Axle slop after bearing replacement on 400!

[Warrioreater400ex]

ok guys i just replaced the bearings in my carrier on my 400ex, got one good ride in on them and then my brake caliper broke off due to a bolt breaking.... as i looked closer my axle was sliding side to side a good half of an inch... so i was like :huh so i figured my lock nut musta come loose, well i tighten the lock nut all the way down, and the slop is still there, the lock nut turns allll the way and then you can just feel it clicking at the end of the threads.... im pretty sure the sprocked are as far on as they can go... any suggestions??? help!

[Johnny B]

first, did you tighten down the four bolts in the back of the swing arm? if you did you remember to put the snap ring on the axle that the axle nut rides against? if you did, you may just need a new carrier.

[400exrider707]

Originally posted by Warrioreater400ex
ok guys i just replaced the bearings in my carrier on my 400ex, got one good ride in on them and then my brake caliper broke off due to a bolt breaking.... as i looked closer my axle was sliding side to side a good half of an inch... so i was like :huh so i figured my lock nut musta come loose, well i tighten the lock nut all the way down, and the slop is still there, the lock nut turns allll the way and then you can just feel it clicking at the end of the threads.... im pretty sure the sprocked are as far on as they can go... any suggestions??? help!

Please post a pic of it.

[rooster300ex]

My 300ex did that. I bought a newer lock-nuts,clip ring and it didn't do that anymore. I bet you didn't put something back together right.

[gojk]

My axle nut constantly comes loose every since I took it loose the first time. I have tried everything to get it to stay tight and I have yet to find something that works. I just make sure I tighten it back up before every ride. When the axle nut is loose you will have alot of slop in the axle.

[rooster300ex]

Originally posted by gojk
My axle nut constantly comes loose every since I took it loose the first time. I have tried everything to get it to stay tight and I have yet to find something that works. I just make sure I tighten it back up before every ride. When the axle nut is loose you will have alot of slop in the axle.


Some low or medium strength loc-tite should work. It keeps mine tight.

[Warrioreater400ex]

ok i took it apart and it seems as if like, the bearings are pushed into the carrier to far? or they are too skinny, and it seems mainly on the drive side, in fact the carrier was actually rubbing the sprocket a little... but the rotor rubbed some too on the carrier, when you put bearings in do you push them in only to the edge of the carrier or all the way into it where they are touching the sleeve on the inside? help i really dont feel like buying another carrier since im about to sell it for a 450,

[rooster300ex]

Originally posted by Warrioreater400ex
ok i took it apart and it seems as if like, the bearings are pushed into the carrier to far? or they are too skinny, and it seems mainly on the drive side, in fact the carrier was actually rubbing the sprocket a little... but the rotor rubbed some too on the carrier, when you put bearings in do you push them in only to the edge of the carrier or all the way into it where they are touching the sleeve on the inside? help i really dont feel like buying another carrier since im about to sell it for a 450,


They go all the way in, that spacer sleeve is what keeps them from going in to far.

[Warrioreater400ex]

thats what i thought, but i was just making sure, so i dont understand then, the sprocket is all the way in on the splines, the rotor is all the way in on the splines, theres both bearings and the middle spacer and the seals on each side.... so why is it is slopping back and forth? its like it needs more spacers or something inside?

i took the axle and carrier out, and slid the carrier over the axle and then the rotor all the way on, and i have about, 3/8" play, maybe a little less...

[Aceman]

Did you put single row bearings in a twinrow carrier?

[Warrioreater400ex]

ooh thats a good question, i dont think so.. this is an aftermarket carrier, not LSR or RAD or anything, the bearings that i took out were toast, the whole oven trick didnt work, but anyways i dont remember them being LOTS wider, whats the width difference in a twin row carrier bearing and a single row carrier bearing? isnt it like 1/4 of an inch? hmm that might be the problem...

[Aceman]

I don't know of any aftermarket carriers that use single row bearings, they all use either twinrow or tapered bearings. There is about a 99% chance you put the wrong bearings in. Do you have the old ones you took out so you can look at them? Off the top of my head single row bearings are probably 1/2-5/8" wide roughly and twinrow bearings are probably 3/4-1"

[Warrioreater400ex]

im betting thats what it is, the old bearings were toast, but i wasnt thinking when i bought the new ones because i went to the place and i deal with them all the time so i just said i needed rear bearings for my 400, assuming they would give me the ones for the carrier that they sell (where i bought my carrier), so it looks like i gotta get some twin row bearings....

also, my carrier should still be fine right? the only damage is cosmetic damage where the sprocked and rotor have rubbed some on the outer edges of the carrier, shouldnt affect performance right?

[Aceman]

Your carrier is probably fine. Some helpful information: I used a propane torch on my LSR carrier to get the bearings out. Heated the whole thing up evenly until the grease was bubbling out of the old bearings, then I banged it against a tabletop. You might try sticking something through the carrier(rod, punch, etc) to catch the inside race of the bearing to help force it out. They were still fairly tight even when it was heated with a torch.

[Warrioreater400ex]

ok im no genius, granted im a bout to be a Jr. mechanical engineering student, but its summer so thinking isnt my strong point:blah: but after the oven trick didnt work for me last time, i got to thinking, if the heat is making the aluminum expand, then theoretically it would make the hole smaller and the outside diameter larger ? correct, the aluminum expands in all directions when it is heated? It wouldnt make the aluminum expand only in one direction, away from the center bearings? now when we are working on trucks and trying to get a bolt out, we will heat it up, to make everything expand extremely tight, and then cool it down VERY quickly with water to make it loose and then they just come right out, however if you do that with aluminum it would warp.

so i guess my question is, can anyone explain how exactly this works? now heat makes metal more malleable and probably reduces friction, but i dont know about expanding the hole?



oh and in no way am i trying to be a smart *** and tell yall it doesnt work cuz tons of people seem to say it does, thanks for all of yalls help, it just didnt work for me last time and i got to thinking about it, so i figured id see yalls input :confused: