Flamin swingarm!!!!!!!

[twistednuts]

You`ve probably guessed that my swingarm spindle is well an truly stuck!!

After doin a search at least im not the only one to have suffered.

Every night this week ive sprayed wd40 down each end of the seals, used a full can so far!

The nut was easy to come off, so i thought id cracked it, but no, spindle wouldnt budge. Got impact socket on via compressor an got spindle to turn.. whey hey!! cracked it.. or so i thought!

The bugger is just spinnin on the bushes. Can now just about turn it with a normal socket wrench, an it seems to be spreading frame apart, guess its cos theres no mountings at the back.

I`ve put nut back on spindle a few threads an hit f!*k out of the nut, its pretty knackered now, so tomorrow im gonna try the bike on its side with scaffoldin tube on frame.

My question is...... is there a chance of splittin the crankcase if i hit spindle too hard? Cos im guessin when i hit the nut, the bush will knock against the crackcase. Anyone ever done this, or will i be the first?

[Jonorow]

you'll find it one of the collars has siezed to the shaft, the cases wont split but you might be better off drilling the ends of the shaft off, or hacksawing the ends off inside then removing the swingarm and engine together, the shaft will then slide out easily. which ever way it will be a lot of work.

[Eddie Evans]

My spindle had corroded in the casing in the gap between the bushes.
I think Mike has suggested previously to drill a hole in the casing between these bosses. The drill should break through and penetrating oil can be soaked in. I think that this offers the best chance of knocking it out without resorting to desperate measures.
Be careful not to mushroom the spindle or it will never knock out

[twistednuts]

Well, cos of the movement in the frame i mentioned, there is about 6mm of play, so i can actually see the bushes between the engine an the swingarm. I tried cuttin em with an hacksaw but space is limited an it hardly touched it.Depends where the bushes are seized to the spindle too, if i did manage to cut through em at this location, they still might not knock out.

I`ll try the bike on its side, but use less swing on the lump hammer. Ha. If that dont work i`ll get the angle grinder out! Left it saokin with another can of wd. It might just do the trick now cos i`ve managed to loosen the swingarm from the bushes, might hit the rusted spot now.

[voodookid37]

just a thought,.....but i have used paraffin to great effect when trying to unseize things in the past.if you can try pooling it around the part every night for a week or so....after all it cleans up rust from chains etc.

might be worth a punt even at this stage ?
regards d

[twistednuts]

Done it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was hard! I cant take the credit either, id just about given up. Me dad did it with the end of a ball pein hammer an a lump hammer. Wedged other end of frame against house wall, put ball hammer on spindle and smashed with lump hammer. Totally wrecked spindle an needed knockin all the way through, but im not bothered, its out!

Bearins an bushes are totally wasted. Shoulda been changed years ago, some people just dont give a damn. Used as field bike previously though, so gotta expect some mis-use.

[Active Rascal]

After reading several posts on here, I decided to have a bash at getting mine out, and guess what?..... It's solid!! Will have to do it when i strip the bike down next year, out of interest how much was a new spindle, bushes and bearings? Thanks.

Shaun.

[twistednuts]

Dunno, in need of a spindle. Bearin kit is about 50 odd quid. If it dont need doin then i wouldnt bother, it is a bastard!

[jontymiller]

I had the same problem I ended up cutting my swing arm nut with an angle grinder between the engine and the swing arm, found out that the bushes rusted onto the bolt. So i got a second hand swing arm bolt and nut and a new swing arm bearing kit.

When I bought the Swing arm Bolt the second hand parts guy said the bolt came of an xr400, but I would check measurements before buying one

Secondly a Swing arm Bearing kit from ALL BALLS RACING or PIVOT WORKS for a 1996-2003 XR400 is the same. The kit has 8 bearings instead of 4 so you do have some extras, this works out alot cheaper.(ps one small difference is that when i measured my old bushes they were 63mm, the bushes out of the kit was 64mm not to sure if it makes a huge difference to be honest).

Jonty

[rich1960]

I know this is going to sound a bit 'smart' but its not meant that way.

I have read too many posts on here about swingarm bolts seizing, so after the umpteenth I decided to get mine out, fortuntaley the previous owner kept it well greased and it came out easily.

So, to keep mine on top of mine, when I change my drive chain a sprockets - usually once a year, I use a soft riveted link chain, and not having the correct tools, I prefer to rivet my new chain in the vice/bench, which means I have to remove my swingarm to fit it - so the swingarm gets removed, cleaned and greased at least once a year, I've got it off to fine art and can do the whole job in less than an hour.

Rich

[twistednuts]

Doesnt make you sound "a bit smart", its a good idea!! Saves a lot of fannying when it needs to come off, think im gonna grease mine every week!

[Active Rascal]

[quote="jontymiller"]

Secondly a Swing arm Bearing kit from ALL BALLS RACING or PIVOT WORKS for a 1996-2003 XR400 is the same. The kit has 8 bearings instead of 4 so you do have some extras, this works out alot cheaper.(ps one small difference is that when i measured my old bushes they were 63mm, the bushes out of the kit was 64mm not to sure if it makes a huge difference to be honest).

Jonty[/quote]

Can anyone confirm this please? And are they online stores?

Cheers.

[jontymiller]

Yes they do fit, I have put an allballs racing kit on. You can check on the Pivot Works Website ( http://www.pivotworks.com ) for the details on the part numbers as they give a better discription than the all balls website. It gives there sizes and other infomation.

The biggest difference is that the bushes on the CRM250 are 63mm and the bushes on the XR400 are 64mm. There are also 8 bearings in the xr kit but all the bearings will fit. The sizes are four bearings at 20x26x12 and the other four are wider at 20x26x20. All the seals fit and you come with two inside spare seals.

Hope this helps
Jonty

[twistednuts]

Its not a mega savin though, think its 57 quid at Leisure Trail for a kit with the right size bushes. Surely that extra mm must make a difference

[jontymiller]

I will let you know if it makes a difference, In New Zealand there is no Leisure trail so we have to use bits and pieces off other bikes if we want to keep costs down.