learned a valuable lesson about swingarm

[Razorback]

well, i've had my 400 for a little more than a year now and finally got the guts to take the rear end apart to lube everything. all the shock sub-assembly went fine, no problems. not doing the bearings because i'm getting a RAD carrier any day now.

the problem came with the swingarm pivot bolt. this dang thing is frozen completely. i got the nut off no problem, but tried to turn the bolt using the bolt head on the right side and it wouldn't freakin' budge. i tried spraying everything real good with wd-40 and let is set for a while, then tapping the bolt with a sledge hammer. still no luck. so, started hitting it a little harder and the end of the bolt started to bend. i quit pounding it at this point so i could still get the nut back on it. of course i don't know what i'm worried about because i don't think that thing is ever coming out. i'm ordering a new bolt and bearings, seals, etc., then i'll go back at trying to get this one out.

i read through an old post about a few tricks to get it out, like using PD spray (not sure what this is, if someone can please let me know, i would appreciate it.). also, using an air hammer was another trick - don't have one, but i do have a compressor, so i'll check out the cost on these. the other main solution was to just beat it until it comes out and replace the bolt.

i don't really know what i'm going to do, because i'm afraid by beating the bolt with a hammer will just bend it to the point where it won't slide out through the swingarm. i guess i'll end up cutting it out somehow, but i don't know how i'm going to do that either. <sigh>

if anyone has any further assistance or tips, i would greatly appreciate any feedback. also, since i'm mx racing now, i know i will have to get a new swingarm at some point. does the bolt and bearings come with a new swingarm or do you use the stock parts?

so...the lesson is, don't wait to lube the swingarm pivot. i'll be lubing mine once a month from now on.

Most swingarms come with everything except the bolt..

This is the start of a good thread if answered by all the right people,,I too have tryed removing my pivot bolt and she didn't budge so I left it alone,,I was just tryin to see how hard it was. So hopefully we'll get some good replies and I'll throw the sucka in the FAQ forum.

[Evan]

Well I had the same problem on my R. I finally went ahead and said to heck with it and hit it pretty hard with a solid hammer. It finally came out after I had tried everything from sticking a punch in it(work ok but cant get the punch out) to try to pry it out. When I got it out I took a grinder and smoothed the threads and got the nut to go on but I went ahead and bought a new one anyway, I think it was 20-30 dollars from service honda, alot better than what most people were asking about 50 something. So right now I have a spare but dread the day I have to take the 400s out. Let us know how you get it out.

[Razorback]

so the end of your bolt didn't bend at all? mine bent pretty quick. maybe i should have tried a regular hammer instead of the sledge.

i ordered the bolt this morning, $19.15 from service honda (www.servicehonda.com). as soon as i get that one in, i'm going to go at the old one. like rico said, if we can get some good posts from those who have been through this process, this thread would be great for the FAQ.

[whiteknuckle]

just curious but how would you lube the swingarm bolt? i know other quads like the banshee have umpteen greese nipples on the but our 400's dont! so where would ya put the lube! and also what kind of a lube do you guys use for this kind of application???

[Evan]

I am gonna use anti seize compound on mine when it goes back together.

Originally posted by whiteknuckle
so where would ya put the lube! and also what kind of a lube do you guys use for this kind of application???

First off you have to pull the bolt out to lube it up,,which isn't an easy task and only needs to be done I'd say 1 time a year if your a hard rider.

And the lube I use is mobil 1 synthetic lube,,,not cheap but good stuff..

[Razorback]

correction on the spray i mentioned earlier. it is PB spray for breaking loose rusted nuts/bolts/etc. i just bought some at o'reilly's and the guy at the counter said it works great, so we'll see how that works.

[knighttime]

can someone post a pic of what we are talkin' about. I'm lost

[Razorback]

here is a picture. the bolt #23 is what we're talking about.