Starter Clutch Replacement on a 1989 LT-4WD ... issues found behind the flywheel

[LT-4WDinNY]

I got the side cover off, learned how to put the subtransmission back together. I took the nut off the crank. Grabbed the new flywheel puller. Put the small piece on to protect the crank shaft end, and the flywheel fell off on its own??? So that was weird. I then looked and tested the starter one way clutch. It wasn't in pieces like I had seen on others on YouTube. It only turns in the one correct direction as indicated by the arrow. However, it looks like maybe it is slipping under load? Is that possible?

I know that it was very difficult to pull start since I bought it back in 2001. The guy I bought from had the receipts on a recent engine rebuild by our local Suzuki dealer in the $1200 range because they put the oil filter in backwards. Anyhow, I am trying to make it easier for my kids to ride. I think I verified that the starter clutch was bad by removing the electric starter, then it would pull start normal...

I took pictures of the one way clutch and the CALTRIC replacement parts I bought off Amazon. Looking closer, appears to be heavy wear on the metal pieces in the clutch and scratches on the starter gear surface that goes inside the clutch. I am going to replace the OEM parts with the CALTRIC brand parts off Amazon.

However, I found some other discerning things behind the flywheel. Looks like the center case has cracks, and one broken off tab with the other 2 worn? Also it looks like some scraping inside the case bottom right... assume from when the post broke off.  The post was NOT in the case, so probably occurred prior to the Suzuki Dealer rebuild.  Also some discoloring on the crankshaft and back of starter clutch.  Again, putting in the CALTRIC brand replacements for the starter clutch and starter gear as a set.

Thanks!

Bruce

 

 

[Mech]

I wouldn't be too worried about that crack, we often see marks like that and they are just from the casting process. See it doesn't go all the way to that hole off to the side.  If you want to verify it is a crack, wash it with a bit of petrol so some petrol gets a chance to soak into it, then wipe it dry with a cloth, then give it a light tap next to the crack while watching carefully. If it is a deep crack a bit of petrol will come up to the surface or out of the crack when you tap it. You could try using a bit of dirty petrol or kero if you have some.. It will show up better. No guarantee but that's pretty much the old fashioned way we check for cracks in things.. except we use a dye that shows up better.

That broken off lug though could be the cause of your wear. I'd suspect those three lugs are to stop the bevel cut gears moving sideways when under load. Having one missing could allow the gear to angle over a bit and that would/could cause the clutch to slip or drag and wear where the center touches the sprags that operate as a one way clutch.

Whoever did the overhaul must have been truly incompetent because putting the oil filter in backwards when changing it is warned against in the manuals. That, and the flywheel being loose would just about be enough to have me stripping it all down to check everything.. but I'm a mechanic and it's no big job for me.

[LT-4WDinNY]

Thanks for replying!  Yeah... I am assuming the damage that is there occurred when the previous owner put the oil filter in backwards.  That caused the major breakdown where they then took it to the dealer to rebuild it.  I am assuming that the dealer tore it down and redid the top end and new piston, etc maybe hand tested the starter clutch and it passed; put it all back together and then realized it was bad... recoil pulling the gears and the electric starter.  Heck, maybe didn't know it was damaged or they told the owner and he said not to go back in.  Never know now.  Always has been a bear to pull start with the recoil, but I used the electric start majority of the time but want it better for the kids.

Also...  I got the new starter clutch and flywheel installed torqued to their correct ft-lbs and Loc-Tite as the Suzuki manual says.  I cleaned off the old side cover gasket.  I have a new gasket... is that all that is needed to seal, or do you recommend a gasket tack compound there too?  The Suzuki manual just says to install gasket and reinstall the cover.  On disassembly, it looks like there was some RTV along the bottom sides of the gasket... where the oil is constantly sitting.   What are your recommendation?

Bruce

[Mech]

i never use silicon. Bits of it that squeeze out when you tighten it up can come off and block filters..  Use loctite master gasket. It's clean to use and you only need a very small amount so there's practically no squeeze out, and what there is, dissolves into the oil.. haha.. that's ok though, it does no harm..

And I'm glad to realise I misread what you'd written.. I thought the bike shop had put the filter in backwards.. Me bad.

Edited January 5, 2022 by Mech

[Mech]

I'm pretty sure that in the crankcase where you are working there's an oil gallery, and in that gallery there's a little metal oil restrictor. Make sure that restrictor is there and clean. It can be taken out I think. Silicon would block that restrictor up real easy and it would be a disaster..

[Mech]

As you were.. I checked in a manual and the oil restrictor is in the other side case.

Loctite master gasket is still the stuff to use though..  It doesn't harden till you clamp the parts together, which means you don't have to hurry.. another of it's advantages. It's brilliant stuff. Silicon is terrible stuff.. except perhaps.. oh I don't know.. fitting windows into a caravan say !

[LT-4WDinNY]

19 hours ago, Mech said:

As you were.. I checked in a manual and the oil restrictor is in the other side case.

Loctite master gasket is still the stuff to use though..  It doesn't harden till you clamp the parts together, which means you don't have to hurry.. another of it's advantages. It's brilliant stuff. Silicon is terrible stuff.. except perhaps.. oh I don't know.. fitting windows into a caravan say !

Yep, the sump screen above the drain plug is on the Right center case.   What about if the gasket hangs well on the 2 alignment dowels, and I can line the rest of the cover bolts through the holes; not using ANY thing but the gasket and the pressure from the properly torques case cover bolts? 🙂 And, I know to tighten in a order similar to wheel lugs....

PS.... I do have this.  I figured I didn't need gasket "maker" so I did pick this up.... https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/permatex-super-high-tack-gasket-sealant-1.75-oz.-80060/7160060-P?searchTerm=Permetex+gasket 

I assume "Tack" just helps hold the gasket while assembling?

Thanks again

Bruce

[Mech]

Gaskets change size slightly with changes of humidity. If you are having trouble getting them to fit nicely ou can make them fit the dowels and bolts better by either drying them in the sun, or holding them over a boiling kettle. But really.. throw that gasket away and use loctite master gasket.. It's brilliant.

I don't know that sealer you're mentioning but I'm a mechanic, a self employed mech in the country, far from supplies, and I don't use anything but loctite. It doesn't harden till it's clamped which is really handy if you get held up half way through an assembly job, it wipes off the outside cleanly, the excess inside dissolves into the oil without any bad effects (unlike silicon !), it never hardens in the tube on the shelf, and it's good for air, fuel, oil, water, high temperatures, pressure, and it fills gaps up to thirteen though, which is about the thickness of a postcard or thin gasket. Most motorbike, and auto, and heavy machinery work I do, and I've been doing it for fifty years, I dispense with the paper gaskets altogether. Crankcases don't have gaskets, and you don't need them on side covers either..  You never need a gasket again(other than head gaskets)..

Try it, you will like it !

[Mech]

And....loctite comes in a plastic syringe which allows you to put a tiny smear or a one mill bead onto those gasket faces which are only about six mills wide.. nothing else is near as convenient or precise..

Sorry about going on and on..

I'll be quiet now..