Drive Shaft Stuck!!

[ascaife01]

After removing my drive shaft so that I could place lubricant on both ends, I reinserted the shaft and mounted the rear wheel.  I felt the clunkiness in the movement of the wheel.  I am now attempting to remove the shaft again and it will not dislodge from the rear of the motor.  It has been suggested to use a slide hammer, but I fear that this may cause other damage.  The shaft will rotate, although it is difficult, but it will not move in or out.  I am looking for suggestions.

[skydoc_17]

Hey Al,

Sorry to hear about your trouble! I have attached an exploded view of your driveshaft. Item #36, the "Circlip"  expands inside the yoke to KEEP the driveshaft from coming out. You really need to put some FORCE on the driveshaft to get it to come loose. I have seen where the circlip will "Roll Out" of the groove, and get smeared over the shaft splines. Either way, you will need to excerpt enough force on the driveshaft to get it to "Pop Out". Force on the driveshaft straight back towards the rear wheel, no matter excessive, (short of a blow torch!) will NOT damage the shaft or the yoke. I've seen these shafts beaten out of their location, with NO damage. The slide hammer trick is a much more civilized way to put a LOT of force directed towards the rear of the bike. I have used a LARGE plastic dead blow hammer many times. (I have also used a metal hammer with no damage, but it looks and sounds awful!) 

Compose yourself, start out gingerly smacking it with a plastic hammer, BUT be prepared to increase the carnage until the shaft pops out. Another trick I have used is to connect some cord, (Rope) to the rear frame and then to the other end of the driveshaft. Insert a screwdriver in the cord and wind the cord to put pressure on the driveshaft. (Winding the cord shortens the length of the cord) When the cord is really tight, start smacking the driveshaft to remove it.

I hope this helps Al,

Earl.

[ascaife01]

Thanks Earl....I will give that a try.  Tried to be gingerly to not cause any other "Force" related issues.  This all started innocently when I wanted to place additional lubrication on the shaft.  I was assuming that after 64k miles, it probably needed it and most likely had never had it done.