My 1984 Venture was making a rumbling sound at idle, which went away if I pulled lightly on the clutch. I pulled the clutch cover off, and removed the clutch. It was apparent that the bearing behind this clutch was distressed.
Late fall is a relatively nice time in Ottawa, Canada. Temperatures vary widely, from highs around 20 (70f) to highs barely above freezing. I put the bike in the back of the garage, borrowed my brother's 1500-watt heater, and set to replacing this bearing. The garage is now very pleasantly warm (and quiet too - I can hear my watch ticking). This is an excellent time of year to spend a bit of time in the garage with the Venture.
The engine can be removed in an afternoon, if you keep steady at it. Since my brain is not total recall, I place each part removed along the garage wall beside the last part I took off. That way re-assembly is just a matter of picking up a row of parts and bolting them back onto the bike.
Clicking on the thumbnail photos will open a much larger copy of that photo.
The
carbs, exhaust system, rear brake master cylinder, battery, and radiator have
been removed. The bolts for the thermostat housing and the starter motor are a
bit tight, and I have put WD40 on them. These bolts should remove easily
tomorrow. A neighbor's child drops by to see what I am doing.
The
bodywork has been removed, the YICS chamber, and the air deflector dams. Foot pegs
and shift lever have been taken off. All of the engine attachment points (except
three) have been removed. The small hydraulic jack with wheels will be used to
lift and move the engine 2 feet to the waiting "pad".
The
engine has been out for 10 seconds or so. The engine rests on a piece of blue Styrofoam.
It is apparent that the engine is also cosmetically not well - just have a look
at that chrome cover on the clutch housing!! The radiator hoses are still
attached. On re-assembly, I found it easier to put the radiator hoses on after
the engine was in.
I
am working in a fairly small space - the back half of a one car garage. The blue
and black boxes hold my tools. The floor has the parts, in order of removal - drive shaft,
exhaust components, radiator assemblies, starter motor, and engine mounting
hardware.
Several
photos of the failed bearing. You can see that the balls and race are perfectly
fine, but the ball-bearings are all bunched to one side. The bearing cage has
failed.
The
oil sump has been removed. Two views of the oil pump. You can see small bits of
the bearing retainer on the oil pump intake screen. Later, I found other pieces
trapped in the baffles on the sump itself.
The
various items that attach to the side of the motor are removed (stator, coolant
and clutch housings, and the clutch slave cylinder). The oil pump is removed as
a single unit, and is not disassembled. The crankcase bolts are loosened in
order, and then removed. The crankcase easily pops in half.
I
have placed the shaft with the failed bearing in the top half of the crankcase
for this photo. It is only now that I realize that a 2ton press will be needed
to remove this bearing. It is a press fit onto the shaft!! This should be an
amusing problem to solve. Perhaps I will sleep on it...
I
set the shaft with the stubborn/broken/press fitted bearing aside in the kitchen
while I wait for the new bearings to arrive from the dealer. Yamaha Canada is
amazing. EVERY single part that I order is in stock in the central warehouse in
Toronto, and will be here in three days. Nothing is back-ordered or out of
production. It is hard to believe that I am ordering parts for a 16 year old
motorcycle.
This
is our first view of the upper crankcase. The shaft with the failed bearing is
of course in the kitchen, so you cannot see it here. The rear shaft (the
"driven" gear set) has two bearings that I will be replacing also. I
will have to use a press to gain access to one of these bearings also.
I
now can guess why this clutch bearing failed. It is a standard ball bearing.
However, unlike all the other ball bearings in this engine, this one ball
bearing set must resist sideways thrust every time you pull on the clutch. I
show here the clutch pushrod, the seals (I ordered new ones), and the bearing.
The
shift mechanism has long seemed a confusing piece inside the motorcycle. I can
understand its design when I look at it closely in real life, but in the photo
it looks confusing once again. To me, a planetary gear set would seem a better
way to provide gearing on motorcycles.
This
is one of the covers that I cleaned up. The clear-coat applied by Yamaha back in
1984 had weathered a bit over the last 200,000km. This was removed with a paint
remover that "removes epoxy paint". Does the job just fine!! Anything
that I missed the first time comes off with a second application.
In
areas that the cover had corroded, a gentle circular sanding with 400 grit wet
sandpaper brought up a uniform appearance. I use soap with the sandpaper to keep
the sandpaper from loading up.
Polishing
is a peculiar task. Place a small bit of polish on the rag, and then polish
lightly until the polish dries out. At that point of dry friction, more vigorous
polishing yields excellent results. I initially used a white shop cloth, but
later used "White Swan absorbent and strong paper towels" with results
just as good. (and I did not mind throwing these towels out after a single use!)
These
are the three products, and the most excellent result. I purchased a high
temperature clear coat spray can used by the local Harley Canada dealer, and
trust that it will provide an excellent long term protection.
I
went to the lumber yard, and for 5 bucks purchased a length of 2by6. Screwed it
together, and drilled a hole of suitable size for the disassembly of this shaft.
Note that the wheels on the jack are not supporting the force. A section of 2by6
is directly under the jack so that the jack does not try to move while under
load.
I
push the shaft up effortlessly with the car jack, and the spring on this shaft
compresses. The split washers appear, and it is a simple process to pull the
split washers and disassemble the shaft. These two split washers, and the full
washer behind them, were the cause of all that "second gear" grief in
the 1983 and 1984 model years. I had replaced these split washers almost
100,000km ago when my second gear had failed and thought it might be a good idea
to change them again. There was no need. Less that a thou had worn off these
washers in those 100,000km (by comparison, the original split washers had worn
half through in the first
105,000km, causing the second gear failure).
