New clutch & seals today...

[Burnszilla]

FYI on repair costs...

My K75S hit 89,500 this week. I just brought it in to San Jose BMW this morning for a new clutch, rear main seal, transmission output seal, gear indicator switch and resealing the oil pan gasket.
Total parts & labor = $1164.00

I thought about doing the job myself but I just don't have the time. Plus, I heard nightmares about torquing the nut/bolt on the clutch housing.

I'm also at the point with this bike that I've invested so much into it that it's not worth it to sell it. I'm sure my future children someday will thank me. I'm also trying to make myself feel better by justifying my costs with facts like: there's no monthly bike payment, it's super reliable, it's my daily mode of transportation that gets 45mpg and the new seals should last another 90K miles.

How long do clutches generally last? (Obviously depending on riding style)

[jgr451]

I think you made a wise choice.Clutch could last forever!

[deilenberger]

Originally posted by Burnszilla
FYI on repair costs...

My K75S hit 89,500 this week. I just brought it in to San Jose BMW this morning for a new clutch, rear main seal, transmission output seal, gear indicator switch and resealing the oil pan gasket.
Total parts & labor = $1164.00

I thought about doing the job myself but I just don't have the time. Plus, I heard nightmares about torquing the nut/bolt on the clutch housing.

I'm also at the point with this bike that I've invested so much into it that it's not worth it to sell it. I'm sure my future children someday will thank me. I'm also trying to make myself feel better by justifying my costs with facts like: there's no monthly bike payment, it's super reliable, it's my daily mode of transportation that gets 45mpg and the new seals should last another 90K miles.

How long do clutches generally last? (Obviously depending on riding style)

Stephen..

What exactly were the symptoms?

And torquing the clutch nut is no big deal if you have the correct socket and a torque wrench.

BTW - there is no oil-pan gasket.. the joint uses a sealant and no gasket. Yamabond works well, and some people use a silicone sealant.

[Burnszilla]

Originally posted by deilenberger
Stephen..

What exactly were the symptoms?

Lots of gear oil leaking out of the clutch housing, all the way around the seam. Clutch was adjusted all the way and was engaging late in the release. It was also starting to slip. I obtained my old parts and the clutch plate was worn right down. The technician also said there was a lot of oil in the clutch housing, sprayed all over.

And torquing the clutch nut is no big deal if you have the correct socket and a torque wrench.

Some guy at the rally said this was hard to do by yourself. He had to stick a 2x4 in the frame to brace it.

BTW - there is no oil-pan gasket.. the joint uses a sealant and no gasket. Yamabond works well, and some people use a silicone sealant.
I'm aware of that. My wording was off. I was trying to say that the sealant forms a gasket.

[deilenberger]

Originally posted by Burnszilla
Lots of gear oil leaking out of the clutch housing, all the way around the seam. Clutch was adjusted all the way and was engaging late in the release. It was also starting to slip. I obtained my old parts and the clutch plate was worn right down. The technician also said there was a lot of oil in the clutch housing, sprayed all over.

OK - so you did need a new one. The transmission input seal is one of the few that will take out the disk. The rear engine seal and the O ring under the clutch-basket-nut rarely do.

It's also unusual (I used to say "never") to see a K clutch wear out. The exceptions (why I now say "unusual") are where the clutch has been slipping for some time, or where the bike was abused (trying to do wheelies with a K75..)

In one week I saw two - one dead from slipping (no lining left on the disk at all) and one dead from wheelies (lining partially missing, but all clutch metal parts showed extreme overheating.)

Wearing out a normally used K bike clutch that doesn't get oil soaked is almost impossible.. once my clutch is adjusted, I've never had to change the adjustment.

Some guy at the rally said this was hard to do by yourself. He had to stick a 2x4 in the frame to brace it.

Which rally? If you came to RA in Wet-Virginia you could have sat in on a tech session Brian Curry, myself and Joe Katz did on K bikes. To loosen or tighten the nut - you have to keep the clutch basket from turning. It's easily done by jamming something in-between the basket and the inside of the bell-housing. BMW has a special tool for this - which is a piece of metal that bolts to the backet and hits the inside of the bell-housing.

Not a big deal at all..

