hoggyf Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 97 JTX 250 Anyone know if its normal to have the main swingarm/engine axle (bolt) to be straight sided througout its length with no taper on it or to have nuts at both ends??? It took a while but I managed to get the axlw to slide through the frame, then swingarm then engine through to the other side but can't get it to line up to then go through the other side of the swingarm/frame, I can't get it to seat at the other side no matter how much I lever the engine or swingarm around, I'm sure all the other bikes I've worked on have a slight taper on the end of the shaft to get it to "centre". If anyones got any advice it'd be greatly received. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the addict Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 Big ratchet straps (lorry type) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thats_a_five Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 I just had mine off and on recently ('94 JT25 - very similar to yours) with no problem. Shaft slid in and out easily once the tension was off things. A couple ideas for you: Remove or at least unbolt the skid pan at the rear. There is a rubber pad under the engine that can prevent the motor from going low enough for the everything to align. Remove or loosen the bolts from the head to frame mounting brackets to allow the engine to move around a bit. The shaft should slide freely in and out. If not, or if you grind a lead in it is highly likely that you will damage the threads when you force it in. Don't abuse it. As I remember the shaft is aluminum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoggyf Posted March 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 The engine is in position, no skid plate, tried with all other bolts in place and out of place but just can't get the axle to line up because, in my view, there should be a taper on the shaft to alow to self-align through. I've pushed, pulled, barred it up down front and back and just cant get it to align. I can get a screwdriver through, not that that helps. Anyone else had this before???? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoggyf Posted March 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 Tried it allways, bolts in, out, podger bar through, lever it forwards backwards etc, just wont alight for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel dabster Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 loosen every engine bolt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timp Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 Sometimes it's best to find a bolt of the right diameter and push it in one side. This must be long enough to reach through into the gearbox casting. Then put your swinging arm bolt in from the other and tap it through knocking the bolt out in the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jse Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 loosen every engine bolt? This is really the only way to do it easily. A 15 year old frame will have some misalignment normally. All bolts, sump guard especially (they elongate with rocks and time), should be just slid in for initial alignment. Sometimes the bike can be supported so no weight is on the back and if the swingarm pivot is hollow a thin tapered drift can be used to help the end slide into the recess. On some bikes, you'll want to only install the swingarm pivot first (all other bolts out), then the front and lower mounts. This allows the engine to tilt upwards a little if the fan needs to be installed later. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoggyf Posted March 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 Thanks for the advice guys but I've tried almost all of the suggestions inc having no bolts in anything other than the swingarm. I'll have to try and get a 14mm bolt as I haven't got anything close enough or a taper drift with a short enough taper on it at 14mm, trip to the fasteners shop in the morning I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel dabster Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 Thanks for the advice guys but I've tried almost all of the suggestions inc having no bolts in anything other than the swingarm. I'll have to try and get a 14mm bolt as I haven't got anything close enough or a taper drift with a short enough taper on it at 14mm, trip to the fasteners shop in the morning I think. If it wont go in with nothing in anything then you have a problem local to the swinging arm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoggyf Posted March 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 Tis now in - yay!!!! Couldn't get a 14mm bolt so decided to start from scratch again, I'd knocked an edge of the thread trying to hammer it through so had to tidy that up and decided to insert the axle from the other side as that was the one giving trouble. Greased it up and aligned it as best then knocked it through, took a bit of jiggery pokery to line it all up bit it went. Then bolted up the front, bottom and cylinder head supprort. Gotta say tis the most awkward engine I've ever fitted, with having 2 supports at the back, 1 at the top and 1 at the front theres a hell of a lot of support, I assime that the old spaniards know more than me but bloody hell does it need that much. Just gotta clean out the middle silencer next then put the rest of it back together. Then its play time.!! Cheers for the advice guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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