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Buell Forum » Big, Bad & Dirty (Buell XB12X Ulysses Adventure Board) » Archive through May 15, 2015 » Swingarm axle case punch through « Previous Next »

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Al_lighton
Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 04:12 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

A customer of ours recently told me that the threaded hole in the swingarm axle that holds the rear of his pulley cover was weeping oil. That made NO sense to me at all, because the other end of that hollow axle doesn't thread into an oil cavity (i.e., the primary cavity). It sure sounded like he must have a hole into his primary cavity there, so I told him to open up the primary and look there.

Sure enough, this is what he found:

hole


plug


This is on a 2006 Uly with over 50K on it that has never had the swingarm axle out of the bike. It's pretty clear that either the axle itself has too long of an end feature on it, or the hole wasn't machined deep enough. Here's what the axle (generic, not the one from his bike) looks like

axle


I have never heard of this failure before. Perhaps others have. Regardless, if I was servicing my swingarm bearings or axle or whatever, I would certainly spend a few minutes ensuring that the end of my swingarm axle wasn't touching down in the bottom of that hole.
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Al_lighton
Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 04:21 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

The plug of metal that came out failed with a conical breakout, so clearly it was pushed out under some stress from the swingarm axle. This also means that on this particular bike, when the axle came up to torque, it wasn't properly preloading the inner races of the swingarm bearings.

The customer is going to have the hole weld plugged, and replace the bearings, and clearance the end of his axle.
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Hughlysses
Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 - 05:31 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Wow- what a freak failure. I'd be very tempted to JB Weld that hole.
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Teeps
Posted on Wednesday, March 25, 2015 - 12:14 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Hughlysses Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 -
Wow- what a freak failure. I'd be very tempted to JB Weld that hole.


What Al indicates above is probably best case short of replacing the case.

I think sealing the threaded end of the axle with J/B Weld and, the threads with thread sealant, as is specified for the drain bolts.
Would work, and could be done at home.
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Uly_man
Posted on Wednesday, March 25, 2015 - 01:37 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

I would NOT use JB Weld either but that would be the choice of the bike owner. I would, if there is enough space, weld a round plate over the hole which would seal it 100% and allow for any hole depth and/ or axle length issues.

If the bearings are still good, after 50k miles, then I would have thought that there loading would have been ok. You can, of course, never be sure until you check these things on the specific bike.

Thanks for the info Al.
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Al_lighton
Posted on Wednesday, March 25, 2015 - 03:01 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

I'd be hesitant to fix it with anything except a welded plug. That section of the primary case is carrying half the swingarm load. The missing material there can't help with that structural loading. A small machined plug, welded in there by someone that knows what they're doing, should be strong enough. I wouldn't trust JBweld for that.
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Hughlysses
Posted on Wednesday, March 25, 2015 - 03:11 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Al- I absolutely could be wrong, but I was thinking this isn't actually a structural issue. It looks like the case is beefed up in that area and the plug of metal that fell out doesn't appear to be very thick (~1/8"?). If the case is otherwise adequate for the load, JB Weld would serve to close the hole so primary oil doesn't leak out.

Welding it's going to be something of a PITA since you have to remove the primary chain and clutch basket, and there's always the possibility that the case will warp slightly in that area resulting in a leak at the primary cover gasket adjacent to the weld area.

I totally understand the preference for a weld repair though.
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