84 250r Clutch Issues

[MikeW1573]

Good Morning,
I have an 84 ATC 250R, I went riding with a buddy last weekend and towards the end of our 2.5 hour ride, my clutch lever got extremely easy to pull and I lost the clutch engagement. I got it out of the woods and back home, I tried adjusting the cable however I decided it would be best to replace the clutch cable thinking it was stretched. During the inspection, I found the actuator arm to be extremely easy to move by hand and the only tension on it was being provided by the spring around the actuator arm. I took the cover off the clutch and found the clutch nut and assembly loose and I was able to unscrew the clutch nut by hand. I disassembled everything. The basket had some grooves and I was able to clean them up using a hand file. I re-assembled everything last night however with everything tight the actuator arm still is very easy to move and is not engaging the pressure plate all the way? The actuator arm looks good and the little ball is in the metal piece that engages the pressure plates. Any thoughts of things I could look at. Thanks in advance for any help!

Mike

[MikeW1573]

My other thought, is should I have filled the case with oil and fired the bike up to let everything "adjust" or should I have immediately felt more tension on the actuator arm?

[wonderboy]

You should feel very near proper tension right away. My only suggestion is that you didn't get something back together properly, or the fact that it was only finger tight upon disassembly means something else broke and needs replacing.

The service manual is mandatory in this situation to make sure all the parts are there and put back together right.

[yaegerb]

Did you actually pull out the actuator arm and inspect to ensure its not damaged or broken where it engages the rod? Did you pull the rod out and ensure its straight and not broken?

[MikeW1573]

Thanks. I will take a look at the manual closely and find out, it appeared like it was all there, the only thing i replaced was the clutch washer, it was chewed up. But I replaced it with a washer of a similar width.

[MikeW1573]

I did. I took the little screw out and pulled the actuator arm out, I read in another post to look for wear spots but I didn't see any and the rod was intact and appeared to be straight with no wearing.

Is the little ball suppose to fall out of the part that presses against the pressure plate, I hit it a few times on the bench and couldn't get it out, maybe that ball is worn or it was pushed up higher inside and not engaging the rod as its suppose to.

[yaegerb]

yes, the ball is suppose to fall out of the "top hat" or clutch lifter. Your ball is likely fused in there and could have developed a flat spot.

If it won't come out, or if you can't verify that the ball is still round you should get the following parts. Both are still available.
22352-KA4-000 PIECE, CLUTCH LIFTER
96211-09000 BALL, STEEL (#9) (9/32)

[MikeW1573]

Thanks! Hopefully this is the issue and I can replace!
Thanks for the part # s

[MikeW1573]

Alright so back to the drawing board.

With a little work the ball came out of the hat, looks good, at the bottom of the hat, there is a divet the ball sits in not sure if this is normal. I again inspected the rod it looks good. The actuator arm looks good. I referenced the manual and put everything back together with the new clutch cable....again no tension on the actuator arm when pulling the clutch no engagement.

I disassembled everything again, the only observation I noticed is the thrust washer that goes in between the basket and the clutch mechanism, which has star like groves, doesn't seem to have those types of grooves to fit into, is this normal, in between the basket and the clutch seems like a smooth portion of the shaft, when the clutch mechanism slides on the shaft it sits nicely into the groves and the clutch bolt and washer go on fine.

I took a small nut and filed it down and was able to slide it all the way down into the hat where the ball typically sits and put the ball back on top of that and reassembled everything to test the wear on the arm, rod and ball. I reassembled everything and had good tension in the clutch lever and I can see the pressure plate disconnecting from the basket, however it still doesn't seem to be enough tension to release because the bike stayed in gear with the clutch level fully pulled and seemed easier pull still then the last time I rode it.

I'm sure I'll have more questions but could these symptoms be bad friction fibers, I don't have a caliper to measure them at this time but they appear pretty worn and if there too low is there enough material to put pressure on itself in the clutch mechanism?

[nicker71]

Was the bike staying in gear with it running? Or was this done with it not running? And how much more adjustment is left for the cable, maybe just needs a little more for it to dis-engage

There's a collar (or maybe more washer like)that goes behind the basket, is it still there? Or maybe did it get lost when it came apart?

[MikeW1573]

The bike was off when I tested it, should I have started it. I just didn't want to waste a quart of Belray trans fluid if I didn't have to. Yes the washer behind the basket is there and looked good.

[nicker71]

Ok, start it and let t it warm up a bit and I bet your good.

[MikeW1573]

Thanks for the help everyone, it seems to be okay, I still have some fine running of the cable but I rode it today and seemed good. The tension is good with the little nut I put beneath the ball so I think the hat was a little worn. I'm going to order a new one and get new fibers in a few weeks I think it would be good maintenance as I'm planning on keeping this one for a while.