squeaking noise when clutch is disengaged | GTAMotorcycle.com

squeaking noise when clutch is disengaged

M

Matty8

Well-known member
Yesterday I heard a pulsating/oscillating squeaking noise coming from my ninja 250 after a warm start. If I’m sitting idle in neutral I only hear it when I disengage the clutch (pull the lever). It’s fairly loud, audible over my stock exhaust. My oil was changed < 500km ago, and the level is about half way between the markers when cold. Any ideas?

UPDATE: Video added
[video=youtube_share;RSZqKiypAfc]http://youtu.be/RSZqKiypAfc[/video]
Audio quality is bad but it's most audible from 10-15s and 45-50s.
 
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Sounds like metal-on-metal rubbing from your clutch. I can't say what would be causing it. You might have to pull it apart and have a look
 
I've been search all over the interwebs for answers and really can't find much. The only lead I have so far is that it could be the clutch pilot bearing.
 
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Have you ridden your bike yet this year? The bearing that the pushrod rides on when the clutch is disengaged (pilot bearing? release bearing? I'm not awake yet) is typically pretty simple and not sealed, and only gets lubricated by oil being thrown around in the clutch housing.
 
Took it in to a mechanic for a quick diagnosis/estimate today. His report back to me said the following:

Clutch lever was bent slightly causing clutch to over engage. This could have put extra strain on plates, basket, spring, or a bearing. Dis-assembly required. Customer to monitor clutch squeak.
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Not sure if the bent lever thing is bogus or not, but other than that he didn't really tell me anything useful. And they said its not covered under my warranty, which I was skeptical about.
 
TwistedKestrel said:
Have you ridden your bike yet this year? The bearing that the pushrod rides on when the clutch is disengaged (pilot bearing? release bearing? I'm not awake yet) is typically pretty simple and not sealed, and only gets lubricated by oil being thrown around in the clutch housing.
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Yes I've put about 500km on the bike in the last 2-3 weeks
 
How many kms are on it? How do you still have warranty? In my mind there aren't a whole lot of things that could be, the primary suspect is still that dumb little bearing. You wouldn't have to pull the clutch out to get at it, just remove the clutch cover.

And that bent clutch lever thing sounds like a bit of a reach to me
 
4500kms on it. I bought it used last year, and it came with a warranty (Kawasaki Good Time Protection Plan), although it expires in June this year. The mechanic said I may need to replace the entire clutch... I gave him a pretty skeptical look lol.

I may look into the bearing issue myself if it could be an easy fix. I assume I'll need to drain my fresh oil though?
 
Matty8 said:
4500kms on it. I bought it used last year, and it came with a warranty (Kawasaki Good Time Protection Plan), although it expires in June this year.

I may look into the bearing issue myself if it could be an easy fix. I assume I'll need to drain my fresh oil though?
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I'm not sure, I've never touched an EX250J myself. Some bikes you don't have to, if you do the work while the bike is on the sidestand. If you do have to drain the oil, it's fine to re-use if you drain it into a clean container. At this point I defer to someone who actually owns one of these bikes
 
Matty8 said:
Took it in to a mechanic for a quick diagnosis/estimate today. His report back to me said the following:



Not sure if the bent lever thing is bogus or not, but other than that he didn't really tell me anything useful. And they said its not covered under my warranty, which I was skeptical about.
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I don't believe it can but if it is over engaging try turning the adjuster screw in on the clutch lever, again I don't think it is possible to over engage your clutch. But in my opinion, your release, input or pilot bearing is gone, and as someone said (sorry for not quoting) usually they're open bearings and easily damaged if your oil is contaminated with dirt or water/moisture for whatever reason *cough* previous owner >.<

What oil do you use?
 
1sickcivic said:
But in my opinion, your release, input or pilot bearing is gone, and as someone said (sorry for not quoting) usually they're open bearings and easily damaged if your oil is contaminated with dirt or water/moisture for whatever reason *cough* previous owner >.<

What oil do you use?
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I put in Castrol Grand Prix 10w40 before storage last year. And it's interesting that you say that, because at the start of the season after my first ride I noticed a milky white substance in my engine oil window. I searched around and apparently it was moisture/water in the oil, but I read that it wasn't a big deal and it should evaporate after another ride or two. And sure enough I never saw it happen again. But maybe those 1-2 rides were enough to cause damage? shoot.

EDIT: Infact. The first time I noticed the squeak was indeed on my second ride of the year. I think you are onto something.
 
The very little amount of moisture that accumates over the winter wouldn't do any damage. Unless you were starting the bike consistantly while it was stored in a cold location as that can increase the amount of condensation but I still doubt it would be enough to cause a bearing to suddenly crap out.
 
Moisture contamination of oil is only really a problem if you're going to store an engine for a long time, or if there is a LOT of moisture i.e. coolant leaking into the oil somewhere. Otherwise it gets boiled off very quick. Also those little clutch pushrod bearings could probably be lubricated with margarine - the only time they're spinning & loaded is when the clutch is disengaged. That said, they're a moving part and any moving part can fail somehow. Given the very low mileage on your bike, IF it is the bearing, then it could have been a bad part to begin with.
 
Get a second opinion.
 
Matty8 said:
Took it in to a mechanic for a quick diagnosis/estimate today. His report back to me said the following:



Not sure if the bent lever thing is bogus or not, but other than that he didn't really tell me anything useful. And they said its not covered under my warranty, which I was skeptical about.
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A licensed tech told you that?? He has no idea.
Like Frekyguy said, get a second opinion.
 
Rob said:
A licensed tech told you that?? He has no idea.
Like Frekyguy said, get a second opinion.
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I'm just going to take a look at it myself at this point; can't be bothered to pay for another useless opinion. Never taken a clutch apart before but I'll just poke around and see if there's anything obvious. I still suspect it's the pilot bearing based on just about everything I've read, so if its not spinning smoothly i'll replace it. What could go wrong :rolleyes:
 
Matty8 said:
I'm just going to take a look at it myself at this point; can't be bothered to pay for another useless opinion. Never taken a clutch apart before but I'll just poke around and see if there's anything obvious. I still suspect it's the pilot bearing based on just about everything I've read, so if its not spinning smoothly i'll replace it. What could go wrong :rolleyes:
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I always do 3 things before starting work I've never done before:

- Read that section of the service manual. Do you have one?
- Look at a parts diagram. What year is your bike?
- See if I can find any videos on youtube.

After I've done all of those I have a pretty good idea what I'm getting into. Good luck.
 
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