Crank Main Bearing removal...what am I missing?

That's right. Just something to check. I would expect clearances to open-up a little under load and produce the opposite effect, ie, whirring under no-load, going away under load. But, you're in the "Twilight zone", been chasing this thing for how long? 8-10 months?

We're all curious as you are if this fixes it. Don't get many of these...
 
Dave, this is a pic from an older post, of a bad right side crank bearing. Look closely at the pit on the inner race. Does your old bearing have any visible pitting like this?
 

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All,
I, like eveyone else, appreciate all the knowledge and helpful tips on the forum. However, I believe that the bearing removal/installation tips in this thread may have some pitfalls.
Since the main bearings have an interference/press fit, every bearing removal/installation has the potential of slight wear to the shaft, and may eventually cause a loose fit. When removing a bearing, you normally do not have much choice, and using a bearing puller is the best method. When installing any non-sealed bearing on a shaft, I always use heat. The professional method would be to use an inductive bearing heater, like those sold by SKF. I have just used a domestic electrical hot plate on a low setting, heating the bearing to 80-100 C, and using a clean leather glove to handle it. This way the bearing will drop on to the shaft with very little force, and no wear.
 
Hmmm, what if I sneakily get my wife out of the house for an hour and pop it in the toaster oven at 80 degrees or so? I think our toaster oven goes that low :)
 
arcticXS's method is the professional/preferred way, if you have the equipment. Many folks and shops have successfully performed bearing services at ambient temperatures, but there's always the risk of working at the opposite ends of manufacturing tolerances, i.e., largest allowable shaft OD combined with smallest allowable bearing ID. Then you could be in trouble.

Sure, chill the crank, make sure it's oiled to keep the condensation from rusting any surfaces. Heat the bearing. Assemble quickly. Have the necessary press-on gadgets ready. Forum search 'crank bearings', there was a thread that showed how to use the primary gear nut and spacers/washers to pull the bearing on.

Any discussions involving household/kitchen appliances and wives are off the table for me. Too much combat experience...
 
Froze the crankshaft, gently heated the bearing w/ a heat gun, put it on top of the shaft using a clean sock over my hand, tapped it ever so lightly (on the inner bearing) and BOOM it slid right into place. Yay! Thanks guys!

Dave
 
While chasing crank rounout threads I ended up here. Dave did you get that engine running yet? ;)
This thread is like getting to the end of mystery novel late at night and finding the last 5 pages razored out!
 
LOL WOW.... I considered myself a good mechanic before I came here ! I have been forever downgraded now ! YOU GUYS ARE GOOD !!!
Yes the cold crank and heat on the bearing does work good , done that one before but not on a XS.....
I could not read the back lash info as it were way to small for my old eyes .... sense Davem222 swapped out the clutch basket from the original one
the backlash noise is more than likely what he is hearing
what I am wondering is 2 or 3 guys have mentioned ( or 1 guy 3 times LOL) thatthe thrust washer ( or washer in the chutch assembly) was missing.
I am thinking that they may well have been left out by mechanics sense they were not in the exploded view in the manuals... leading to the cut of the clutch housing on the case....
However , I doubt that is the case with my bike becasuse I am the only one that has been inside the engine and I didn't take the clutch appart
but it makes more noise than a F-100 4 speed transmition that ya forgot to put oil in !
Davem222: just so you know back lash or as I put it "Square geer" noise is ever present it just has a lighter sound at lower RPMS you should have been able to hear it still with the strphiscope.... or broom stick handle....under load or up on the stand its a Wrrrrr sound not a high pitched squeel.
the noise in my bike is there all the time when I start it its the sound of the engine turning and I'm fairly certain I'll just have to live with it....
I am sort'a relieved a bit that someone else thought the sound was so bad that they tore into the engine like I did.... only I found nothing wrong
.....BUT now I am wondering IF the clutch is chewing on the inner case like Dave's was maybe My brother-in-law took it to the shop and the machanic put it back together without the 2 washers under the clutch basket ?.... that'ed do it !
if so time will tell as it will only get worse and metal will show up in the oil..... I will keep a close eye on it ...but right now I wann'a RIDE !!!!
Bob..........
 
