Swingarm bolt

Hi all,

It seems my xrr's swingarm bolt may never have been removed in 14 years

I have been beating it with a hammer and drift for a bit and gave up to give it some thought

Anyhow I haven't tried applying any wd40 etc yet but was wondering if there is any value or if it is a bad idea to drill two small holes in the engine case where they seem to seize?
From what i can find there is no engine oil passing that area as there are webbing's separating this from the main crank/gear box so it seems feasible.

The plan is to then tap the holes and put a grub screw or similar in the holes to keep the crud out and hopefully make this job easier in the future if is goes pear shaped again.
 


Cheers

Andy

Hi Andy, to be honest once the bolt is out it only takes minutes to remove and grease and pop back in...not really worth the effort to add grease nipples....once every 6 months pop it out and grease her up....don't have to do anythign difficult just pull it out and pop it back in, I use a guide rid just to keep everything in line.

Not a bad idea , but you still need to pull the thing apart now and again , just to inspect it .

I don't mind pulling it out every so often    but I got to get it out first  

got myself some plusgas and an manual impact driver today so will soak it over night and try loosen the shaft by turning bolt head on the locking collar side but it looks like I am in for the long haul

Gives me time to do wheel bearings, fork oil and inspect the clutch, get the sump guard off and might even be able to get the rear suspension linkage off while its on it side.

So hopefully not a total waste of time..

The 250R has same problems as the 650's you need to work the left side bolt head back and forth the right side castle nut shouldn't have any effect on the bolt coming out, it will be seized where your picture shows the grease nipples...this part just sits there and the dis-similar metals react and seize up....I did my 250's bolt by starting to turn it back and forth then using a old extension and socket and with the right nut 1 or 2 turns undone belting it with a lump hammer.....I guess time will tell

I was going to to try turn the right side to hopefully break some of the corrosion. I did try yesterday with a t bar and an pipe as an extension but it didn't budge.

hopefully soaking it will free it up so that I can hammer it out as it didn't budge today when I tool a sledge hammer and to it ..

Just a thought try a heat gun on the engine/swinging arm where they all meet, it's not over warm outside and a bit of heat might help release the bolt....once it starts turning your half way there.

Mauser wrote:Just a thought try a heat gun on the engine/swinging arm where they all meet, it's not over warm outside and a bit of heat might help release the bolt....once it starts turning your half way there.

will give it a try.

It could well be worth drilling a hole where you planned on putting the grease nipples and filling it with plusgas.
Pulled my swinging arm pin out as soon as I bought it and greased it up due to the problems I had had with other bikes.
Chances are that it has corroded where it passes through the engine case There is a steel bush either side of case and clearance inbetween that allows the shaft to corrode and become a bigger diameter than the bush it needs to pass through. A good soaking with plusgas should soften the rust up a bit. Heating up with a blowtorch will also help.
Patience is definitely needed with this job.
Good luck.

Its finally free after much swearing, heating and beatings  


Surprisingly the bearings looked fine. I polished up the pivot bolt but a new bolt and nut one is on order so the only one is there just to hold it together until the new one arrives.

That the suspension and swing arms bearings done.
Wheel bearings, fork oil, radiator hoses on the list for today.

thanks for all the words of encouragement.

I did my fork oil and took a few pictures....I didn't replace the seals but this might help you out.
http://www.xr650r.co.uk/service/forks/forks.shtml

Mauser wrote:I did my fork oil and took a few pictures....I didn't replace the seals but this might help you out.
http://www.xr650r.co.uk/service/forks/forks.shtml

thanks seen that all ready, that's whats motivated me to do mine

I've been riding my BRP for about 2years and this afternoon decided to see if the swingarm bolt would move. Well you guessed it ..... it DID MOVE. Loosened the nut went round to the right side and the bolt turned over to the left side and gave the end of the bolt a smack with a brass dolly and hammer and shifted about 10mm . Dripped so Triflow in a few spots where I could and tightened it up again. I"ll price some ERTALYTE TX and whip up a set of bushes.

wassie wrote:I've been riding my BRP for about 2years and this afternoon decided to see if the swingarm bolt would move. Well you guessed it ..... it DID MOVE. Loosened the nut went round to the right side and the bolt turned over to the left side and gave the end of the bolt a smack with a brass dolly and hammer and shifted about 10mm . Dripped so Triflow in a few spots where I could and tightened it up again. I"ll price some ERTALYTE TX and whip up a set of bushes.

Sounds a good plan... knock up some stainless bushes ?...or does anyone think they will not be hard enough ?.

This stuff is plastic, ERTALYTE TX.
Stainless steel and aluminium are to far apart on the periodic table so will corrode very quickly due to electrolysis.

wassie wrote:Stainless steel and aluminium are to far apart on the periodic table so will corrode very quickly due to electrolysis

Correct, that's why Coppaslip (anti seize copper compound) was invented!
The forces there are quite substantial Wassie, and I wonder if any (good quality I'll admit!) platics will last without flexing too much....

http://www.midsa.com.mx/pdf/Quadrant_Products_and_Aplications_Guide.pdf
Page 17.
It's a little expensive @ $140/ 50mm dia x 1m long

Awwww, Ertalyte....... isn't that the stuff that's hygroscopic and swells when moist?

Btw WD40 is useless for literally everything except for cleaning & shining up your spanners.

Dunno why so many people use it considering there are FAR better products on the market that actually work.
Hell, even some tranny fluid mixed with acetone or thinners beats the pants off wd40.

Invest in some plusgas, you'll never look back.