Article [13] ST1300 - Clutch Slave Cylinder Replacement

MaxPete · Jun 3, 2018

Yup - there seems to be quite a rash of CSC issues these days.

Glad you’ve gotten it fixed.

Pete

Sloan · Aug 16, 2018

My wife's 05 may have the issue as the reservoir got low and got air in the system but I refilled and bled it and it's still full after close to 200 miles commuting to work. Her master cylinder is not operating smoothly though, so first I'm going to rebuild that and keep monitoring the level. Great write up though. I plan to refer to it should I have to fix the slave.

MaxPete · Aug 16, 2018

Hi Sloan:

You may have a problem with the master cylinder - but the fluid from reservoir went somewhere. If you cannot see a leak around the master or under the bike, then it is likely that your slave cylinder is leaking.

As noted in the write-up, it can take some time before the chamber in front of the CSC fills up and fluid starts to come out of the weep hole.

When my CSC started to fail, I rode more than 500 km (300+ miles) before I saw a leak on the floor under the bike. It just depends on traffic and how much you use the clutch.

Anyhow, you know what to do.

Pete

nt650hawk · Aug 17, 2018

+1 fluid went somewhere. it is usually the CSC.

My winter maint. will include pulling out the CSC to perform a disassembly with through cleaning and installation w/new DOT. It actually pretty easy to do so why not do this on a snowy night.

CYYJ · Sep 11, 2018

I discovered an excellent video on YouTube by fellow forum member JasonB that illustrates the whole process of replacing the clutch slave cylinder on the ST 1300. The video is mentioned in this article here in our forum: ST1300 - Replacing the Clutch Slave Cylinder seals-Video

Just in case the above link ever gets broken, here's a direct link to the video on YouTube: Step by Step - Motorcycle Clutch Slave Cylinder: Full Repair

The video is 32 minutes long, so, go get a coffee first before you settle in to watch it.

Michael

doghouse · Dec 13, 2018

Awesome info on this repair!

I’ll be buying a bike this weekend that needs this repair. Other than the basics (oil change, brake fluid change) anything I should check/ do while I’m in there?

Also, lord have I missed this community. Wrecked a ST-1100 a few years back and y’all helped out a lot. The details are fuzzy due to a concussion and awesome pain meds, but this thread had yet another example of the community doing its darndest to help a member out.

MaxPete · Dec 13, 2018

doghouse said:
Awesome info on this repair!

I’ll be buying a bike this weekend that needs this repair. Other than the basics (oil change, brake fluid change) anything I should check/ do while I’m in there?

Also, lord have I missed this community. Wrecked a ST-1100 a few years back and y’all helped out a lot. The details are fuzzy due to a concussion and awesome pain meds, but this thread had yet another example of the community doing its darndest to help a member out.

My only advice (and others may differ) is to buy a new OEM clutch slave cylinder rather than take a chance on a rebuilt kit. As I said in the original article, the difference in cost is paltry and if the rebuild doesn’t work out, you’ll have to go through the work of the CSC swap all over again.

Also, don’t forget the Vaseline - it makes dealing with all those teeny little crush washers MUCH easier.

Good luck with your purchase and please keep us posted on how it goes!

Pete

doghouse · Dec 13, 2018

fnmag said:
Glad you're coming back around.
Whatever bike you get: first-congratulations and second-welcome back to the forum.

Thank you. It's good to be back. I've been back to riding for ~ a year - test rode the 'strom and a ST1100 and for some reason decided on the strom. The ST would have been the better choice, but I wasn't sure what kind of riding I'd wanna do (and lordy was my baby tiny in my profile picture, I'll have to update it once the "new" ST is home.

MaxPete said:
My only advice (and others may differ) is to buy a new OEM clutch slave cylinder rather than take a chance on a rebuilt kit. As I said in the original article, the difference in cost is paltry and if the rebuild doesn’t work out, you’ll have to go through the work of the CSC swap all over again.

Also, don’t forget the Vaseline - it makes dealing with all those teeny little crush washers MUCH easier.