Chong: Who is it?
Cheech: It's me, Dave. Open up, man, I got the stuff.
(More knocks)
Chong: Who is it?
Cheech: It's me, Dave, man. Open up, I got the stuff.
Chong: Who?
Cheech: It's, Dave, man. Open up, I think the cops saw me come in here.
(More knocks)
Chong: Who is it?
Cheech: It's, Dave, man. Will you open up, I got the stuff with me.
Chong: Who?
Cheech: Dave, man. Open up.
Chong: Dave?
Cheech: Yeah, Dave. c'mon, man, open up, I think the cops saw me.
Chong: Dave's not here.
Cheech: No, man, I'm Dave, man.
(Sharp knocks at the door)
Cheech: Hey, c'mon, man.
Chong: Who is it?
Cheech: It's Dave, man. Will you open up? I got the stuff with me.
Chong: Who?
Cheech: Dave, man. Open up.
Chong: Dave?
Cheech: Yeah, Dave.
Chong: Dave's not here.
Cheech: What the hell? No, man, I am Dave, man. Will you...
(More knocks)
Cheech: c'mon! Open up the door, will you? I got the stuff with me, I think the cops saw me.
Chong: Who is it?
Cheech: Oh, what the hell is it...c'mon. Open up the door! It's Dave!
Chong: Who?
Cheech: Dave! D-A-V-E! Will you open up the goddam door!
Chong: Dave?
Cheech: Yeah, Dave!
Chong: Dave?
Cheech: Right, man. Dave. Now will you open up the door?
Chong: Dave's not here.
 
LOL ooooh boy the dangers of too much partying and not enough sleep ! LOL
....
Bob.......
 
OH good greef ! I never remember to look at the dern dates ! LOL must be gettin old or sumthin !
oh well... minor details
thanks 2M
look at it this way your posts will live on in infimy they look the same now as the day ya posted them !
maybe we could change the page color to an old faded yellow to indicate the date was a LONG time ago ?
hehehehe
....<Blush>
Bob.........
 
Chong: Who is it?
Cheech: It's me, Dave. Open up, man, I got the stuff.

O my God! You're killing me! I had that album back when I was a young delinquent! Hahaha!

Tell me you copy/ pasted that whole routine and didn't recite that from memory at 5:00 in the morning! Haha
I have this image of you in a house robe with a cup of coffee, pounding away in your keyboard
and cackling to yourself!
IMG_4473.JPG
 
I know this is a very old thread but figured I would still chime in with a method of heating a bearing to let it slid on a shaft very easy.

Just take the lamp shade off any old lamp with a conventional incandescent 100 watt bulb. Carefully set the bearing inner race on top of the bulb and turn lamp on let it set there for maybe 1/2 hour then with a clean glove on your hand pick it up and slip it into position on the shaft. Nice gentle even heat that is concentrated on the inner ring where it is needed the most.

Another good idea is to stop by the local goodwill store and buy a used toaster oven, just make sure to clean it good so you don't get Poptart crumbs in your bearings. As for temperature to set to, some one mentioned 80º not sure if that was referring to C or F degrees. Well as the operating temperature of the engine on a hot day will probably be around 250ºF you are not going to hurt even a sealed bearing if you heat it in the oven to that temperature! Just don't go much past as conventional oil will start to smoke at 350º and smell real bad.
 
Older thread and all, but when I was a lad and learning a bit about mechanical things, ring gears on flywheels would get worn from starter engagement. A good sharp drill bit to drill a hole through the ring gear and a chisel to cut the gear at the hole got the worn one off, To install the new one, you lay it on the flywheel and heated it with a torch, moving the torch around the gear to heat evenly.
When it expanded enough it would drop right on, when it cooled off it gripped the flywheel tightly.
Any other older gents on here remember those times.
Leo
 
Older thread and all, but when I was a lad and learning a bit about mechanical things, ring gears on flywheels would get worn from starter engagement. A good sharp drill bit to drill a hole through the ring gear and a chisel to cut the gear at the hole got the worn one off, To install the new one, you lay it on the flywheel and heated it with a torch, moving the torch around the gear to heat evenly.
When it expanded enough it would drop right on, when it cooled off it gripped the flywheel tightly.
Any other older gents on here remember those times.
Leo
Replaced a few ring gears on Mack truck engines over the years. First one I heated up and dropped on had me a bit worried/ You could easily spin it around for several seconds after it was in place. I had used one of those temperature crayons to make sure I did not over heat it but seemed like it was never going to shrink back down!

Just in case no one knows what I'm talking about when I said temperature crayons:
http://www.markal.com/temperature-indicators/thermomelt-/
 
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