I saw on other forums that the 05,06 z400s have a clutch case failure and theirs no recalls on it.. Please inlighten me on this.. Is it true?

 

Do you mean mag clutch case cover corrosion problems? The solution to that is replacing it with an '04 aluminum cover or use a waterless antifreeze such as Evans.

So far, Suzuki has not issued a recall.

 

There is no recall and there never will be.

I spoke (off the record) with a Suzuki rep over this and they claim the problem was with the coolant and not the cover.

He said that while it would probably not have happened with an aluminum cover, the sensative magnesium was more prone because the coolant was not pure. He was not sure where exactly the blame should side, but he said the dealerships generally add water to the machines because they are often shipped with less than full cooling systems.

At first I was thinking this was a tyical cop out but then I noticed a trend. There are a few people, myself included, who had to remove their clutch cover for one reason or another before anyone really knew about the corrosion problem. I had to do it when the machine was only a month old. In my case it was to change the gasket after the PCV oil res box was leaking from the factory onto the case. I didn't want to take the chance that the hot oil didn't damage the gasket from the outside in so I wanted to change it out. I knew it was a fairly simple and relatively quick job.

When I took off the cover I noticed the same corriosion that later on everyone would be talking about. It was in the early stages of corrosion and the flow was seriously blocked with the green goo. I thought this was odd seeing as how the quad was only a month old. Strange enough, I chalked it up as a coolant issue. It was an '05 model bought in April of '05, so I thought it might have been sitting for a few months. I didn't at that time really forsee and future issue. I replaced the stock coolant with some leftover Motocraft coolant mixed with water 50/50. I worked for Ford at the time so I always have Motorcraft stuff laying around and I knew it was good for all metals.

I rode all summer on that Motorcraft coolant with not one issue. Come December everyone was freaking out over the magnesium cover issue, and had been for a couple months and I didn't even know it. So right away when I saw the pics of everyone's side cover I knew I had the same issues back in May and didn't even know it. I was freaked that by this time it could be really wasted and nearly leaking into the oil.

Right away I ordered the aluminum cover and bought some engine ice and waited for a warm day to do the swap. First thing that struck me as odd was when I drained the coolant it was still perfect. Totally bright green and clean just like it was the day it went it, I thought that it should be far more brown if the metal was rotting away. And as soon as I got the cover off it was obvious there was not more damage than had been there in May. No closure of the passage, no green goo, no flaking metal. The damage was there, but it was just the same and no worse.

Obviously I feel much safer with the aluminum cover now, but I'm not sure it would have gotten any worse with the stock coolant out. Had I not made that coolant swap, I'm certain the cover would have failed eventually. But this certainly lends credence to the idea that it was a coolant issue. However Suzuki should take responsibiliy for the fact that they should have known that magnesium is a far more sensative material.

Of course the whole thing is a paradox in and of itself. Had Suzuki not changed from the aluminum in the first place, no issue ever exists. And on the flip side, if they were going to use it they should have made a point to tell people to only use a certain type of coolant and not to add water at all. They certainly should have known an issue was going to arise.

 

check out this thread.... SERVICE BULLETIN 05 -06 z400 corrosion on this site.

not sure if it's true or not because it sound to good to be true but someone mentioned that kawi has issued a recall for the clutch cover.... Not sure if zuki is also covering this as well... seams like a no brainer but stranger things have happened...

If it is indeed true this is very good thing..... now it's all about waiting in line to get the techs to get to all the quads...

 

This is absolutely true call your dealer!!!And fast those covers will be on back order for a ever if you don't hurry and if your dealer says they havent heard of it tell them to call the suzuki rep or kawi rep .I told my buddy in oregon about it and his dealer didn't know about it until he called. Now if only everyone who already purchased one could get reimbursed.