Lifan 140 clutch basket freeplay and engine knocking under load

Mini Dirt Bikes & Pit Bikes Forum

Help Support Mini Dirt Bikes & Pit Bikes Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Zero_3

Member
Joined
May 9, 2012
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Can You guys tell me if its normal that the clutch basket in my Lifan 140 has so much freeplay in all directions like on the video?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmIjp8aftcI
Engine is 8k milage and since a month I have a problem, something is knocking under load, and only under load. It's like a dull knock sound like hitting some metal with piece of wood.
I have already replaced camshaft, cam chain tensioner, the chain itself, new piston and cylinder, new all bearings... head is checked and it's ok. So the only suspect left is that basket.. please advise
 
it appears the clutch nut is loose, take the spring retainer off the clutch (evenly) and then do up the nut and loctite it.. or take the basket out (no more work other than undoing the clutch nut) and inspect the kicker gears, loctite red the crank gear and inspect the shifter mechanismwhile you at it and then install the clutch nut with loctite as its pretty common for them to come loose...
Also when you take the basket out you want to see if you have any play from the ring gear to the basket itself if you do you either need a new clutch basket or you need some new rubbers in there (requires drilling and tapping in new bolts) but you can put higher quality rubbers in there that wont fail as much (from a honda)
also inspect the clutch ring gear for damage along with the crank gear/primary drive gear
 
Last edited:
It's normal as far as iv been told I wondered the same thing when I went to replace my starter gears n Greg explained that it was meant to have a bit of play like that
 
^ i dont have any play on the ring gear roy.. movement on the basket is normal but not on the ring gear
 
Engine is 8k milage and since a month I have a problem, something is knocking under load, and only under load.
is that 8,000 k's?
also inspect the clutch and primary gear for missing teeth does it sound like this a little?
if its missing teeth then listen to this (at 1:00)
[video=youtube_share;0ovm9FEdfDA]http://youtu.be/0ovm9FEdfDA?t=1m[/video]
if its only one tooth it will not be so audiable as mine as i could only really notice it when it was under load before untill i rode it some more and it got worse (surprise surprise) turns out for me (it was a relativity new bike) the primary drive gear (crank gear) was loose so it could slide up and down the crank and breaking teeth off... fixed it with a new clutch basket and loctite on both crank gear and clutch nut
 
Wow, thaks guys for response.
So heres the thing. Engine was rebuild as i replaced the crankshaft (because i thought the knocking comes from bad crank bearings or rod bearing). I split the cases and put back all together so there is no way that loose clutch basket is caused by untightened nut. I double and triple checked before putting covers back. Earlier I have also replaced cylinder + piston + rings + cam chain + tensioner.
I inspected all the gears, was ok, no missing teeth.
I've noticed loose basket just as I took the clutch cover off, before unscrewing anything. I've also heard there has to be some freeplay, but the thing is my basket moves on sides quite a bit, if it was axis-only movement front and back I would say it's ok, but it dances like hell.
Overall the bike runs great, top speed around 60mph, not overheating.. only this knocking sound. The more I open the throttle the louder the knock is. No knocking when IDLE, no knocking when revving on neutral. Only under load. I'm out of ideas guys, the only hope I was thinking this clutch basket will be causing this.
8.000km milage and unfortunately it doesn't sound anything like on the video xwebx. Tomorrow I'll try to record the sound, and btw sorry for my not so great english :/ Thanx again
 
Tomorrow I'll try to record the sound, and btw sorry for my not so great english :/ Thanx again
You did something wrong nothing is normal about that movement (well nothing that you should ignore) - simple enough? did you miss a spacer for the clutch? pull it off if the basket moves at all freely then replace it because the rubbers are broken.. it should be nearly impossible for you to hold the ring gear and move the basket forward and backwards because the rubbers in there are to take the shock out of the drive to the gearbox not be sloppy and cause more shock (probably) the ring gear shouldnot move that much and why would i want to fix it? because when gears go out of alignment... they break... what happens when the break.. you walk
 
here are some heavy duty rubbers if the ones inside your flywheel on the back of the clutch are worn out.
http://www.dirt-bike-store.com/Silent_block_hard_damping_torque_UPower-shop_view-2109-85.html

and here is a how to replace thread, for the above heavy duty rubbers,
it is not exactly the same part, but close enough to give you an idea how to do it
http://www.miniriders.com/motor-tutorials/31107-china-start-any-gear-clutch-upgrade.html



and from the movement shown,
i think zac is onto it,
there might be a washer/spacer missing from the clutch
check that part numbers #14, #9 and #11 are all fitted when you pull the clutch apart

otherwise maybe the complete clutch needs replacing due to being excessively worn.
 
Ok, things starts to look more clear now..
Today I tried to figure it out, and temporarily i fixed it by adding a small washer between 10 and 2 on the picture. The basket itself has excessive free play that is caused by that weird rubbers failure (as You mentioned) and it's wear out in centre where it slides on shaft. So I'm gonna need a new basket.. c'mon life span of a lifan 140 immortal engine clutch is like 8.000 km? wtf I wasn't even pushing it hard..

The knocking sound I mentioned before was caused by the basket failure and I'm extremely happy about it because thanks to You guys I have finally found the solution for this damn engine. That extra washer did the trick for now, no knocking, engine sounds like it should.

Thank You fellas
 
no problem mate, good to see you got it finished.. i dont think i have owned a yx 5plate clutch where the rubbers lasted more than 2 rides..
however the 6 plate in my zongshen is not knocking yet (have not even opened the bottom end)
its not somthing i would ignore either because if you leave it too long it screws up your tranny so i would go to the higher quality rubbers when you get the time :)
 
Ok guys, can anyone confirm if the clutch from the link is compatible with my Lifan? I asked the seller but no response -.- seems like he doesn't have a clue.

http://www.ebay.pl/itm/Stomp-Pit-Bi...67?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item3f1eaf3cb3
Thanx in advance@!
yeah that will fit... no problems
but just sayin if you have some spare cash i would go to a 6 plate upgrade clutch (so strong you can have it on the limiter in 4th and drop the clutch and it will bite)
 

Latest posts

Back
Top