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Sunday, January 13, 2013

1500/1600 Vulcan Clutch Push Rod Seal

Here it is. The oil running down the sidestand and off the frame. Looks like my shovelhead.

Take the left cover off to get down to business. Remove heel shifter bolt.

Remove the rear floorboard bolt and loosen the front bolt.

If you have modd'ed the cover, then you don't have to pull both shifter to get the cover off.

These bolts need to come out.

With cover off you can really see how much oil is still in the cover.

I'm going to slide the heel shifter back up tight so I don't have to figure out which spline I had it on.

At this point I wasn't positive that the pushrod seal was my problem everything seemed to wet with oil and there is about 10 places that could potentially leak.

Here's a telling sign a big drip spot on the clutch slave cylinder.

Some books and write-ups show strapping the clutch lever all the way to the grip, but I figured that just keeping the lever were it couldn't actually be pushed once the slave cylinder was off the bike would be fine.

Three bolts.

Oh yeah more proof that the push rod was leaking.

Yes the seal not leaking around the shaft and seal lip, but the whole seal is completely out of the its bore.The seal is part number 92049-1017.

Zip-tie the spacer and slave cylinder so that it's not hanging by the hose and banjo fitting.

Pull the rod and seal.

Okay this is where I really need to bad mouth MaKaw.  There are no good instructions in any manual(1500/1600) for replacing the pushrod or seal.

Furthermore the design is crappy. The seal sits in a open hole with only the slight interference fit holding it in place while the pushrod goes back and forth through it. Here' the best part information I could get from a manual about the seal. It's from the front bevel gear section. This is the top view cross section of the front bevel gear. A better design would have been a counterbore so the seal would to sit against something on the inside and snap ring and groove on the outside to hold the seal in place.

This is where the things got worse. Those two lines on the shaft were low spots. Barely low enough to feel with a thumbnail, but very easy to feel when I slip the lip seal over them. If I used this again, the new seal would most likely pop right back out. A new pushrod is PN 13116-1132. It's cheap and mostly easy to come by, but not likely in stock and no one was open at 7:00 PM anyway. (I was kind of shocked my dealer at the seal in stock when I needed it.)

So I loaded up and headed across town to Columbus' house. Chuck it up in the lathe.

He gently worked his way up from 220 to 1000 paper.

Then we checked with the old seal. No more pronounced low spot.(The visible lines are the oil from where we changed directions sliding the seal around.)

Final finish was with a whetstone and oil.

This should work. As Bierkan says, "it's only temporary, unless it works." So may be ordering a new rod and seal in the near future.

Brake cleaner on a q-tip to clean all the oil from the housing and bore.

Brake cleaner on a q-tip to clean all the oil piston face of the slave cylinder. Note the spherical shape in the center of the piston face.

It mates ups to this end of the push rod. Yes, the factory trained tech that put it together last did it wrong, but the piston actually wore a dimple into the flat end of my push rod. So guess either way will work.

Another reason to bad mouth MaKaw manuals. The Clymer manual(s) show the difference very specifically and clearly. I looked in all my genuine Kawasaki manuals and the only reference to the difference is in the 1500 Classic FI manual.

So this washer will keep me from driving the seal too far all the way through the hole and into the engine,

I'm going put a little moto-seal on the bore and seal. This might be a good idea or bad idea.

You can use your fingers to get it most of the way. A little deep well socket and hammer can finish the job. Again be careful not loose it, but washer should help prevent that.

Ready to go.

Cut the tie.

Bolt it up.

Cut this tie.

I rolled the bike into driveway and sprayed it down oily side of the engine with simple green. Then I hosed it all down and blew it dry.

Cover it all up.

Bolt it all back together and go.


  1. Hi, found this really helpful. But, the picture below the step that says "Zip-tie the spacer and slave cylinder so that it's not hanging by the hose and banjo fitting." shows a plug to the right of the cylinder and that's where my monster is leaking from. I am going to RTV it back in, but wondered.....what is the part name?? I've looked for plug/cap combinations and the blow out pictures I've seen don't show it. help!


      I assume you are looking at 11012. Which would be 11012-1071 Cap. I'm not sure if that part has an sealing part to it or not. It seems like it should hold oil though.

  2. Yep, that was it. The bearing there went out, had to jack the engine as far up as I could and pull the bevel gear housing out. put in a new bearing, pulled all of the metal shavings I could out and just got it put back together today. It starts, but now the neutral light flashes off when I rev the engine, not sure about that yet...

    1. The neutral light switch grounds to the engine case to operate the light. I don't know if there's adjustment or if you have loose wire bouncing around grounding out somewhere.

