Frozen pivot bolt

[pnut420]

I have a 2000 400 ex, and I never have taken the pivot bolt out. Ive heard that most likely I wont be able to get tht pivot bolt off, most likely it is pretty much welded in there. Well, everyone was right, I can get the motor loose up and down, it pivots freely, I used WD-40, lithium grease and everything else I could find. It helped free it up more and got all kinds of rust and stuff out, but I think I need something that will get the rust thats deeper down inside.

Any pointers or sugestions of what you guys have done in the past would be great.

thanks,
Kevin

I soaked mine down with PB blaster for a week which is supposed to be the best there is..:ermm: Well it didn't do squat..:grr:


A grinder and plasma cutter took care of the problem though....:eek:

[Pappy]

:ermm:

[pnut420]

So pretty much Im scewed. In that pic, where exactly were you cutting right then? Looks like you are just cutting off the end of the bolt:confused:

Originally posted by pnut420
So pretty much Im scewed. In that pic, where exactly were you cutting right then? Looks like you are just cutting off the end of the bolt:confused:

We were...that way we could put a punch on it from either end and hammer away. :cool:

You can beat away and you'll notice that the bolt looks like it will be moving.. That's probably your frame spreading...:eek: I hit mine with a 16 lb sledge about 30 times and all I did was beat up my frame.. I was also doing it by myself so it was hard to swing the sledge, hold a brass punch, and not mash ma got damn finger off....:grr: Also remove the rear spring and get the rear end elevated so the bolt is not in a bind..

Go ahead and order a new bushing kit from pivot works and a new pivot bolt because you WILL need them when you get finished with this project.:(


Also if your old enough,,stop and get a case of beer, warn all neighbors you'll be doing this too so they can lock up children and old people,,, cus your gonna be doin alot of cussing...:cuss:

[JD400exrider]

I heard you can sazall off the bolt also. I will be doing mine soon. I think i will order the bolt and bearings before i even start.

[airheadedduner]

When you get a new swingarm bolt.

Weld the threaded end shut.
Tap and thread in a grease zerk on the bolt head end.
Drill holes where the bearings will ride.

Your bolt is now serviceable. I did this to my R a long time ago and have had no problems since.

[pnut420]

That sounds like a good idea, do you have any pics of the zerk fitting installed, or could you take some.

Also I have a sawzall so Ill try that, and I already unbolted the shock to free the tension, the damn thing pivots up and down easy but the damn bearings are frozen. rrrrr. Time to start hacking!

Thanks for the help,
Kevin

[400ex45]

i took my bolt out not to long ago and it came out pretty easy. i guess i am lucky:)

[pnut420]

The sawzall is cutting these bolts like they are butter. I saw about 3 more blades and 1 hour and I should have this out no problem, thanks a ton Rico, I think you may have saved my frame, I was getting pissed.:grr:

Originally posted by pnut420
The sawzall is cutting these bolts like they are butter. I saw about 3 more blades and 1 hour and I should have this out no problem, thanks a ton Rico, I think you may have saved my frame, I was getting pissed.:grr:


No problem man ;)

[suck my pipe]

:eek2: that's odd, I sprayed some kind of stuff like WD40 on it " I forget what it's called" but any way it came right off with minimal force.

Ps. You could try taping the top of the wrench with a hammer as you apply preshure to it. This tip works with just about any thing that you can't get out, I guess the vibration will brake it loose :eek2: however it work's, it works 99.9% of the time. It also works with screws and stuff just tap the top of the screw driver as you turn it . Hope that helps you out some.:devil:

[quader400]

when mine was stuck i used my air gun to turn the bolt(the air gun was having trouble turning it and it has alot of force) as i hit it. that did nothing. it took me 4 days to get it out of no stop heating, spraying it with wd-40 and hitting. finally it just came out. but then i got to the bearings. another bit@#. but when i was finished it all worked out you just gotta have patience.

[EX_RIDER]

i had to take mine of when i broke my swing arm is three places.I tried all form heating to PB blaster, to the biggest sledge i could get ahold off.

I finally cut the swing arm off with a cut off wheel and then cut the bolt on each side of the motor, and then used a punch to get it out of the center part of the motor.
Then buy all new bolts and nuts for everything and new P/W's kit for the new burgard swing arm i had to buy for it. Chrome +1.5:)

[pnut420]

I cut throught the bolt completely on the side that is threaded, but on the other side their is some type of rubber bushing, I thought I wasnt suposed to mees with that, but here goes. Im going to cut it right now.:o

man im lucky. I'll tell u i was scared though. Me and my dad got it out with some elbow grease and a punch. I put some nice lube on it before i put it back in. Wow im glad i didn't have to do that!

