Having problems with a 550 clutch not disengaging especially on a hot engine. I decided to have the case off and inspect the plates. First discovery was the shim behind the snap clip (circlip) appeared to be missing. Not good I thought but found it on the clutch shaft behind the basket once I had removed it. I suspect the PO had slid the shim back on so as not to lose it and had forgotten to bring it forward when putting the basket back on.
Question 1 - how much difference would the shim make being behind the basket instead of its intended position? It is obviously controlling the slack regardless of position.
Question 2 - The manual suggests using a 'dial gauge' on the end face of the clutch assembly to check for excessive looseness. I see that there are three different sizes of these packing shims but without the specialist tool is there an easier way of telling if additional shims are required? There is a small amount of play. I think the current shim is 0.1 mm.
Question 3 - Would looseness on the basket cause clutch problems? Otherwise friction disks seem to be within tolerance but I will probably replace while everything is apart.
Thanks
Richard