Good luck with your purchase and please keep us posted on how it goes!

Pete

Parts are on the way via bikebandit - return policy is solid enough that if something doesn't work out or the PO's diagnosis is wrong, I'm not out a lot of $$$ - and I'm on PTO for most of next week... seems I figured out what I'm doing for a day or two of my vacation. Per your comments, I bought the new OEM cylinder - no way I'm going through 4 hours of cursing at myself and at the bike 2x in a row due to a shoddy rebuild.

I've got so many inappropriate jokes about the vaseline, but yes - I'll be using it as you described.

MaxPete · Dec 13, 2018

Ahhh yes - the joshing about the Vaseline....

The only other things are the small (but with a fine-movement ratchet) closed end wrenches and/or a 1/4" drive socket set.

...isn't it fun working a big ol' bike?

Just think of the roughly $1500 you are saving!

Pete

FrogmanDave · Feb 10, 2019

Thanks for the write-up Pete! This will be a great help when I tackle this job in the next couple of weeks.

MaxPete · Feb 10, 2019

Good for you Dave - please keep us posted.

Pete

FrogmanDave · Feb 27, 2019

So I got my clutch slave replaced last weekend. The job went pretty well and I can't say how much I appreciated having this write-up as a guide. You rock Pete!

A couple of personal notes for those that might be doing this repair in the future. I already knew about the Vaseline (or some type of grease, I used silicone) to hold that bottom washer for the banjo bolt, but heed Pete's warning here. It would be near impossible to hold it there while installing the banjo bolt. I actually had no problem at all starting the bolt as some have reported. I can tell you I purchased a set of ratcheting, flex-head wrenches prior to doing this repair. I would have never been able to remove or install the banjo bolt without this wrench. It was invaluable! I actually started the bolt into the slave before completely pushing it in for installation. The play in it allowed for easy installation of the bolt.

The second thing I will note is the fact that you cannot remove the 3 bolts from the slave with a ratchet/socket. The ratchet hits the swing arm so complete removal is not possible. And yes I used a very small 1/4" drive. The two bolts on the right were easy enough to remove by hand but I fought and fought with the bolt on the top left and just could not get it out with my fingers even though it was loose. I finally wound up looking at it from the left side of the bike and discovered I could get at it with a 1/4" wobble extension. I could not get the socket completely seated on the bolt, but could enough to get it removed and used the same method to get it installed so I could use the ratchet to finish tightening it. I did not use a swivel attachment as I could not get it to turn under there. I actually used a wobble extension.

The last thing I will note is how messy the job is. Oil will drain out when you first remove the speed sensor, and in my case, continued to dribble out the whole time I was working on it. Of course it is right in the way of where your hands need to be so much mess is involved. Have a small drip pan ready to catch this oil and the oil from the oil filter when you remove it.

Again thanks to Pete and others who have posted here!

fnmag · Feb 27, 2019

Well done Dave.
Good to know about the wobble extensions.

MaxPete · Feb 27, 2019

Yup - its not a fun task, but it is doable by mere mortals and you'll save A TON o'dough (like between $1000 and $2000) doing it yourself - plus you will get to see parts of your ST that you've never seen before

Cheers Dave - well done!

Pete

Igofar · Feb 27, 2019

FrogmanDave said:
So I got my clutch slave replaced last weekend. The job went pretty well and I can't say how much I appreciated having this write-up as a guide. You rock Pete!

A couple of personal notes for those that might be doing this repair in the future. I already knew about the Vaseline (or some type of grease, I used silicone) to hold that bottom washer for the banjo bolt, but heed Pete's warning here. It would be near impossible to hold it there while installing the banjo bolt. I actually had no problem at all starting the bolt as some have reported. I can tell you I purchased a set of ratcheting, flex-head wrenches prior to doing this repair. I would have never been able to remove or install the banjo bolt without this wrench. It was invaluable! I actually started the bolt into the slave before completely pushing it in for installation. The play in it allowed for easy installation of the bolt.

