Driveshaft Boot Replacement

I tried to post this earlier, but it vanished, so I apologize in advance if it turns up as a double post.

The brake hone allowed me to clean up the bore in the cast-iron pivot very quickly. There was indeed a ridge in the bore that was preventing the pivot pin from slipping in smoothly. I honestly don't know if I created the ridge, but given the low mileage, it must have been me. The brake hone allowed me to clean up the bore, while allowing me to retain a tight slip-fit, instead of the previous interference fit. Since I wasn't (ahem) benefiting from a nickel-plated (ahem) bore, I was able to clean up the bore in less than 30 seconds, I would estimate. When I pushed the pin back into the bore, lavishly lubricated with Moly EP grease, it required the gentlest of taps to fully engage, so i think there is little chance of excess slop in the joint. As far as the left hand pin/bore fit, I don't think I really care. The amount and speed of movement at a swing-arm bearing is so tiny that I think it'll out-live me anyway. The only alternative would be to heat up the joint with something more than a propane torch, or to drill out and retap the center hole to a larger size, which would be no picnic.

It still seems to me to be a case of poor engineering, if you define good engineering as that which anticipates future operating conditions and makes provisions to avoid problems. If the problem is the lack of water-tightness, a simple thick paper gasket would do the job, or even a thick coating of RTV silicone or grease. All the parts I took out seemed devoid of any of these.

If the inside end of these various holes are open to the atmosphere, this of course nullifies my hypothesis. Since the inner 1/4" or so of the mounting bolts were rusted, it seems that there is a whole other set of problems to be resolved.

Looking at the diagram, water ingress is possible between the swingarm and frame (at the red arrow) so the only thing keeping the water out would be the grease or anti-seize. Hard to believe that Kawasaki didn't protect the tapered roller with a lip seal. Shame.

rdurost wrote: I tried to post this earlier, but it vanished, so I apologize in advance if it turns up as a double post..

Happens to me all the time and I figured out a workaround. I've tried several different ways to login and not lose what I had written and this is the only way I've figured it out to work.

Right after you try to submit, the page comes up saying you're not logged in.
1) Go up to the login tab and open the Login page.
2) Login.
3) Immediately following the login, go up to your task bar and arrow back 3 times which takes you back to where you had written your post prior to trying to submit. You can now resubmit since you are now logged in.
4)Hit the submit button again and it will post.

I have a Mac and Safari just doesn't like the site. I use Google Chrome to access it and have no issues anymore.

Paul

Well, sheer cussedness got me through the process, although it would have taken me less time if I had just torn everything apart in the beginning. No I-told-you-so's required.

I did run into one odd thing right at the end. I got Lauri's awesome boot in place, only to discover that the factory clamps seemed to be too large. That I did not expect. If anything I would have expected that the clamps would be too short. The replacement boot seemed at least as thick as the original. I know I can use spacers to cinch up the clamps, but even then the ends of the clamps would butt against each other before the clamps were tight.

I ended up using a zip tie on the swing arm end, and a stock clamp on the engine end. But I'm not satisfied with the results.

What am I missing?

TIA

Richard

This came up once before and these were the resolve. These are adjustable from 50 mm- 110 mm in diameter. Not saying EBay is the only place to get them. Maybe your local auto supplier has them?
EBay CV Boot Clamps