Upgrading throwout bearing . . .

Got a V-Twin throwout bearing kit (large ball bearing old style, rod and gear) for my 4-speed. Well, I take the right side tranny cover off and remove the 1" nut off the mainshaft and find it is stripped. The nut came off with a couple of pieces of thread dangling off it. I think the shaft is okay, but the nut is toast. Will see Tattoo today to see if he has one.

The nut came off pretty easy, and since I've been having trouble kicking it over lately, this may have been the problem.

Wondering what the torque on the nut is when reassembling? It also had a thin flat washer - pretty worthless if you ask me.

50#`s

with the lock washer,you shouldnt need any,the flat washer gets one side bent up across one of the flats of the nut.

The washer was round with no tabs to bend. Both surfaces the washer goes between are perfectly flat - I don't see how a flat washer even with tabs to bend up would do anything. No slot for the backside of the washer to grab.

I'm thinking I'm going to have to replace all the gears, spring, nuts, etc. anyway. If I buy the kit, which is about $100, it would include all the parts I should need.

Went running all over the place this afternoon trying to locate the mainshaft nut I need - no one had one. And the only way to get one was to order the whole kit.

Just pulled all three gears out of the side of the tranny and discovered a sheared key. I hope I retrieved all the pieces! Must have been why the kicker was slipping - duh! I have a new key and kicker gear that came with the throwout bearing kit, however, the other two gears don't look too good. Looks like I'll have to spring for a new kicker gear kit, which means a lot of riding time lost waiting for parts. I have to wait 2 weeks even before ordering because I'm . . . well . . . broke from buying other motorcycle parts. Sound familiar? Well, at least it should be an easy fix, right? And when it's all put back together, I'll have a new throwout bearing and all new gears and kicker shaft. Should start right up.

Gonna be 75 tomorrow, the warmest day so far this month . . .

Those little wedges of metal are so very important. Sometimes the one in the oil pump shaft goes ka-plooey. That can ruin an engine.

the lockwasher has no ears,you just bend up one side of it

Okay, thanks, Prodrag. Was just curious though, why it works that way. Usually a flat washer goes on, well, flat. Does bending up one side really help to keep the nut from coming loose? I don't understand how since the back side of the washer only has friction to keep it from spinning. I would think the washer and the nut would spin together if the nut came loose. 'Course, I'm going to use red loctite also.

I managed to borrow my mother-in law's credit card yesterday and ordered the gear kit and a new set of James crushed wire exhaust gaskets. Now I won't have to wait so long. Parts should arrive next Thursday. Boys, I got a mother-in-law with a heart of gold!

the flat washer was i inner tab that goes in the key slot,then the side just gets bent up,use a sharp screw driver to get under the washer and then use pliers to flatten it against the flat of the nut.it is a goofy way of doing it

My washer was completely flat - thought they all came that way. BTW, I paid $1500 for a completely rebuilt vintage HD tranny and got a Motor Factory POS. When it arrived, it wouldn't even shift. I sent it back for a HD tranny and the guy said he didn't have any. So they did a "real" rebuild and it appears the only thing they did was replace the kicker shaft and bushings, it was so wobbly. Oh, and they timed the lid. Woo-hoo. That was 2 years ago.

So I'm hoping that all these parts I'm putting in will fix the kick starting problem.

Geeze josh and they never even kissed ya:gah:You sure you don't want that bag of doorknobs HRK was going to send you...

I woulda been happy if they'd of kissed my ass LOL. Intersting thing, though - I would have never found out all the things I know about shovelheads and 4 speed trannies. I don't think there's much left to fix now:roflmao:.

:roflmao:Good answer:roflmao:...You did a lot more than build a chassis and install the drive train...you've done that bike completely from the ground up...:cheers:

Thank God it's nearly over and I can ride again soon LOL. Yesterday I put on a shiny new set of chrome rocker box nuts & washers and changed the engine oil. Tattoo sold me a quart of Klotz 50 weight to mix in with the SAE 50 racing oil I use. He says my engine will love me for it. We'll see . . .

Still waiting for parts to arrive . . .

Mac the Wife will be back from visiting a friend over the weekend. Her friend is a woman who graduated high school with her up in Ohio (class of '77). Good to have old friends like that. All of my old friends live someplace else. Anyway, I'll be spending time in my shop today puttering around, maybe shine the ol' thang up with a little Blue Magic.

I graduated in '77.....not old though

That would make you in your mid 50s, I guess. Not old by a long shot, Sir Rat! I'll be 70 in October, God willing. That's not old, either - just older .

Get 'em young,teach 'em proper