Topic: Remedy for an idiotic situation?

[azuredesign]

I pushed a cotton swab tip and an inch of the hollow plastic shaft(please don't ask how) past the clutch pushrod seal on my gsxr1100w. Any idea of how I should proceed?
Thanks for any help!
Ben

[andy750]

I pushed a cotton swab tip and an inch of the hollow plastic shaft(please don't ask how) past the clutch pushrod seal on my gsxr1100w. Any idea of how I should proceed?
Thanks for any help!
Ben

Ben what are you doing over there in France!!? Of course we want to know how....and why? 

Good luck in finding a solution...

cheers
Andy

[mattcb350f]

Is is safe to pressurize the said shaft where the cotton is lodged? If not, don't try this...

...get a basketball inflator adaptor needle for an airhose and try to blow it out. If you can get the needle past the cotton ball then it should blow it back out.

If it's not safe to pressurize than get some dental pics and try pulling it out piece by piece.

 Matt.

....I would also like to know how this happened

[azuredesign]

"Well..", I said sheepishly, I noticed a whole lot of dirt and crap from under the countershaft sprocket cover, and figured I must have a seal leak some place. When I removed the cover the inside was covered with 10-15 mm of crud. I put a swab in the hole to keep crap from getting in there while I cleaned off the debris, and cut it short so I could clean around it. I pushed it in partially as I was working, and lost in trying to retrieve it. That's the sad truth. The worst of it is, I couldn't find any seal leak, and as soon as I lost the piece of swab, then sun came out. It's been raining for 5 of the 7 days I've been here. So much for riding today!! I'll spend the rest of it trying to kick myself!!

[azuredesign]

Thanks Matt but it feels like it's in the sump someplace. My first thought is to pull the oil pan screen. My second is do I have to?

Is is safe to pressurize the said shaft where the cotton is lodged? If not, don't try this...

...get a basketball inflator adaptor needle for an airhose and try to blow it out. If you can get the needle past the cotton ball then it should blow it back out.

If it's not safe to pressurize than get some dental pics and try pulling it out piece by piece.

 Matt.

....I would also like to know how this happened

[Bob Wessner]

Hard to judge the diameter of the hole, but what about a suitably sized spring (just small enough to fit the hole). Pull one end a bit to open the spiral, clip the end to insure a sharp tip then sort of screw it in a bit and try to get the sharp tip to embed itself in the cotton portion and pull it out. Just a thought. It will be interesting to see what finally works. Looks like whatever technique works, might come in handy for others sometime.

[azuredesign]

Thanks for your thoughts Bob. My initial impulse is to pull the oil pan and try to flush it, as I don't think it's still grab-able. My second thought is to pull the seal, but I'm going to wait to do so until I have a new one to replace it. I posted on the Suzuki site to see if anyone was familiar with what's behind that seal, and what the probability is that the swab piece fell into the tranny/sump. I'm also wondering whether it makes any sense to start it if I don't find anything in the sump, and keep flushing the oil and cleaning the sump filter. I just don't know! I'm only here until Saturday morning and would like to do something definitive before leaving.

[Bob Wessner]

Gotcha, didn't realize your reference to losing the swab meant that it possibly fell into the sump area, thought it was still there, just out of reach with whatever you currently had available as a "tool." Good luck, let us know the outcome.

[azuredesign]

Bob, you are my hero, no B.S.! After I read your idea about the spring, I thought I'd get a good light and see if maybe I could see a bit of the swab. The seal has a 4mm opening, and it's a bit tough to see in there, but darned if I didn't see the end of the swab shaft. FYI, it's a 2 piece pushrod where one end is retained in the plunger which bolts to the countershaft sprocket house and goes through the seal, then pushes on the other pushrod that is attached to the clutch on the other side of the engine.

Well your idea started me thinking, except being here in rural France, I don't have access to as many tools, especially ones that are finely made, so finding a small spring was an issue. However, when I saw the end of the swab shaft, I remembered that it was hollow, and then I really started thinking about using a tapered screw, or a drill bit, as I wasn't sure I could find a small enough (it turned out that the swab had a 1.5mm internal diameter) tapered screw. Well off I went for a 15 k drive to Mr. Bricolage, the nearest hardware store, and of course they had no tapered screws smaller than 3 mm. The short end to a long story is that I was able to push on the swab enough without losing it completely to engage the tip of a 2mm drill bit and get that sucker out of there.
I had a premonition that I could do it on the way home, as the sky darkened and it started to rain. Oh well, there's always another day if you don't have to tear your engine apart!
Once again, thanks for taking the time to pass on your thoughts and for saving my vacation!
All best to you, a greatly relieved,
Ben Atkins

[andy750]

Well done Ben and great to follow this in real time 

Have a good ride and take some more photos for us stuck here braving Boston rain and wet leaves on the road.

cheers
Andy

[Bob Wessner]

Ben,

Glad to hear you got the little bugger out of there. Not to make you feel bad, but our weather has been great recently. Some of the best riding these past few days especially and I might go out again today since it sounds like our late autumn summer is about to end. Hope you catch a break in the weather yourself.

[azuredesign]

Thanks Bob and Andy,
As far as the weather goes this time of year, we'll just have to abide by Janis Joplin, and get it while you can!
Best to you both,
Ben

[bryanj]

You could always have taken the clutch cover and pressure plate out and either pushed it back or alternatively all the way through

[azuredesign]

You could always have taken the clutch cover and pressure plate out and either pushed it back or alternatively all the way through

Thanks, that was also an option I guess, but as it happened things worked out easier than that. I didn't know if lubrication for the pushrods was accomplished by an opening large enough for the piece of cotton and plastic to fall into, I couldn't find a cutaway or schematic of the casting in that area. If removing the clutch basket retainer had become necessary, I would have had to make a holder tool, and finding another cover gasket would have meant ordering one from the nearest dealer which is 40 miles away, then waiting for it to get to the dealership, then driving back to pick it up.
A lot of hassle!