clutch issue! how do I jack up to get under?

[geol]

I just got done flushing, filling and bleeding my clutch master cylinder. It is going down faster than it should. I know that it can have either an external leak, where I would find brake fluid along the path to the clutch cover OR an internal seal leak in the slave unit. Since there is no external leaks I can find, I have determined I am going to rebuild the clutch slave cylinder.

Problem is, the thing is towards the middle of my trike. I have had the front wheel up and changed the tire by rolling the trike up a ramp onto a 4x4 and then putting a transmission jack (with a piece of wood) on the case and lifting high enough where I could slide the 4x4 out... this works OK for tire changes but I have to get under the trike a bit to get to the slave cylinder. Any tips for lifting the middle part of the trike where it is safe to work underneath would be appreciated. I don't have any jack stands but guess that will be my next purchase.

 

[cjmitch]

I have actually put my my motortrike up on all 3 wheels.
and that should give you plenty of room to work under it.

I first drive the rear wheels FOREWARD up on ramps.
Put the bike in gear or reverse to stop it from rolling
Then I take my slimline Sears yellow MC jack and put it under the front of the bike and raise it until I can get a 3rd ramp under the front wheel.
once its down I remove the jack, and now you have clear access to the complete underside of the trike.
Do it in reverse to get the bike down

 

[Shimpy]

cjmitch, that is one hell of a good looking trike you have. Just my style.

 

[Rowdy]

I have actually put my my motortrike up on all 3 wheels.
and that should give you plenty of room to work under it.

I first drive the rear wheels FOREWARD up on ramps.
Put the bike in gear or reverse to stop it from rolling
Then I take my slimline Sears yellow MC jack and put it under the front of the bike and raise it until I can get a 3rd ramp under the front wheel.
once its down I remove the jack, and now you have clear access to the complete underside of the trike.
Do it in reverse to get the bike down

This is the system I have used for yrs. Works like a charm.
I might add that the slave cyl. should have a weep hole in the bottom to indicate a leak.

 

[Mick]

On mine I use a 3/4 ton ATV jack under the engine and I set the locks on it and chock the rear wheels. If you have a boneyard nearby you could get a couple of auto scissor jacks for under the engine. The problem I found with jack stands is you stil have to get the trike up high enough to get them underneath. I use the ATV jack to bleed the clutch as it makes it easy to get at and easy to put the cowl back on along with the canister. One thing if you have a Speedbleeder on the clutch is to check its not leaking. I had Speedbleeders on my LC and one day all of a sudden one started leaking on the front brakes.

 

[geol]

The bleed valve on a GL1500 is readily accessible by taking off the two side covers. You can see the short pipe to the slave cylinder which is on the clutch cover. While it is easy to bleed, taking off the slave would be difficult as there is no room to get my fingers in from the top; hence the trike will need to be up in the air a bit. I have a friend coming over with a couple of ramps. I also have a 4x4 turned into a wedge that I drive up on and then onto another 4x4. I can pull the wedge out to remove the wheel but in this case it gives me enough room to get a transmission jack under which I will use to lift the front part. I will support the weight on a board using the jack. At least, that is the plan. The actual clutch slave job will be fairly easy I think. I also have a motorcycle lift that could be used instead of the jack. I don't have jack stands and I don't have an ATV lift.

 

[Mick]

Sounds like your clutch slave is similar in location like my old 86 Aspencades location. Couldnt get it from the side or top I had to remove it from underneath.
On the jack stands I was just saying if you had them you really have to get it up in the air to get them under.
On mine I use an ATV/motorcycle jack with a set of hydraulic jackstands along with a set of 2 ton ramps. After working on heavy equipment for a long time safety comes first. To me working under the trike is no different than working on a truck.

 

[Ayatolla of Rockin' Rolla]

Not to hijack this thread,, but I've just converted my '90 wing to a Roadsmith IRS a few months ago & am curious where to place the jack stands on the CV joints after raising the back wheels to service the D/S grease fitting. with my scissor jack .I also plan on using my m/c ATV lift for the frt wheel

Any advice?

