Dirty hydraulic fluid

[carbonvmax]

My clutch wasn't disengaging so I went to add fluid. It was rusty or muddy looking. Would a drain and fluid replacement be appropriate? Is dot 3 brake fluid what I want to use or is there something better? Is a chiltons manual decent? Anybody have a link to a better manual?
thanks!

 

[maleko89]

Hey, sent you a private message. Look at getting a Clymer, it's very good.

 

[mikemax04]

You definitely could use a drain and flush. Dot 3 is OK and so is Dot 4. As far as manuals are concerned, I think most use the Clymer.

 

[Robbarrie]

IMHO ...but maybe its possible you've got an air pocket in the line.However, I would think this would be more of a problem with engaging and not disengaging. Sounds like your clutch might be slipping. I have also read comments like; the clutch was slipping after using full synthetic oil.
It may be your plates are just sticking from sitting. Or the springs have lost the proper tension. I'm not a mechanic but after you change your fluid and bleed. If it still persists check the other possibilities.



I could have bought one (service manual) at the show but the guy wanted $35 Cnd. I offered him 25 but he wouldn't take it....What I want to know - Is it worth the 35 ? The @hole guy at the show wouldn't take off the thin plastic cover to let me look through it. ( dick head )
Yes, I'm cheap - but you no what; I'm also very honest too.

 

[maleko89]

Try here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1985...016QQitemZ260078749027QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

or here: http://www.themotorbookstore.com/vmax.html

 

[carbonvmax]

Thanks, That is the manual I was looking at. I just bought it. My clutch if defenitely not slipping. When I added fluid (temp. fix to get home) it improved the disengaging. I'll repost when I fix it. I will fix it. It made me nervous to se the color of the fluid.

 

[Rusty McNeil]

I wouldn't think dirty fluid would affect clutch performance unless it was so gunked up it was making the slave stick and hold the clutch disengaged or fight disengagement. I guess if it caused corrosion to take place bad enough it might cause things to hang up or whatever in which case changing the fluid probably won't fix it and it might need a slave/master rebuild.

Are you saying that it won't disengage when you squeeze the lever and just try to roll the bike with it cold?

Or is it so severe that when you come to a stop with the engine running it's difficult to keep the bike from rolling with your feet with clutch pulled in and the bike in gear?

Does it change with whether the engine is hot or not?

The type and cleanliness of your engine oil can affect these alot.

You could also have air in your line which will make it "soft" feeling and the clutch will drag/stick. Question is how did it get there? If it's letting air get in somewhere it's also going to be letting fluid out unless soemone let it get in there while working on it.


If it looks dirty at all it for sure it ought to be changed either way. I changed all of my fluids when I got the bike even though it only had a few 1000 miles on it it was 6 years old.

I just opened the bleed valve on mine and let it gravity flow continously while making sure the reservior never went dry and when I got clean fluid coming out I did the old pump-open-close thing just to check the "feel" of it to make sure there was no air.

I think a mity-vac is a better way but I've never needed one bad enough to go buy it but if I could have borrowed one I for sure would have.

I'm pretty sure that the manual calls for DOT-4 but DOT-3 and DOT-4 are both compatible and mixable with no ill effects to the system. DOT-5.1 is also compatible with DOT-3 and 4 as it's also a glycol product. They are both Hygroscopic which means they easily absorb water so the only thing you give up with DOT-3 is boiling point.

DOT-5 is not compatible with any other fluid (it's silicone based so it does not absorb water) and should not be introduced into any system that ever had other fluids in it even if you "think" it was flushed clean. Most things you might flush a system with are probably going to attack the system components as well.

I used DOT-3 in mine because I already had 2 quart bottles brand new in my shop.

 

[jfeagins]

I bleed mine every spring regardless of mileage. Nothing sucks worse than having a wheel cylinder jam while away from the garage - which can happen if enough gunk sits in it too long.

The Dot 3 will become brown within a couple months and doesn't really affect performance of the brakes.

I have noticed that when the weather first hits around 75 in the spring after I've refreshed my brake fluid, then I get on the bike and experience what you describe. I think that teeny tiny amounts of air that may be trapped within your fluid (missed the original bleeding) can travel upwards and accummulate near the main reservior as the outside temp climbs. To rid the system of this bubble, I've found it best to 'crack' the banjo bolt loose from the reservior and let it out there. Then gently and slowly apply pressure on and off the lever while observing the innards of the master. Any minute amounts of air will work their way backwards and up/out from inside. This should return the 'full pull' feeling in your clutch lever.

There's nothing much more frustrating than jumping on the Max for a ride, only to find out you can't clutch it to get it into gear...

LOL

 

[carbonvmax]

Yeah it wasn't cool. I was on the sidewalk facing the street. I put it into gear and it took off. Luckily there was nothing in front of me I couldn't navigate around! I also had a hard time getting it into nuetral when I got to some stoplights. I ordered the clymers VMAX manual. I figured I would wait untill that comes in before I do anything. It will be here in a couple of days. I'll update this post after I solve the problem. It's been warm enough to ride comfortably the past 2 days. Frustrating! :damn angry:

 

[G Man]

I can compress a pdf copy of the Yamaha factory service manual into an .rar and email it to you if you like. It may still be a big load on the inbox though. Send me your email addy if you want to give it a try. There may be some place to find it online as well, I will snoop around.

 

[Dreamster66]

this one?
http://www.vmaxoutlaw.com/tech/VMX12-Service-Manual.pdf

 

[G Man]

this one?
http://www.vmaxoutlaw.com/tech/VMX12-Service-Manual.pdf

BINGO! hyeah00: