[pinkman]

Hi folks. My 2004 DL1000 is starting to leak hydraulic fluid out of the clutch. It appears to be coming from the piston seal down by the front sprocket area. We are just inside the Guatemala border and are trying to figure out a way to get the parts. Any ideas would be appreciated.

I had to fill the resevoir up with fluid a couple of times today. As I pulled the cylinder off I could see fluid dripping out. I seems to be coming out at a steady and disturbing rate.

One of the issues is simply phoning outside Guatemala. None of the access codes seem to work. Then, if I find the part, how do I get it shipped down here?

Right now there are two possibilities:
1) Hoping to get the part sent down to Guatemala some place down the road
2) Turning back to Mexico and Tuxla G where there is a Suzuki dealer.

 

[WVeeStrom]

Guatamala Suzi dealers

Agencias Motos

I don't read Spanish, but each of the below had icons of bikes, wrenches, and parts! Buena suerte...

AGENCIA CENTRAL
AVE. LA CASTELLANA 39-48
ZONA 8, GUATEMALA
PBX:2420-2100

AGENCIA AGUILAR BATRES
CALZ. AGUILAR BATRES 11-60
ZONA 11, GUATEMALA
PBX: 2440-1290/2472-0198

AGENCIA BOLIVAR
AVE. BOLIVAR 35-28
ZONA 3, GUATEMALA
PBX: 2323-7800

AGENCIA ZONA 4
6 AVENIDA 6-87
ZONA 4, GUATEMALA
PBX: 2331-6321/ 2334-1143

AGENCIA SAN JUAN
CALZ. SAN JUAN 9-00
ZONA 7, GUATEMALA
PBX: 2475-1889

AGENCIA CALLE MARTI
CALLE MARTÍ 12-16
ZONA 6, GUATEMALA
PBX: 2254-7752/ 2289-3270

AGENCIA 20 CALLE
20 CALLE 16-66
ZONA 10, GUATEMALA
PBX: 2415-6300

AGENCIA AMATITLAN
KM. 26.5 CALZ. ASIOLE,
CANTON SAN LORENZO
PBX: 6633-7083/ 6633-1964

AGENCIA VILLA NUEVA
3 CALLE 13-83
ZONA 1, VILLA NUEVA
PBX: 6636-6219

AGENCIA ESCUINTLA
KM 59 SALIDA A SIQUINALA
ESCUINTLA
PBX: 7889-7313/ 7888-1335

 

[gwq]

Hi Greg,

Looks like most of the US riders are sleeping, so I'll give you what I can find.

The slave cylinder cup part no is CUP 23163-06B00

The entire slave cylinder is CYLINDER, CLUTCH RELEASE 23160-06G02 (replaces 23160-06G01)

There seems to be quite a few Suzuki dealers in Guatamala - have a look at

Agencias Motos

for a list of agencies & sub-agencies.

Hope this is of help. Enjoy the rest of your trip.
Geoff

 

[teevee]

Greg, in the event you cannot locate the parts in Guat, PM me. I can pick them up here in the US and have them shipped through a friend who sells auto parts to latin america out of miami. probably wont be too cheap, but better than waiting weeks for a part to get sent through a local dealer, as is often the case in latin america. (MRcycles.com has the part for $83.65, if it's the part gwq mentioned)

ps, to dial out of guat to the US you must dial 011 then enter the US area code. if you are calling from a cell phone you can use the "+" sign instead of 011.

 

[pinkman]

Hi folks. I appreciate all the offers for help. Time is becoming an issue. We found a Suzuki dealer in Huehuetenago. The mechanic said that the inside of the cylinder wall is corroded which is causing the problem and the part must be replaced. There is no part in Guatemala and were having difficulty finding one in Mexico. Ordering one from the US would take about 1 week to get here if everything goes well since no dealer would stock that part. Ron Ayres would place the order on Monday and get the part on Tuesday if I paid for expedited shipping. Then the part has to get here. Even with the generous offer to help ship the part it would probably be next Friday before I saw it. At that point there's not enough time to get to Panama and back home.