[pnut420]

Alright now Im getting pissed! The ******* other side where the rubber bushing is, has no access to cut it, if I do I will have to replace my swingarm and Im not doing that. Tomorrow Im going to hook up a bigger drill and use a big easy out to spin it free. The best lub I could find so far was Gunk, says frees rusted bolts, it worked way better than WD-40 and a couple others.

[RIDER11X]

I spin mine once a month with an impact gun. My old 250 x was not a problem.
Also w/ the needle bearings - if they get stubborn, remove the cage and all of the bearings and carefully grind the outer case all the way through on one side without grinding into the swingarm and then collapse the case inward to remove it. Time consuming but effective.:cool:

[JD400exrider]

Get a buddy and try turning the bolt while one person is hitting on the end of the bolt with a BIG hammer and punch. I have heard that this process has worked for some of the guys on here.

[pnut420]

Ive had the drill turning fast,(which worked on the other side) and I was spraying WD-4- into it while it was spinning, then I would hit it with a 3lb sledge, wont even attempt to budge. The mud in the winter here is like clay and it srews everything up. I have the bolt ground almost all the way of on the right side of the frame, I just need to grind it a little more, and then I will be able to hit it from the other side. Ill take some pics to show some people what it looks like and how to do this.....

[pnut420]

This is starting to piss me off so bad, I dont want to have to go out and rent a damn plasma cutter just to get the rest of this done, Ill try using a metal grinder, but not sure if that will help.

Also, do you guys think if a torch it or apply some kind of heat that it will want to come out better?

[RIDER11X]

Try getting another person to gently move the swingarm from side to side to prevent any binding as every bit helps. Your shock and chain are off, right?

[pnut420]

Originally posted by RIDER11X
Try getting another person to gently move the swingarm from side to side to prevent any binding as every bit helps. Your shock and chain are off, right?

Ive had another person help me the whole, while I move the bearings with the drill, he hits it with the sledge, doesnt budge, if I have the other side of the swingarm bolt out it sorta binds, so I slipped it back in there, Ive also taken the swingarm and tried to rock it back and forth trying to free the bearing. I have the shock and the chain off, I have complete access to it and Ive tried everything in the book, well besides heat. There is no bind on the bearing, its just so dry it wont slip out. I think once I get the bigger drill and pretty much smoke it out of there.

A torch can help things too but be careful since the bolt runs thru the back of the motor. I tried a torch too which didn't do much..:ermm:

[wilkin250r]

Have you tried Hare Krishna?

[UglyMotha™]

Originally posted by wilkin250r
Have you tried Hare Krishna?



who is she :huh


was she good :confused2

[thejeepdude]

Originally posted by wilkin250r
Have you tried Hare Krishna?

OK, I dunno about that, but I just danced around the room chanting "freedom to all swingarm bolts" when all of a sudden there was a knock at the door. My swingarm bolt was sitting on the front doorstep. It said something about only those with pure motives being able to remove the bolt from its permanent rusty home and that I should tell others to spread the truth... Maybe you should clean your inner self, do not strike the bolt, and just ask it in a calm tone to remove itself please. Just passing along the info.

BTW, when I woke up this morning there were empty liquor bottles everywhere, so not sure if that had anything to do with it. :p

[pnut420]

Originally posted by thejeepdude
OK, I dunno about that, but I just danced around the room chanting "freedom to all swingarm bolts" when all of a sudden there was a knock at the door. My swingarm bolt was sitting on the front doorstep. It said something about only those with pure motives being able to remove the bolt from its permanent rusty home and that I should tell others to spread the truth... Maybe you should clean your inner self, do not strike the bolt, and just ask it in a calm tone to remove itself please. Just passing along the info.

BTW, when I woke up this morning there were empty liquor bottles everywhere, so not sure if that had anything to do with it. :p

Wow, thats some imagination you got there. But I think striking the bolt helps me relieve some of my frustrations, but likt Rico said I dont think my frame appreciates it.

I take a pic of where it is at right now.

[UglyMotha™]

were ya naked while chanting cause i hear that will scare the bolt chitless :confused2

[pnut420]

Heres pics of it. This is one beat 400ex. lol
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid65/p88773d08e2497ae69e1ba5ce272823e5/fbe4f07f.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid65/p38a7520ef61a620916e6b00c5943df79/fbe4f2b7.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid65/p501c345fed52ff455d6f326d04b4fc31/fbe4f454.jpg
My truck loaded down for Pismo. I like its time to get some airbags :eek2:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid64/p37a8058f8f0ebbb4e0511407ffa236c7/fbfe63f1.jpg
My engine- Just thought some people might want to see what it like inside their.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid65/p3ee2945849e23128aa2d1e413bb94fd0/fbe4ee56.jpg

[thejeepdude]

Originally posted by UglyMotha™
were ya naked while chanting cause i hear that will scare the bolt chitless :confused2

LOL no, that woulda scared ME chitless ;)