grimesy Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 The clutch seems to have seized on the 1980 DT 250 I'm trying to resurrect. I've only just got the bike but it's obvious that it hasn't been touched for a few years. Think it was exposed to the elements for a deal of time too... I found some water in the crankcase - together with something that may have been oil. I've removed the clutch cable (which was seized too) and tried to move the push lever manually as if i was disengaging the clutch - won't move. It will move backwards about a quarter of a turn (which seems normal). I've used some multi-grips to try and turn it - but haven't put too much pressure on - in case i break something. Not sure what the next step should be... is there any danger if i hit the push lever with a wooden block/hammer to try and loosen up the mechanism? If this doesn't work do i need to split the crankcase or can i just remove the RHS rear cover to expose to the clutch. Appreciate any advice you may have... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sluggo Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Hi, Welome to the land of neglect. Patience is what is required here NOT brute force. You must first expose the clutch then at first try giving it a good dose of WD40 all around. Keep doing this every hour or so until you think it's really got into the thing. Remove the cable and try soaking it in WD40 as well. Leave overnight and with thin blade screwdriver and small hammer tap lightly between the clutch plates trying to open up a gap beween them one at a time the gap will be only a millimeter or so but that's enough. Do this through as many slots in the clutch housing as you can reach and do one plate at a time. You may need to do this several times starting again with the WD40 and giving it time to penetrate, at least an hour. Eventually you will free the plates enough to get them free. Don't be afraid to use the WD40 on all the other parts of the clutch and the bike that has suffered. With a bit of light tugging your cables (clutch and throttle) should free up as well. Remember, brute force will cost you big money. Just be patient. With your sump, just drain it out and leave to drain all night. fill with any oil, even old oil from the car's last change and kick it over - without the plug. Put some WD40 down the plug hole too as there is sure to be surface rust in there. Kick it over a few times every day until you've got the clutch working. Then drain overnight and fill with correct oil next day. Your carby is sure to need attention as well. Give it a good spray after removing from manifold. Remove the bowl. The screws are sure to be seized but the WD40 will eventually penetrate. Give the screws a good whack with the screwdriver in place and a hit to the handle end. Then more WD40. They will eventually free up. The screws on the bike are made of crap and the heads are easily ruined so be careful. The inside of the bowl and anything else you can see that's corroded can be cleaned with carby cleaner from REPCO or the like and an old toothbrush. A very fine sewing needle can be put up the mainjet and then sprayed up the hole with the carby cleaner. Then leave the whole unit soaking in petrol or kerosene until you've got everything else done. Take your time and be gentle. Neglect takes time and so does fixing it. Lots of luck. Regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator mervin Posted May 25, 2009 Moderator Share Posted May 25, 2009 remove left cover take clutch apart noting order the plates came out in, clean em up and reassemble, but if you have water in the box then you will need to inspect the lot for corrosion, possibly complete tear down time merv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimesy Posted June 11, 2009 Author Share Posted June 11, 2009 Thanks for the advice - much appreciated. I've done as you've suggested. Took a while but got all the plates off and cleaned up. Working well now. Wondering what the torque setting is for the bolts holding the clutch plates together. There are 6 of these bolts in total - going through springs into the back of the clutch. Also would like torque settings for the Cylinder nuts and head nuts please? Having a great time trying to get this old bike going. Piston and rings were damaged - expecting to get the head back with new piston tomorrow and think might have a chance of firing it up over the weekend - woo-hoo! Thanks again, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator DirtyDT Posted June 12, 2009 Moderator Share Posted June 12, 2009 Thanks for the advice - much appreciated. I've done as you've suggested. Took a while but got all the plates off and cleaned up. Working well now. Wondering what the torque setting is for the bolts holding the clutch plates together. There are 6 of these bolts in total - going through springs into the back of the clutch. Also would like torque settings for the Cylinder nuts and head nuts please? Having a great time trying to get this old bike going. Piston and rings were damaged - expecting to get the head back with new piston tomorrow and think might have a chance of firing it up over the weekend - woo-hoo! Thanks again, Mark Cylinder nuts 25-28 ft/ld 34-40 n-m Cylinder head 14 ft/ld 19 n-m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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