New clutch oil seal leaking after only 100 miles

[jerry]

First a recap...

My S4 in thailand has had a massive 4 year refresh delayed due to Covid ,,, it now looks new not 24 yers old and well travelled .

When I started it up in November 2023 it ran beautifully and handles superb with all the upgrades ... However the clutch was leaking on the clutch side pushrod seal so oil all over plates and leaking out of the cover ... ,,could not source the seals in Thailand so gave up and when back in UK in February 2024 order a full set of seals for clutch , the push rod O rings ,Big green Oring for the spacer in the clutch ,, and of course the all important Pushod seal for the clutch itself ....

So last week reassembled the clutch , new seals orings on push rod etc ,, so far done about 100 miles and now oil is pissing out of the Push rod seal onto the plates and leaking out of the cover again.....

I had another spare new pushrod seal as i bought 3 so put that in and it leaked within 5 miles ??? The old seal lasted 20 years and 32,000 miles ????before it wore out and leaked ...

Clearly something not correct with the seals that I have been supplied by a Ducati dealer ,They were not in Ducati bags and im suspecting they are slightly over size ???

The same dealer has also sold me a defective speedo drive and a cable that is not correct length , both in Ducati packets though ???, (see other thread about speedo )


None of these parts are available in Thailand so once again the S4 will be shelved , lucky I have the Z900,, but TBH I prefer the S4 , it is more comfy , handles better and is 25kg lighter although the Z900 is a great bike with its turbine like engine and smooth ride .

[Dukedesmo]

Is the push rod seal in the correct way round?

Asking because a 'friend' fitted his incorrectly, the oil leaked into the clutch housing, dripped onto the exhaust and created a smokescreen on startup with clutch slippage for a few miles afterwards.

The 'lip' of the seal needs to point inwards but as the seal is quite small it is is easy to get it wrong...

Alternatively, fit a valve stem seal in there which gives a better seal.



More info here; https://www.ducati.ms/threads/keep-b....752620/page-2

[jerry]

Yes I put them in lip first ,, I like the valve stem seal idea thats much more substantial I wonder if i can get some 8mm stem seals here here ????

[jerry]

I measured the last unused new spare seal I have from UK its 12mm OD 8mm ID and 3mm wide

but I also called Louigi down in Somerset and he told me that not correct size genuine Ducati seal is actually custom made 12.2mm OD 7.86mmID and 3.2mm wide so its a tighter fit in the recess and on the pushrod shaft ,, But he also said a valve 8mm stem seal will work well , I will have a look through my shim kit and see if i have any here ???

he told me Ducati have changed that seals part number and spec 3 times that he knows of and its not easily available even from Ducati??? thats why most people supply a easily available 12mm x 8mm and 3mm off the shelf seal ...but its not really the correct part , sometimes it will seal OK but often not .

[Darren69]

The pushrod o rings are available from Exactfit are supposed to be better. I got some for my S4 as it was weeping a bit on the slave side but have not fitted them yet.

[jerry]

Darren I have never had a problem on the slave side but i change those Orings regularly every 3 years or so

[jerry]

The main triumph dealer is Pattaya Watchera Powersports has just been awarded a Ducati Franchise , i spoke with their spare parts chap,,,Mr Donk he says if the parts are in stock in Bangkok Airport depot its 3 days ,, but if they have to come from Italy its 3 weeks ....he is checking to see if the 8mm valve stem seal is available . Watchera is owned by Singaporians who are much more efficient than Thais .They run a lovely Triumph dealership .

[jerry]

As im trying to source the clutch seal do you guys think that changing the little 8mm roller bearing for the push rod behind the seal will help,, ??

i have been reading up and it seems that if that roller bearing is wearing out it makes the seal leak ??


Mind u how to get that little 8mm bearing out assuming I can get one is not obvious how to remove it

[jerry]

Ok little push rod roller bearing and another push rod seal seal and a valve stem seal ordered ,, should be 14 days

When I ordered the Push rod seal Ducati have changed the part number yet again ,, its now 12.2mm x 8mm x 3.9mm used to be only 3mm wide now 3.9mm must be a reason why they have revised that little seal 4 times in 25 years ????



anyone ever removed the little roller bearing in the pushrod shaft ??

my research show some people pulling it out with picks ,, others have dremeled them out ??? and others have pushed a 5mm allen bolt through the push rod tunnel and used the push rod itself as a drift and heated the bearing end with a blowtorch ?????

[Dukedesmo]

Originally Posted by jerry

anyone ever removed the little roller bearing in the pushrod shaft ??

I've changed a couple, one came out fairly easy with a pick and some patience, the other was a right sod - had to dremel it out but you need to be careful not to damage the inside of the shaft.

You won't get anything to push it from the other side, at least not without some serious engine dismantling.

Fitting the new one, on the other hand, is a piece of cake.