Raptor 50 Titan Clutch Liner Issue (?)

[daveb]

Building my first Raptor 50 Titan and notice that some of the assembly has already been done at the factory. But, when I get to the clutch bell bag I find that the bearing has been fitted to the spur and then laid inside the clutch bell housing. That means there are two places where the clutch liner is soaked in oil from the bearing <sigh>

Do I not worry and carry on hoping that this will be burned off later, buy some clutch liner strips (how do I get the old one off and what to stick the new one with, or buy a new clutch bell housing - can't find the part PV0533....)

Not a good start........

[vandelescrow]

I would say to clean the liner the best you can with a paper towel and go for it but someone on here will probably correct me. To remove the liner you can soak the bell in acitone (I think that's the spelling) I think you can get it at hardware stores and is sold as paint remover. To glue the new liner in I've used CA but I hear others using epoxy, I don't know which is better but I have not had one glued with CA come out. The replacement clutch liners are actualy to long and will have to be trimed down prior to glueing. Once glued you will need to apply pressure equally. Most people use the clutch and a few layers of paper wraped around it and wedge it in the bell. Just make sure you dont get it so tight you cant get the clutch back out. In a recent RC Heli mag some one wrote in a tip where you get a piece of PVC pipe the diamater of the bell, make a slit in it length wise, sand the edges where you made the slit and it will naturaly spread apart aplying equal pressure to the liner, simply squeeze to remove. However, where can you get just a few inches of PVC pipe with out having to pay for several feet?

[LAMAR COOLEY]

daveb,
Use a little alcohol on a paper towel to clean your clutch liner. The liner will get wet. Then use a dry paper towel to absorbe the residual alcohol. Do this until it is dry. It won't take long.
If and when you change the liner, use 45min or longer time epoxy.
Coat the liner ( completely ) with a very thin layer of epoxy. Also put ( one wrap ) of electrical tape around your clutch and insert the clutch into the bell. One wrap will give your the proper clearance needed. Insert the clutch to allow excess epoxy to squeez out. remove the clutch. Use a paper towel with alcohol to clean up the epoxy that will squeez out when you install the clutch, both inside the bell and along the rim. Then reinsert the clutch until the epoxy dries.
I have have been lucky enough to only need a sharp xacto knife to remove a worn clutch and old epoxy.
With a little care the liner can be removed without to much damage. Then it can be used to cut a new liner to proper length.
Check with "Ron Lund's" Heliproz South and Heliproz for the 50 clutch liner.
You can use a 90 clutch liner; you'll just have to trim it to fit.
I hope this is of some small help.
Regards

[daveb]

Two very useful replies - thanks

[daveb]

Bought some Isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) from ebay, applied a little to the liner, rubbed a bit and all the oil is now gone. Thanks for the recommendation.

[vandelescrow]

BTW and for future reference. I had to replace the liner in my R90 this week. Instead of going out and spending the money for acetone I tried soaking it in rubbing alcohol. Worked fine, it loosened up the clue and with the carefull use of an exacto knife so I dont scratch the bell, all the liner and glue came out. Besides I already had plenty rubbing alcohol for cleaning the exhaust residue from my heli. When you soak the bell, just make sure the bearing in the bell is not submurged, I also removed the starter shaft from the bell so it would not act like a whick.

[button head]

I'm replacing my 1st liner & with the new liner glued inside the bell, I can barely get the clutch inside the bell without any electrical tape. With one layer of electrical tape wrapped around my clutch, it seems near impossible to get the clutch in the bell . I had a guy who has been flying longer than me help me with my idle & he burned some of the liner advancing the throttle while holding the head. I pulled the clutch out that day & my liner was completely gone. The clutch had been turning inside the bell without any liner :wow2: Should I just get a new clutch & bell?

[LAMAR COOLEY]

button head,
A couple of points for ya.
1.) If you used epoxy, it takes a "very, VERY THIN " coat of epoxy on the liner.
2.) Pre-bend the liner in a circle a couple of times to aid in getting it started in the bell.
3.) Insert the liner about half way into the bell.
4.) Then insert the clutch into the liner and press both into the bell at the same time.
I would suspect that you may have had too much epoxy on the liner. Thus the tight fit of the clutch.
Have some alcohol on hand to clean the residual epoxy from the liner after inserting both into the bell.
Unless the bell is damaged in some way,i.e. cracked or warped, I wouldn't think you need a new bell. If there are any scratches or gouging to the inside of the bell.
The clutch shoes may have thrown out to far therefore the clutch is too far out of round.You MAY need a new clutch.
Sometimes you can realign the shoes by pressing on the outside edges of the shoes to bring back into round. I've sucessfully used "channel lock pliers " to accomplish this task.
With this tool you can grip both shoe edges at the same time. Take a look at the clutch shoe slots. The spacing should be consistand the entire length of the slot. From the round hole out to the edge.
Be careful, it's sometimes possible to break the clutch shoes off if you apply too much pressure in the wrong place. I've pressed the shoes almost to the solid part of the clutch on several occasions.
I hope this is of some small help.
Regards

[Youngblood]

You need to be aware that clutch liners come in two thickness 1mm and 1.5. Some are also a little wider than others. Be sure to get the right thickness for your clutch to work right....

[button head]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not sure how thick of a clutch liner I bought, I thought just getting the original part # would do me right. I tried starting my rappy today but it would not turn over due to the tight fit with the new liner. When I rotate the head counter clockwise it's very difficult as well. I was thinking of starting the up the heli & reving the engine a bit to wear away some liner however, this won't work if I can't turn the motor over.

[Youngblood]

Check the clutch. It is probably sprung. When you look at it the gap should look the same all the way to the end...

[button head]

Yup, I needed a new clutch. The original clutch had sprung as stated. Thanks for the info everyone, lesson definitely learned.

[dvelez3]

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