it will somehow be a new leak I've created as a result of the work I did above (pushing against the pushrod too hard when installing the slave housing to force the slave piston back in??).
If it's Dot 4 then again it's caused by something I've done.

The bearings/seals seemed in decent enough condition both when I viewed the clutch side and the slave cylinder side.

I shall report back on the findings!!

[macca__macca]

Seems like it must be Dot 4. I still can't see what colour it is and the amount is so small that I can't easily feel what it is, however a tiny bit of black paint rubbed off tonight when I wiped it with a white tissue, which means it's gotta be Dot 4. I think when I pushed the slave cylinder piston back in when reinstalling the housing, I must have damaged the seal or something? Might be time to buy new seals/parts for it - they are cheap anyway...

[darkember]

Seems like it must be Dot 4. I still can't see what colour it is and the amount is so small that I can't easily feel what it is, however a tiny bit of black paint rubbed off tonight when I wiped it with a white tissue, which means it's gotta be Dot 4. I think when I pushed the slave cylinder piston back in when reinstalling the housing, I must have damaged the seal or something? Might be time to buy new seals/parts for it - they are cheap anyway...

You may have scored the piston with a little grit when pushing it back in. Wet and dry emery will sort that..