I
have now replaced the bearing on this shaft, re-installed the spring and
gear/bearing (the gear and upper bearing are a single unit and do not need to be
disassembled). Apply a little force with the car jack to compress the spring,
insert the washer and split washers. Release the car jack and the shaft is ready
to go!!
This same press was used to remove the failed bearing behind the clutch, and
re-install the new one. The forces on this operation are significant - I would
guess a thousand pounds force to push the bearing onto the shaft. While I
replaced many items as part of this project, this one bearing was the only item
that absolutely required replacement.
The
cases drop together (with care to ensure that it IS easy, or something is out of
place). Bolts on the lower cases and upper cases hold the two sides together
firmly. I use Three Bond to ensure that the cases do not weep. You can see the 8
main crankcase bolts ready to be tightened.
The
oil gallery has been dropped in place. The oil pump will be added after these
bolts are tightened. Then the sump is put on, and the bottom of the engine is
now completely assembled. I roll the engine up-side-up and torque the upper
crankcase bolts to specification.
The
clutch housing needs to be tightened onto the shaft that it rotates on. We will
need a "special tool" to hold the basket from turning while we provide
the correct tightening torque.
Once
again, wood is my special tool maker. I drill a hole in the lumber so that I can
fit the socket through, and fasten two arms (purchased for 29 cents each) so
that they slide into the slots on the clutch basket. Then torque to 600 inch
pounds, by far the highest torque of any bolt on this engine.
This
is the setup. The torque is 50 foot pounds, so I use the empty frame of the
Venture to hold the piece of lumber from turning. There is a lock tab under the
bolt which must be bent over to ensure this bolt does not move. I bend it over
with a screwdriver. I re-install the clutch plates, and torque down the pressure
plate. The clutch housing can now be installed. The engine is ready to be
re-installed in the bike.
I
am very pleased at the appearance of the cams. They show no chipping, scoring,
or other signs of stress. The exhaust valve clearances should be slightly higher
than the intake valve clearances.
A
detailed examination shows the tolerances to be good. On the chart, some of the
tolerances look "too tight" by half a thousandth of an inch. I am not
going to replace a shim which is only half a thousandth of an inch out of range.
The
valve covers need a little cosmetic refreshing as well. I ran these through the
same process as the other covers, although I added "washing in the
dishwasher" to get the crevices perfectly clean before spraying on the clear coat
paint.
This
multipart piece sits on top of the engine between the cylinders. It too needed
shining up. On assembly, I used Three Bond to ensure that the part would not
weep. (this part is normally sealed by two intricate O-Rings. The O-rings do
their best, but are not quite up to the task on my Venture.)
This
multipart piece seems to do many tasks!! It has passages for coolant, sections
for crankcase ventilation, and piping for high pressure oil to the cylinders. I
will be happy to install this part and forget about it. I really hope it does
not get an oil mist on it like it did over the last 100,000km
This
is the starter motor. If you remove the two long bolts, the motor comes apart
for maintenance. The brushes are in excellent shape. This starter motor needed
just a little cleaning up inside and out, and that's all.
The
multipart piece is installed. The cam covers are being installed. The cam covers
get new gaskets, and new "seals" around each of the bolts. These seals
have never been previously replaced which is perhaps why they misted oil onto
the cam cover. This task could normally be done with the engine "in"
the frame, although it is vastly easier to accomplish with the engine
"out"
The
engine is ready to install!!
This
is a task that I am a little apprehensive about. I am not exactly a strong man,
and I am nearly 50 years old. This engine will have to be balanced on the jack
and then kept balanced while I move the jack under the frame. The back end of
the engine must go in first, since the drive shaft part must fit into the swing arm.
Once that is in place, the engine can be straightened out and bolted in place.
The
drive shaft part is nicely in the swing arm, and the engine can now be
straightened out. I have lifted and lowered this engine a number of times by a
quarter of an inch or so while I maneuver it around the various obstacles. Even
so, I break a small tab on the upper fairing. I will repair this break later
with a thin aluminum sheet.
The
engine is back in!! I have held it with two bolts at the rear of the engine and
an incorrect temporary bolt at the front of the engine. I am so relieved that
this step has been successful that I stop for an early Saturday lunch.
Installation
of the starter motor, and the oil filter (I use an aftermarket spin on filter
for convenience). You can see the "incorrect bolt" just above the
starter motor, which is temporarily holding the motor in place.
The
coolant system gets installed, with new o-rings all around (the coolant system
would occasionally weep a bit when left overnight. I had purchased the seals
about a year ago but had not "got around to" replacing them.) The
radiator sits ready to be installed next.
The
radiator is in and filled with 50% aluminum antifreeze and 50% distilled water.
The right frame tube needs to be installed next. This frame tube is one of the
few parts that requires "Loctite Blue" when assembling.
Here
is a task that I have not ever done!! I have never opened the top of the rear
master cylinder and cleaned it out. Turns out there is a little diaphragm (just
like in the handlebar units) that could use a little cleaning. Bled this rear
brake, the clutch system, and the front brake.
Here
is the jack that Scott used. Also the heater which made this job so relaxing and
comfortable. On the heater sits the air cleaner box which has just been
de-greased. And to the right on the floor, a large socket used to adjust the swing arm
pivot bearings.
Well, this is the end of the photo story. The rest of the bike needs to be put together. And then I expect to drive many, many years. I will let you know at 300,000km....