problems fixing and adjusting rear axle

peanut

peanut

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I seem to have a problem tightening the castellated nut to the correct tension on the rear axle following replacing rear wheel bearings and seals. 1979 2F0 Special ll US import

When I tighten the nut to even a reasonable hand tightness the rear wheel practically locks up with friction ?

When I loosen the axle nut sufficiently for the wheel to turn freely then the axle is so loose the rear wheel practically swivels in the swing arm drop outs ?

I have taken it apart and reassembled it 5x times now (got it down to less than 5x minutes ), :thumbsup: but still cannot seem to get this right.

What am I doing wrong ? it feels like a axle tube or spacer is missing somewhere and the bearings are getting squeezed but i can't see anything obviously missing . Haynes is bluddy useless as usual . It doesn't seem to mention how to tighten the axle nut.

youtube video
 
download the manual from biker.net and the supplement for your year (by letter) if there is one.

Also go to any dealer's website and look at the blow apart of the rear wheel.

I don't remember any seals in my '81, just bearings. There's a metal cover over the bearings on the left side and a outside spacer on the right (best as I recall).

Tighten to about 100 ft.lbs. The axle itself should get a very light coat of grease.

You don't mention looseness so I doubt this is a case of throwing away the top hat... But if so, run and intercept the trash man.
 
peanut said:
it feels like a axle tube or spacer is missing somewhere and the bearings are getting squeezed but i can't see anything obviously missing
Click to expand...

There are two spacers inside the wheel, a long one and a short one. The short one (top hat) goes on the left side and the long one goes to the right. The long one has a flange on it to keep it from tipping over until the left bearing with the top hat goes in. The flange itself goes to the right side. Using the axle as a tool will help keep it all together till the left bearing is in.
 
Well, something's definitely wrong. You should be able to tighten the axle as much as you like with no binding. There's no "adjusting" it for proper bearing tension. Did you install that tophat spacer (#20 below) in the left bearing with it's lip to the inside? The lip must be on the inner side of the bearing. It combines with the long tube spacer (#7) to give proper spacing between the two bearings.

RearWheelBearings.jpg
 
DogBunny said:
Sounds like you're missing the long internal spacer that goes between the bearings, part #7 (and part #8) in this drawing:
http://www.biker.net/79_6502f_parts/chassis/rear_wheel.PDF
I have a new one available, but I am in the U.S....
Click to expand...

thanks DB thats a great offer. I definitely refitted the tube between the bearings but I'm wondering if there is another smaller spacerI have left out as there was a few weeks gap between dissembly and reassembly today.

I have the exploded view in Haynes but it looks like there are too many parts.

I was hoping someone had the same problem and could say yeah you left that out.:doh:

I'll have to take it all apart again tomorrow and double check groan...
 
xjwmx said:
There are two spacers inside the wheel, a long one and a short one. The short one (top hat) goes on the left side n.
Click to expand...

I don't remember seeing the short spacer now you mention it . I remember it when I took it to pieces though doh!:doh:
 
5twins said:
Well, something's definitely wrong. You should be able to tighten the axle as much as you like with no binding. There's no "adjusting" it for proper bearing tension. Did you install that tophat spacer (#20 below) in the left bearing with it's lip to the inside? The lip must be on the inner side of the bearing. It combines with the long tube spacer (#7) to give proper spacing between the two bearings.

RearWheelBearings.jpg
Click to expand...

I've got a feeling it might be part 24 that is missing. I seem to remember a short tube with a top hat when I took it apart.:shrug:

thanks for the diagram 5twins
 
^The top hat is #20. #24 is pressed onto #23 which acts as yet another spacer. #24 is mainly to give a finished look. Not much of a seal really.

You're missing 20, or 7, or 23, or a spacer on the outside of the drum that isn't in the diagram. Or 20 could be backwards. No other possibility that occurs to me.
 
right I'll strip it out tomorrow and compare it with the exploded view .
Maybe I put something back in the wrong order and now its crushing the bearings instead of the spacing tubes.
thanks for all your help guys.:thumbsup:
 
Couple of points; #20 is pressed in the LH roller bearing, it is often left in and thrown away with the old bearing.
Point #2 and you aren't going to like this. Without #20 in there when you tightened the axle the odds are good you fuckled the bearings, literally trying to force separate the inner races from the outer races, putting very high side loads on the ball bearings (why the wheel wouldn't turn).
The good news is you are not alone, a bunch of guys have done this, not me, because of being on this forum a while, I knew to watch for that spacer.

Please don't shoot the messenger....
 
gggGary said:
Couple of points; #20 is pressed in the LH roller bearing, it is often left in and thrown away with the old bearing.
Point #2 and you aren't going to like this. Without #20 in there when you tightened the axle the odds are good you fuckled the bearings, literally trying to force separate the inner races from the outer races, putting very high side loads on the ball bearings (why the wheel wouldn't turn).
The good news is you are not alone, a bunch of guys have done this, not me, because of being on this forum a while, I knew to watch for that spacer.

Please don't shoot the messenger....
Click to expand...

luckily I only tightened the nut hand tight and noticed how much friction there was before giving it the full beans !, :thumbsup:
 
well i spotted the problem right away when I dismantled the wheel.

One of the dust covers wasn't seating properly and was slightly proud of the hub flange.
rub marks could be seen on the dust cap face and the inside of the brake drum .The dust cover supplied was 7mm thick and presumably meant for Mag wheels

I refitted the original 5mm thick dust cover and reassembled the wheel ...perfect !

Thanks for all your help everyone its another little potential problem to add to the list of my scant knowledge about XS650 :thumbsup:
heres a little vid cut short by battery crapping out but you can see the difference in dust caps clearly
 

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