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- Joined
- Nov 7, 2007
- Messages
- 2,071
- Reaction score
- 1
- Location
- Antelope Valley CA
- First Name
- Scott
- Last Name
- Brown
I pulled my FA sprocket cover off to install my sprocket cover eliminator parts back on the bike which I used to have on the bike a few years back, and everything was already powder coated semi gloss black except the clutch slave cylinder, which had already been smoothed and polished, which I powder coated black.
When I was installing the clutch slave cylinder back on the bike, I removed the clutch push rod to clean all of the built up chain lube and crap off of it, and when I inserted it back into the oil seal I noticed that it didn’t feel as tight in the seal as it used to, but since it wasn’t leaking before I took it apart, I finished putting the bike back together.
So I got up on Sunday morning and started getting ready to ride up to visit my sister in Bakersfield, and I went out and started my bike up to let it warm up for about 5 minutes, then I shut it off and went back inside to finish getting dressed. I came back out and rolled the bike out of the garage, and when I walked back into the garage I saw a about a 4” puddle of engine oil on the floor where my bike had been parked.
I cleaned up the oil and rolled the bike back in the garage, put some cardboard on the floor underneath the bike and started looking for the source of the oil leak. I figured that it something to do with the area I had just finished working on, and after about 10 minutes of poking, I found that the oil leak was coming from push rod oil seal.
I could see that the face of the oil seal as well as the engine case was wet with oil, So I cleaned off the oil from around the push rod and the oil seal and started the bike up again, and oil immediately started leaking out between the seal and the push rod.
So I rolled the bike out and cleaned all of the oil off of the bike, then I pushed it back the garage and removed all of the parts, as well as the drive sprocket, and I was then able to remove the oil seal, which I had to end up ordering from the Suzuki dealer I bought my 1250 from, LA Cycle Sports, which was one of only two dealers in the country that had the seal, as it was on back order from Suzuki with no ETA. They are about a 190 mile round trip from my place, so I had them shipped it to me which only cost $7 which saved me the hassle of driving down and picking it up, and I got it the next day. So while I was waiting for the new seal arrive, I turned a piloted seal driver out of aluminum for installing the new oil seal.
I’ve always looked at all of the chain lube, dirt and crap that builds up on the clutch push rod, which then gets pushed into the oil seal, and always thought that its not good thing for the oil seal, and from time to time I would cleaned the crap off of the push rod.
So I started thinking about what I could do to try and keep the crap that gets built up on the push rod from getting pushed into the oil seal. So that’s when I came up with the idea for a new seal retainer plate that would also act as a shield for the clutch push rod and oil seal.
This new seal retainer replaces the thin .025 thick steel seal retainer which does nothing to keep the crud on the push rod from getting pushed into the seal. The new seal retainer is made out of 3/8” aluminum and the clearance hole for the push rod is only .030 per side larger then the diameter of the push rod, and since the clutch push rod moves less than 3/16” when the clutch lever is actuated, the thickness of this new seal retainer along with the much smaller clearance hole for the push rod should really help to keep the crap that collects on the push rod from getting pushed into the oil seal.
When I was installing the clutch slave cylinder back on the bike, I removed the clutch push rod to clean all of the built up chain lube and crap off of it, and when I inserted it back into the oil seal I noticed that it didn’t feel as tight in the seal as it used to, but since it wasn’t leaking before I took it apart, I finished putting the bike back together.
So I got up on Sunday morning and started getting ready to ride up to visit my sister in Bakersfield, and I went out and started my bike up to let it warm up for about 5 minutes, then I shut it off and went back inside to finish getting dressed. I came back out and rolled the bike out of the garage, and when I walked back into the garage I saw a about a 4” puddle of engine oil on the floor where my bike had been parked.
I cleaned up the oil and rolled the bike back in the garage, put some cardboard on the floor underneath the bike and started looking for the source of the oil leak. I figured that it something to do with the area I had just finished working on, and after about 10 minutes of poking, I found that the oil leak was coming from push rod oil seal.
I could see that the face of the oil seal as well as the engine case was wet with oil, So I cleaned off the oil from around the push rod and the oil seal and started the bike up again, and oil immediately started leaking out between the seal and the push rod.
So I rolled the bike out and cleaned all of the oil off of the bike, then I pushed it back the garage and removed all of the parts, as well as the drive sprocket, and I was then able to remove the oil seal, which I had to end up ordering from the Suzuki dealer I bought my 1250 from, LA Cycle Sports, which was one of only two dealers in the country that had the seal, as it was on back order from Suzuki with no ETA. They are about a 190 mile round trip from my place, so I had them shipped it to me which only cost $7 which saved me the hassle of driving down and picking it up, and I got it the next day. So while I was waiting for the new seal arrive, I turned a piloted seal driver out of aluminum for installing the new oil seal.
I’ve always looked at all of the chain lube, dirt and crap that builds up on the clutch push rod, which then gets pushed into the oil seal, and always thought that its not good thing for the oil seal, and from time to time I would cleaned the crap off of the push rod.
So I started thinking about what I could do to try and keep the crap that gets built up on the push rod from getting pushed into the oil seal. So that’s when I came up with the idea for a new seal retainer plate that would also act as a shield for the clutch push rod and oil seal.
This new seal retainer replaces the thin .025 thick steel seal retainer which does nothing to keep the crud on the push rod from getting pushed into the seal. The new seal retainer is made out of 3/8” aluminum and the clearance hole for the push rod is only .030 per side larger then the diameter of the push rod, and since the clutch push rod moves less than 3/16” when the clutch lever is actuated, the thickness of this new seal retainer along with the much smaller clearance hole for the push rod should really help to keep the crap that collects on the push rod from getting pushed into the oil seal.