I'm aware of that. My wording was off. I was trying to say that the sealant forms a gasket.

Ah..

:p

Best,

[Burnszilla]

For those interested here's the old clutch plate...
http://www.burnszilla.com/images/bmw/k75s_clutch.jpg
Almost worn down to the rivets.

[deilenberger]

Originally posted by Burnszilla
For those interested here's the old clutch plate...

image snipped

Almost worn down to the rivets.

Stephen..

Did you actually look at the new one?

It appears about identical to what you're showing as a worn out one. The rivets are barely below the surface when the clutch is brand new. Check the wear limits on the clutch disk - it's about 0.025" (from memory), which is about the thickness of a matchbook cover.

The disk is still trash since it looks contaminated, which I never try to "fix" (back in the old days.. when a $1 was worth about 20 of them today - it wasn't uncommon to use brake cleaner to de-contaminate a clutch disk.. and it usually worked.. but I've digressed..)
:p

Point is - if this is the first one you've seen - check the thickness against spec's - bet it's still very close to new disk spec.

BTW - hope the mechanic doing the job used Honda Moly-60 or Wurth-3000 for the splines. What is showing on the disk is the factory lube What's really strange is I've never seen it in that amount - ie - tossed off like that..

I'll add an image of a "bad disk" - this one proves that wheelies aren't good for K75 clutches..

Best,

[dlearl476]

>BTW - hope the mechanic doing the job used Honda Moly-60 or Wurth-3000 for the splines.

Don-Are you refering to WURTH "SIG-3000"? I just hooked up with my local Wurth Distributor and, needing some grease, bought a few tubes of SIG-3000. Seems pretty good stuff. I've done my 911 bearings and /5 points. I've always been a red #10 guy, but it's not really feasible with taper-bearings.

[knary]

FWIW, having replaced a clutch disk, I agree with Don. If that disk wasn't contaminated, it looks very serviceable.

I replaced the clutch on my K because the previous owner hadn't kept it properly adjusted and so it had been slipping for a lonngggg time. It was worn down to the rivets and glazed. To be somewhat fair, he'd had all the work on the bike done at a very well known shop and they are the ones who never adjusted the clutch actuation as part of the regular service of the bike.

[deilenberger]

Originally posted by dlearl
>BTW - hope the mechanic doing the job used Honda Moly-60 or Wurth-3000 for the splines.

Don-Are you refering to WURTH "SIG-3000"? I just hooked up with my local Wurth Distributor and, needing some grease, bought a few tubes of SIG-3000. Seems pretty good stuff. I've done my 911 bearings and /5 points. I've always been a red #10 guy, but it's not really feasible with taper-bearings.

Yup, that's the stuff. It is VERY sticky stuff, and apparently has a very high melting point. I'm giving it a try on my driveshaft splines instead of Honda Moly-60 since several pro's I've spoken to recommended it - highly.. Someone had sent me the grease to give a try to since I sorta have a thing about grease and splines.

Number to is good for... ummm.... welllllll... actually not much. You could probably use it to grease your throttle sleeve or perhaps cable ends, but I wouldn't use it anywhere that sees heat (I've seen it turn to a water consistancy and just run off what it was supposed to be protecting..)

I would never use #10 for what I assume are 911 wheel bearings. Way too vital a part for that stuff. (It was a mistake on BMW's part - if you notice - they no longer sell it..)

Best,

[dlearl476]

>I would never use #10 for what I assume are 911 wheel bearings.

You assume correctly. I've never used #10 for anything near heat. I've like it on SHBs and MC wheel bearings.
With more than a few bikes and cars, I'm really into simplifying. One oil, one grease, one gear lube for all the stuff.*
I really like the SIG-3000. As hard as it is to get off my hands after a repack, it's gotta do wonders in service. I just wish I could get it in the smaller tubes that work in the smaller gun I like to use on the bikes.
My next big hurdle, phsycologically, is dumpin' Mobil1 SuperSyn in my '78 Alfa! But the "urban myth" about Synthetics in older vehicles proved to be just that in the 911, so I'm gonna do it.



*Mobil1 SuperSyn 15W-50, SIG-3000, Swepco 201, respectively.