 

[cjmitch]

cjmitch, that is one hell of a good looking trike you have. Just my style.

Why thank you :laugh:

- - - Updated - - -

I am curious where to place the jack stands on the CV joints after raising the back wheels to service the D/S grease fitting. with my scissor jack .I also plan on using my m/c ATV lift for the frt wheel

Any advice?

NOOOOOO NEVER put jack stands on a CV joint.....
Or the drive shaft!!!!!
find a spot on the FRAME bottom of the Shock absorber, or the wheel knuckle (the frame that holds the brakes).

 

[geol]

Roadsmith conversions come with welded rings where the lower eye of the shock mounts. The rings are supposed to give a place to put hooks from tie-down straps. This is also the designated jacking point. I have used this point with a transmission jack. I would put jackstands under the frame.

 

[Ayatolla of Rockin' Rolla]

Thx for the advice,haven't tackled any maintenance yet, (other than swapping around the rear wheels to make the tires rotate in the clockwise direction).

Got underneath last nite with a flashlite & found the shock mounting points by the frame. Think I'll finish the season this year riding & tackle the maintence next spring.

Thinking of calling R/S & seeing if they will send me a diagram of the trike assembly in the meantime :clapping:

 

[geol]

The owners manual is the same one for 1500 & 1800 and it is online as is the assembly manual. You can download. They are not real great BUT I have been told by a couple installers from different companies that RS documentation is actually the cream of the industry (compared to other companies...).

 

[geol]

Best laid plans....

Well, the auto ramps won't work with a Roadsmith conversion with Aqua-shields. The Aqua-shields get in the way of rolling the trike up onto them. I used the auto ramp to run the front tire up on and then jacked the front end up pretty high using my motorcycle jack with a couple of 2x4s under the engine to avoid damage.

Once up, the job isn't bad to rebuild the clutch slave cylinder. Someone had mentioned it might be dripping out a small relief hole... that is EXACTLY what it was doing. Just couldn't see the dripping which was mostly dry until the trike was up in the air. The hardest of the job was cleaning the old brake sludge out of the opening where the slave cylinder seats. The old brake stuff had turned to gel and then gotten real dirty.

Here is what you do. FIRST (after getting your trike lifted where you can get under) loosen the M6 bolt that holds the pipe with the bleed fitting. Then remove the M8 banjo bolt where the clutch line comes down from the lever. It is pretty tight as it holds a couple crush washers and is easier to loosen before removing the slave cylinder. You might want to buy some new crush washers to be professional but I re-used mine since I had not bought them. I think they are a standard auto parts item (M8 crush washers). Then remove the three bolts holding the slave cylinder. It doesn't just come loose... you have to squeeze the clutch lever a couple times. Have a drip pan under the slave cylinder and have some rags handy. Once the piston pushes out the slave cylinder, it comes right out. Take it to a bench, clean it and install the new rebuild kit. It is K&L P/N 32-0150. It includes the small seal that goes around the piston, the larger seal that goes around the main body, a replacement spring and a new dust cap for the bleed valve. To be honest the seal in the clutch cover that the piston fits into in the clutch cover looked pretty beat up. It is Honda P/N 91204-MB0-013 Oil Seal (8x25x8) (Arai). If doing the job again, I would not only have four new crush washers (2 for the oil pipe that connects to the bleed valve and 2 for the oil line coming down from the clutch master cylinder) AND the clutch cover oil seal. It would not be hard to remove or replace as it is just pressed into place. Install the seals with some brake fluid to lube them. I used DOT 4 as called for. Refit the parts as you took them off and drop the trike and bleed the master cylinder. I used my MityVac and it took about 5 minutes. I will ride the trike a bit then stick a mirror down below the clutch cover to see if there are any new signs of brake fluid on the bottom of the cover.

 

[geol]

Made one mistake above; crush washers for banjo bolts are M10 not M8. Sorry.