  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

  4. My 2007 1600 classic sat for 6 months, when i put it in gear it stalls as its lurching forward. It acts like your not even touching the clutch when its all the way back. Could this be the problem? There are no leaks anywhere.

  5. Same here, either the clutch plates are stuck, or the hydraulic clutch is not disengaging. I bled the clutch and master and slave seem to be working OK. I will be pulling the right side coverm to inspect the plates.

  6. Just a quick question if you all are still out there. My 2004 1500 classic is having this leak. Spent an hour on the phone with the Kawasaki dealer and he says there is no seal. The closest part I can find in the diagram is the "holder" part 13280-1307. Would this be the seal? I just ordered that and a new clutch push rod.

    1. The seal is part number 92049-1017. Tell the genius at the dealer to look at the "Front Bevel Gear" Parts Diagram and this blog post.

  7. Very informative, I just changed the clutch spring on my 02 Vulcan Classic, it was slipping. Now the clutch won't disengage at all. All the parts look to be in the correct order. Any suggestions? Thanks

    1. The three little springs slip out of place on install and the last friction goes into basket differently. Check the write up on

  8. Very helpful website. I need your advice.
    After teardown I found this push rod seal has worked it's way inside of the case. However it is still on the push rod. Will I do any harm if I left this seal on the push rod?
    Please advise.
    Thanks, Albert
    2006 Vulcan 1500 CLassic

    1. You can probably get it out with a long complex hook. Poke the hook down the shaft the through the seal. Turn the hook and pull the shaft and seal out at the same time.

  9. Thanks for your response.
    I ran out time and space so I left the old seal on, applied gasket sealer, installed new seal, cured 24 hrs and put it all back together Sat the 13th.
    I went for a 20 mile ride and it ran good.

    Will this be a problem in the future?
    If I need to remove the inner seal then I'll re-do the project again.
    Please advise and Thanks again.

  10. 2001 nomad 1500 .leaking oil like crazy same area by kickstand . changed stator outer gasket and really thought that was the problem ..But NO ,,still leaking pretty good ..can it also be the inner gasket ? wont leak unless engine is running . just noticed what you said about clutch slave ..

  11. I have a 2006 couchasaki vulcando and the pushrod seal is always the problem with blowing out. Could be the crankcase backpressure pushing out seal it being so easily moved in its bore. Is there a way to shim the bore to tighten the fit,I have used manilla folders but worried about paper debri clogging up somewhere else. Short of destroying a perfectly good feeler gauge leaf to shim around the seal,or loosing it in the open hole into the engine is there a tighter seal with a larger deminscion for the O.D. and same I.D for rod, or a seal with a lip to lock it in place like tabs on a front wheel bearing you bend tags down on to seal. Sort of like a seal bore lock/retainer design if in an open bore,especially as engine heats up and tolerances open up more,especially in warmer climates.

  12. Are u talking about the oil seal caps are leaking ? If yes just put on a thin coat of JB weld over the seam of the seal caps .works perfect

  13. I have a 2000 Vulcan 1500E ,while stopped at traffic light with clutch pulled in. Clutch will start to engage slowly without moving lever. possibly bad slave or master cylinder?

  14. Very great to find this site. I have a 2000 nomad 1500 and I'm having a tough time down shifting into 1st. All other gears are fine. I've changed the oil as well as changed the clutch fluid twice. I've notice at a higher rpm during down shift it will go in easier. However not always. I have to kick down a lot of time releasing and engaging the clutch. Sometimes kicking down hard works but I don't like to do that. Any suggestions?

    1. I had the exact same problem with my 2001 but I finally realize by keeping the RPMs up she would shift down eventually it just started to work good again

  15. Can someone help? 08 kawasaki vulcan classic. Pushrod seal is in engine. How do I get it out?

    1. I just had the same thing happen to me so I got a plastic covered paper clip and hooked it. Once both end of the clip were out, I grabbed the ends of the clips and pulled and out it came much my relief.

  16. Let it stay there transitive it hurting anything are slim to none. Then go pick up another one and put it in as needed

  17. Before trying to install a new one find yourself a flat washer that will fit in the hole and stop the new from going all the way into the motor

  18. I have disconnect the banjo on the cylinder before removing it.Will i have any problems putting it back together,regards pushing the rod in too far.I am only removing it to change the bevel gear bearing,so should'nt need to take the rod out.Thank you.

  19. Great help reading the labors and opinions of other gear heads has helped me better understand my problems. Thanks to all.

  20. Just wanted to say thanks for this detailed procedure! People like you help people like us save tons om money!