I've toyed with the idea of pulling the piston out and trying to smooth the sides of the wall with some fine sandpaper, but I want to use that as a last resort. If the seal gets damaged along the way the bike wouldn't be moving.

Once I get back into Mexico I'll stay on the toll roads as much as possible. That should minimize the fluid leakage as using the clutch causes more of a leak.

Gary is going to soldier on down south.

 

[jmillington]

Good luck, keep us posted!

 

[garrydymond]

If you do a search for "leaking clutch Fluid V-Strom" you should find the post on VSRI. It tells you how to fix the problem and also gives an emergemcy fix. I was able to fix my leak by replacing the seal and following the instructions on cleaning up the cylinder and piston. It took a few hours but with a little patience you should be able to do it. Finding the seal should be a lot easier than replacing the whole part. You may also be able to find the seal locally or just clean it a little.
If you come through Mex City and still have the problem you can stay at my place and we can check it out. If you don't have the problem you are still welcome to stay.

 

[pinkman]

If you do a search for "leaking clutch Fluid V-Strom" you should find the post on VSRI. It tells you how to fix the problem and also gives an emergemcy fix. I was able to fix my leak by replacing the seal and following the instructions on cleaning up the cylinder and piston. It took a few hours but with a little patience you should be able to do it. Finding the seal should be a lot easier than replacing the whole part. You may also be able to find the seal locally or just clean it a little.
If you come through Mex City and still have the problem you can stay at my place and we can check it out. If you don't have the problem you are still welcome to stay.

Thanks buddy. Having that option means a lot.

 

[wera688]

the brake fluid just presses the piston to engage the clutch. even if you cant fix it on the road you can just keep adding fluid as long as its not running straight out. in the very worse case scenario you can add any liquid, preferrably oil based. since you said the cylinder is corroded you can pop the piston out and clean the walls with light sand paper. the corrosion is what is separating the piston from the cylinder thus no sealing properties. Also if you're on the main roads and not in traffic clutchless up shifts is ok.

 

[pinkman]

Hey guys. I managed to work my way up to Minatitlan, Mx today. Staying on the toll roads has lowered the amount of fluid leaks. In the past few days I have used one pint? (small) bottle of fluid and am working on the second. So far everything is holding together and I feel better about being in a country that has better access to parts.

 

[kiwi_outdoors]

pitted clutch cylinder ?

clean out the cylinder and fill the pits with 5 minute epoxy ?

the wet-sand the thing smooth, perhaps

 

[dakarrider]

If you are in a shop that carries Suzuki parts but not the Strom have them check parts numbers for the DRZ 400 for the same year (maybe even the 250), turns out Suzuki uses the same clutch (slave cylinder anyway) in some of their bikes and the smaller more dirt or dual sport oriented bikes are probably more common down South. My 04 DL1000 took a slave cylinder out of a DRZ 400s that the shop had in stock and I was on the road again in an hour.

 

[pinkman]

Hey folks. I'm back in the land of overnight parts. Crossing the border went smoothly since I took the time to find the right place to turn in my vehicle import sticker. At the Brownsville crossing everything is computerized and the guy used a hand scanner. All the paperwork was done in the parking lot.

I'm still losing fluid, but should make it back to Florida is nothing else happens.

Thanks for all the ideas and support.

OBTW: It sure is weird seeing all these English TV channels.

 

[garrydymond]

Good to hear you are back in the USA. Good luck with the rest of your trip. Hope you enjoyed Mexico.

 

[pinkman]

The bike made it back home. Surprisingly, I was losing more fluid on the freeway than I expected since I wasn't shifting. The part has been ordered and it should be an easy swap. Once I get the new part I'm going to tear into the old one to see if it would have been repairable on the road.

Thanks for all the input and offers of assistance.