Tach Drive - Internal Washer still in Place?

[wherearewe]

Hi All

Needed to replace my tach cable so I figured i would replace the O ring and seals while i was in there. Normally i always do a little light research before i dive in but not this time. Anyway i pulled out the tach cable, removed the bolt that holds the mechanism in place, and lifted out the unit (parts 1-4 - thanks 5 Twins I borrowed your image).
No worries there. But for some reason I decided to begin lifting the drive shaft (part 7 - not sure what its called). Stopped after moving it about an half an inch, figured I should take a moment to see if that was really necessary.
So my question is, is there anyway i can tell if the lower washer remained in place or do i need to open her up. It all seems ok but what should I look for? Will it travel further down and not mesh with the cable inner?

Churs

 

[tonytorque]

I have ride from holland to south-france (and back) 2500km with the washer in the engine, when I opened here at home found it (sticked) on the bottom, washer still good shape!!
I guess I was lucky.

better open the clutchside and get it out!!

 

[rebel542]

Not sure what to tell you but if you're gonna pull the sidecover try this first. 1. Pull the shaft out first and see if it is stuck to the bottom of the shaft. 2. If not get a small telescoping pocket magnet and fish it out then use a dab of wheel bearing grease to stick it on and put it back in. Hope this helps.

 

[wherearewe]

Ah thanks for the advice. In the end i bit the bullet, opened her up. Bit of a pain. In the end the washer was right there, in place and it hadnt moved so yeh i wish i had a telescopic camera or something so i could have seen that for sure. Ill use this opportunity to replace the kick-start seal and polish the cover up. Its not all bad!

 

[garyr]

Ah thanks for the advice. In the end i bit the bullet, opened her up. Bit of a pain. In the end the washer was right there, in place and it hadnt moved so yeh i wish i had a telescopic camera or something so i could have seen that for sure. Ill use this opportunity to replace the kick-start seal and polish the cover up. Its not all bad!

What leaks usually is #3 seal. You get to it by unscrewing the slotted thread with a large flat blade screw diver. Every XS I've bought that seal has always leaked like the clutch push rod seal.