The second thing I will note is the fact that you cannot remove the 3 bolts from the slave with a ratchet/socket. The ratchet hits the swing arm so complete removal is not possible. And yes I used a very small 1/4" drive. The two bolts on the right were easy enough to remove by hand but I fought and fought with the bolt on the top left and just could not get it out with my fingers even though it was loose. I finally wound up looking at it from the left side of the bike and discovered I could get at it with a 1/4" wobble extension. I could not get the socket completely seated on the bolt, but could enough to get it removed and used the same method to get it installed so I could use the ratchet to finish tightening it. I did not use a swivel attachment as I could not get it to turn under there. I actually used a wobble extension.

The last thing I will note is how messy the job is. Oil will drain out when you first remove the speed sensor, and in my case, continued to dribble out the whole time I was working on it. Of course it is right in the way of where your hands need to be so much mess is involved. Have a small drip pan ready to catch this oil and the oil from the oil filter when you remove it.

Again thanks to Pete and others who have posted here!

I guess it depends on who's 1/4 inch drive ratchet you use, and if its a flex head, or shallow tool, also, you'll find that a good quality swivel socket, instead of a swivel adapter or wobble extension will make things much easier.
Glad you got everything done.
Good job.

SupraSabre · Feb 28, 2019

Good job Dave!

I guess I just prefer to remove things to make room. Things like the center stand, the complete exhaust system and the snifter. When I go to do the '04#1, I'll probably remove the oil filter too. I should have plenty of working room then!

MaxPete · Feb 28, 2019

Hey Supra: I’ll be interested to see if you find much benefit from removing the centre stand and exhaust.

As I recall it, we did the actual swap of the CSC with the bike on the side stand. The exhaust was a pretty minor obstacle. We certainly did remove the oil filter and that helped a lot.

Anyhow - more knowledge and experience is always better than less.

SupraSabre · Mar 12, 2019

MaxPete said:
Hey Supra: I’ll be interested to see if you find much benefit from removing the centre stand and exhaust.

As I recall it, we did the actual swap of the CSC with the bike on the side stand. The exhaust was a pretty minor obstacle. We certainly did remove the oil filter and that helped a lot.

Anyhow - more knowledge and experience is always better than less.

With the bike up on the lift, by removing the the shifter linkage, exhaust and center stand, I had a fairly clear path to the CSC. This also let me re-grease the centerstand.

For the 2004#1, I have to replace the waterpump also, so I'll do the clutch as well and that should let me get that seal between the engine and the CSC easily too!

When I can easily remove something to give me more room, why not? The only gaskets you have to replace are the head to header gaskets and those are easy!

LydiaGP · Jun 29, 2019

Good afternoon,

Working on this job now (thanks very much for the write-up!). Has anyone found the oil seal on the clutch rod needing to be replaced? If so, did you have to pull the engine? My oil seal appears to be damaged. No evidence of oil leaking yet, but trying to figure out what to do.

Thanks!

MaxPete · Jun 29, 2019

Hi LydiaGP:
Glad you are getting through this task.

My clutch pushrod seal was in good shape so I didn’t touch it.

Usually replacing a seal like that involves removing it with a nasty sharp tool (which will definitely destroy it) and then driving a new seal in with something like an appropriately sized deep socket.

The problem with the ST1300 pushrod seal is that it is not very accessible and so getting the old one out and a new one back in could be pretty tough with the engine in the bike. Given all of that, and the fact that the pushrod passes through the engine block to the front-mounted clutch above the level of the oil in the crankcase, the seal is probably not actually exposed to a high oil pressure or even the atmospheric pressure of the crank case.

Therefore, unless it is actually leaking now, I’d be tempted to clean the area carefully and install the clutch slave cylinder and see if anything leaks. You might just get away without the significant effort involved in removing the engine to replace the seal.

Pete

Article [13] ST1300 - Clutch Slave Cylinder Replacement

MaxPete

Sloan

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nt650hawk

Gino

CYYJ

Michael

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FrogmanDave

Dave Scott

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