Replacing clutch plates

Ok, as promised... here comes the first big guide on how to do most things clutch related. Now if your not 100% sure you know exactly what your doing... don't just go messing round in here; take it to a mechanic.

Part Numbers:- Part numbers were for a 3LN-3, although they should be the same for 2KR's & 3LN-1's.
Friction Plates x5 :- 3XP-16321-00
Friction Plate x1 :- 1HX-16331-00
Gasket :- 3YX-15462-00

Firstly, remove the sump plug to drain the oil out. We are dealing with a wet clutch here, and it's shares it's oil with the engine. Whilst the oil is draining, we can get the new clutch plates that you've already bought from Yamaha (at about ~$8 a piece for the first 5, then ~$20-30 for the 6th one... it's slightly different. Not $20 worth differeny, but ah well.), and put them into a clean small container/bucket and pour in enough fresh oil (same type you'll be putting back into your engine) to cover the stack of plates.

Once you've done that and the sump has finished draining, you can start removing the bolts. There are 9 bolts... and you'll need a good socket set with an extension to get to atleast one of the bolts - the rest should come undone without too much trouble.
Once all the bolts have been removed, gently pry the clutch cover off with either your fingers or a screwdriver; it should come off fairly easily but given the gasket has been there for who knows how long, it might need a bit of a pry. Chances are your going to break the gasket as your pulling the cover off, so it's part of the parts list (~$15-20 from Yamaha).

Once you get the clutch cover off you will be greeted by something that should look alot like this. If it doesn't look like this... might be a good time to call that mechanic.


As you can see, the clutch is a series of metal and material friction plates. The friction material is somewhat like a brake pad... and as such they wear out over time. Give your clutch a hard time and they'll wear out faster.


Now, we need to undo the the four bolts that you can see holding the springs in. Make sure you keep all four bolts, washers & springs safe.. go put them in that ice-cream container you always keep near by when working on your bike.

Now, once your remove the metal plate... carefully hold all the clutch plates (now referred to as a clutch stack) together and remove them by pulling at the last one, ie. the one deepest into the bike. Now without separating them, place the clutch stack down onto some clean newspaper.

Now you'll have a clutch stack that looks like this...

...and a clutch basket that looks like this.


Now, what you need to do is take the new clutch plates out of the fresh oil, and one by one... replace the old worn out ones in the clutch stack with the new ones. The one that is different needs to go at the 2nd top of the stack (assuming metal cover is at the bottom); it also has a metal wavy ring that goes inside it. I don't have a photo of it, but from this photo you can just see what i'm referring to. See the red arrow.


Assuming you've managed all of this so far... your doing pretty well.
Now it's time to reassemble in reverse order we took it all apart; so firstly carefully (making sure their clean! No dirt/sand etc) put the clutch stack back into the inner basket making sure it's all seated properly. Then put the clutch springs back in, and screw them back in with 5.8Nm of torque as the FZR250 (EDIT by DonTZ125) manual specifies (if my memory serves me correctly). DO NOT try to get them tight, as it will only strip the threads of the basket. Just get them all done up evenly and all will be well.

If you bought a new gasket for the clutch cover (as you should have), then make sure you clean the surfaces of the clutch cover (where the old gasket may have stuck to) and also the mating surface on the bike - no grit, no dirt, no gumph... or else you may end up with an oil leak. Then use some gasket sealant, or failing that... some of the oil you just used to bathe the new clutch plates in and wipe it over the surfaces that the gasket will seal. Very carefully position the gasket on either the clutch cover or the bike, which ever is easier... then carefully put the clutch cover back on. Again, double check.. triple check that it's all in the correct place and it's made a firm seal just by you pushing it on and holiding it there.
Now it's time to put all those bolts back in. Put them all back in to finger tightness, then do them up to a moderate torque setting (~15Nm... check the FZR400 manual for an exact number)... in a criss cross pattern. Ie. start in the top right, then bottom left, then top left, then bottom right...

Once all of thats done it's time to fill the oil back up to the specified amount (see the oil change How-To for more details... but i've assumed you can do that else i wouldn't recommend attempting this guide!) and then start the bike up again. Do the usual precautions of starting it, letting it run for a short while, stop... then check the oil level again.

Ok, now i'd highly recommend just checking the clutch adjustment by with the engine NOT running, put the bike in first gear and just push it along and slowly let the clutch out to find the new friction point. Adjust this by using the clutch adjustment screw up by the clutch handle. Once your confident that it's set to a comfortable and safe setting... it's time to get kitted up and test it out.

TAKE IT SLOW! The clutch will most likely bite alot at first. Do not give it a heap of rev's expecting it to react how it did before. Ease the clutch out slowly in first and become familiar with the friction point. Once you've done that, take it for a slow lap around the block making sure everything feels right. For the first 100km's or so, the clutch will take a bit of bedding in... and after that you should have adapted to the feel of the new clutch. Just again, take it easy with the new clutch - no mono-popping attempts whilst it's bedding in; don't even rev it hard off the lights. You never quite know when you might forget you've got a new clutch and end up with some expensive repair bills.

If there's anything that i might have skimmed over too quickly, or missed out on all together... please post in this thread and i'll amend the info.
Hope this adds nicely to the little pool of knowledge on out little FZR's. Oddly enough, the method used to replace this clutch was mostly taken from a ZZR250, with the FZR400 manual providing some assistance.

Happy & safe riding.

UPDATED: 14/09/2005 with part numbers

Mod Edit: 15/7/2011 to correct spring bolt torque.

 

Cheers Tim.
There's a 'DIY' sprocket guide coming up aswell, again when i get round to typing it all up.

 

Yamaha themselves actually.
They should have everything you need (although it's stored in a warehouse in Sydney, so for us interstaters its a 2 day wait). Even the local Yamaha (mostly dirtbikes & weekend riders) had the microfiche for it all on their computer, got the part numbers given a few minute wait... and gave me a straight up price (a reasonable one aswell!).

 

Yep, as you said... i was fully aware that grooves can form on the inner basket and outer basket from excessive clutch dumping (abuse), but mine were actually in pretty decent condition. When running my finger along each of the fingers there were no sharp or obvious edges or notches, which generally means that it'll be right for a fair while.

I'd hope that if you were going to file away at the inner basket you'd atleast take it out of the bike and away from the other engine internals. Engine components don't like small fragments of metal. <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s --> (yeah yeah yeah, the filter SHOULD get them before they cause trouble... wouldn't like to find out the hard way).

 

LOL, if it's a clutch rattling noise that tends to get better as it warms up - that's normal clutch noises! (don't wanna go fixing them). If you've heard a Ducati recently (dry clutch), if it's like a muffled version of those noises... it's just the plates moving around in the baskets slightly. A tiny bit of play is normal, if it's more than that you might be needing to replace atleast the inner clutch basket (PM me if your after one ).

 

Not cheap, but i happen to have a replacement one here should anyone need one. Happy to do a good price on it.