Clutch slave leakage

[d3vi@nt]

I have an '07 M695 with about 6500 miles on it (I'm the second owner). I recently found oil drops on my garage floor, and after thoroughly cleaning the bike, traced the leak to the clutch slave. It doesn't leak at all when just sitting, but when I squeeze the clutch lever, I can see a small spurt of oil coming from the seam where the slave meets the engine case.

Any recommendations on a course of action? Can I simply replace a few seals, or is further work required? I'm always into upgrades, but my clutch action seems light enough. My only shifting issue is the hearty clunk when shifty into first, so I'm not sure a new/improved slave would net me anything.

Any thoughts, opinions, insights welcome!

[thought]

maybe the o ring is missing or broke?

and btw, that's brake fluid leaking out... pretty corrosive to paint/plastic and most everything on a bike.  having it drip on your bike isnt a good idea for the long term.

[Slide Panda]

Figure out if it's oil oil or brake fluid.

If it's oil, the common cause is that the small o-rings on the push rod are worn and allowing oil to slip past.

If it's brake fluid then the slave is probably leaking  and there's not much to be done but to replace it. The original one can't really be serviced

[d3vi@nt]

Figure out if it's oil oil or brake fluid.

If the fluid only squirts out when I pull the clutch lever (engine off), wouldn't it have to be brake fluid? Obviously I don't have a good understanding of how the slave works.  It feels and looks like oil, but it doesn't smell gassy, and it at least appears to be cleaner than the oil I can see in through the crank case site -but maybe that's not a good guage. How else can I tell?

If it's brake fluid then the slave is probably leaking  and there's not much to be done but to replace it. The original one can't really be serviced

I thought I had read a thread here where someone got a slave rebuild kit from their Ducati dealer for $15 or so. Maybe it wasn't a Monster. I'll see if I can find that thread...

[Slide Panda]

The bulk of Ducs have shared the clutch slave since god knows when. There might be a rebuild kit... I'm not 100% sure.

Fluid pumps out when you squeeze the clutch lever? Oh my... that's a bad leak. 

The system is basically two pistons in a sealed environment with fluid between them. Push on one and it moves the other and vice versa. That's a bit simplified, but should give you the concept.

So squeeze the lever, it moves a piston. That piston forces fluid through the line to the slave. The slave piston moves as a result that pushes on a rod that pushes on the clutch pressure plate moving it away from the plate stack, thus disengaging the clutch and breaking the connection from the engine to the final drive.

[d3vi@nt]

Ah, I see. Thanks for the explanation.

It squirts only one small drop with each squeeze of the lever and doesn't leak at all when just sitting. So as long as I don't shift, it doesn't leak

[Howie]

2001 and newer OEM slaves are not rebuildable.  The slave was redesigned for 2001. 

[d3vi@nt]

Thanks for all the replies and info.  Felt like I had enough information to be dangerous, so I removed the slave. It seems to be dry and seems that the oil is seeping past the rod.  Thing is, the big o-ring between the slave and case looks perfect, and the two small 0-rings on the rod both seem good.  The rod just slides out, which I'm hoping is normal? I guess it's time to invest in a shop manual.

Should I just replace all the o-rings and go from there? Or does this sound like a bigger problem? Can I squeeze the clutch lever with the slave detached to see if fluid leaks there, or is this a bad idea?  I guess I'm not really sure what to do at this point besides replace the three o-rings.

Thanks again everyone.

[Ddan]

If you squeeze the lever with the slave off you may launch the piston.  Put a small C-clamp on the piston and put some pressure on the lever, you should see if the slave is leaking or not.

Yes, the push rod should just slide out, replace the o-rings if it looks like the leak is there.

[d3vi@nt]

I replaced the two pushrod o-rings and the slave o-ring, even though they looked fine.  Cost $3 for three at the dealer 

Surprisingly, seems to have done the trick. My luck's rarely that good, so I'll see if everything stays dry after a few rides Nothing spits out when I squeeze the lever.

Thanks again for all the replies 

[sgeier]

I had the same problem with my Monster 695 (2008).
I took off the clutch slave, checked out the O ring on it ( looked fine), cleaned it off and put it back on.
Problem solved.