Ga Dawg Posted October 4, 2008 Share #1 Posted October 4, 2008 Just changed my oil in my 87 Venture and got it down the road and started to have clutch slippage. I have reserched the site and have seen that you are not to use auto grade oil ( I used Castrol 10w-40 auto). Can I simply drain this oil out and replce it with Rotella Diesel oil or are the friction plates ruined and need replacing? Please let me know. Thanks!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squidley Posted October 4, 2008 Share #2 Posted October 4, 2008 Just changed my oil in my 87 Venture and got it down the road and started to have clutch slippage. I have reserched the site and have seen that you are not to use auto grade oil ( I used Castrol 10w-40 auto). Can I simply drain this oil out and replce it with Rotella Diesel oil or are the friction plates ruined and need replacing? Please let me know. Thanks!!! Dawg, No sweat, just change it out and replace it with the Rotella T 15/40 it will start to clear up shortly after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ga Dawg Posted October 4, 2008 Author Share #3 Posted October 4, 2008 Thanks!!! I will try that in a day or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squeeze Posted October 4, 2008 Share #4 Posted October 4, 2008 Better do it NOW !! When you let the Friction Plates soak the wrong, friction modyfied Oil, you're bound to replace them next Week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flb_78 Posted October 4, 2008 Share #5 Posted October 4, 2008 I don't think Castrol 10W40 is an energy conserving oil. Most 10W40 oils are not energy conserving. Being an automotive oil does not matter, what matters is the energy conserving label on the back. The chart is posted for reference to what the symbol should look like. http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff132/dddouble/Misc/API_donut.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeS Posted October 4, 2008 Share #6 Posted October 4, 2008 Its possible you are close to needing a new set of Clutch Springs. Most 1st Gens need them placed sometime between 50 to 100K. Don't cost much, easy to change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igya Posted October 5, 2008 Share #7 Posted October 5, 2008 Just changed my oil in my 87 Venture and got it down the road and started to have clutch slippage. I have reserched the site and have seen that you are not to use auto grade oil ( I used Castrol 10w-40 auto). Can I simply drain this oil out and replce it with Rotella Diesel oil or are the friction plates ruined and need replacing? Please let me know. Thanks!!! Well, I'm not in the same league as these old salties, but I've been using Castrol 10W-40 ever since I've owned my '85 and no slippage at all. Since the oil change obviously made the problem noticable, I'd say the plates were about ready to slip pretty soon regardless of the oil you used. These are difinitely high torque engines, but I've raced bikes that would pull VRs all over the place and I've always used Castrol with no problems. However, having said that, I highly recommend listening to these guys and do exactly what they recommend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squidley Posted October 5, 2008 Share #8 Posted October 5, 2008 Now that some of the others have piped up, it got me thinking when does it slip? The clutch spring was mentioned but you didn't mention where it was slipping. If the spring is getting weak it will typically slip between 4th and 5th gear under harder acceleration. If the oil that you put into it is something new that you changed to then I would swap it out and rplace the oil 1st. As a rule of thumb I have NEVER in all the clutch changes I have done, needed to change out the friction discs. I have measured the thickness of last 5 clutches that I changed and they were the same thickness as the new ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeS Posted October 5, 2008 Share #9 Posted October 5, 2008 Now that some of the others have piped up, it got me thinking when does it slip? The clutch spring was mentioned but you didn't mention where it was slipping. If the spring is getting weak it will typically slip between 4th and 5th gear under harder acceleration. If the oil that you put into it is something new that you changed to then I would swap it out and rplace the oil 1st. As a rule of thumb I have NEVER in all the clutch changes I have done, needed to change out the friction discs. I have measured the thickness of last 5 clutches that I changed and they were the same thickness as the new ones. Hit 2nd gear, and floorboard it. If its slipping , it will show up by doing this. As to the Springs, --- if---- you need them, just order the springs, and a new Gasket, about an hours work to change them, Easy Job !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilvrT Posted October 5, 2008 Share #10 Posted October 5, 2008 I had a similar issue on my '87. I decided to switch to full synthetic (I know...BAD idea). Immediately after that I noticed clutch slippage under hard acceleration in either 4th or 5th gears. It wasn't doing that before. I (almost) immediately changed the oil back to non-synthetic "motorcycle-specific" oil. Clutch continued to slip and I did the 3000 mile trip to VWIV (Los Osos, CA) and back... clutch still slipping under heavy accel in 4th or 5th. Now, I gotta wonder about this "change the springs" thing.....why would an oil change weaken the springs? It would seem to me that the synthetic oil somehow ruined the friction discs and changing out the springs really is not the cure...changing the discs is...wouldn't ya think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ga Dawg Posted October 5, 2008 Author Share #11 Posted October 5, 2008 Thanks for the help. The oil did not have energy conservation on the label so that ruled that out. I started noticing the slip when I accelerated in 4th. gear. Now it slips when I hit the gas in any gear. I believe I need a new clutch. Is there a link on how to do this? Please advise. Thanks again for all this handy information. You guys are great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condor Posted October 5, 2008 Share #12 Posted October 5, 2008 Thanks for the help. The oil did not have energy conservation on the label so that ruled that out. I started noticing the slip when I accelerated in 4th. gear. Now it slips when I hit the gas in any gear. I believe I need a new clutch. Is there a link on how to do this? Please advise. Thanks again for all this handy information. You guys are great! Some of the guys have doubled up their springs in the MkII clutches with good results. Others have changed out the presure plate to a Barnet with the coil springs. Although the friction plates may not look worn and mic out OK, the surfaces may have harden with age and not grab as well as new. Another thing to consider is the clutch fluid needs to be bled, and the fluid expansion hole checked for blockage.. When the fluid heats up with engine heat it will expand and cause the clutch to slip. Here's a tech article on a Barnet replacement... http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=491 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wkboard Posted October 5, 2008 Share #13 Posted October 5, 2008 I just changed the clutch spring to the pwc racing heavy duty spring. I bought the kit for 85.00 and did the whole job in an hour. It does not slip anymore. same old plates. The kit did come with the upgrade of the halfplate. I put it in, but I don't think it was necessary. there is an excellent post here on how to do it, with pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonestarmedic Posted October 5, 2008 Share #14 Posted October 5, 2008 I had the same classic problem. Clutch slip in 4th and 5th under hard accelleration. I elected to use the PCW racing kit and new friction plates. I found that the old frictions were thick enough but I could see deterioration of the material. A bit more porous looking. I figured after 20+ years, it couldn't hurt to install new frictions. I soaked them in new oil overnignt then installed. Used the soak time to clean off the old gasket and sand the steel discs a bit. Just enough to break the glaze and put a cross-hatch pattern in them. Installed a new bearing. THe PCW spring feels great. The clutch is strong as a mule. JB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squidley Posted October 5, 2008 Share #15 Posted October 5, 2008 Changing the clutch spring (there is only 1) in the 1300's is very easy and can be done with the bike on the sidestand and without changing the oil. I have installed half a dozen or better PCW kits, and I highly recommend them. If your really worried about changing the friction discs then do it for your piece of mind. I have never changed any of the friction discs in all the clutch changes I have done, just added the PCW kit and as mentioned clean the glaze off the steels in the clutch setup. http://www.pcwracing.net/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ga Dawg Posted October 9, 2008 Author Share #16 Posted October 9, 2008 Yep!!! Changed the oil to a Yamaha oil for 4 strokes and slippage is gone. Thanks for the help!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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