rear wheel removal????

I am waiting on my XJCD, but now that my new tires have arrived, I am too excited to wait. I am going to attempt to remove the rear wheel this weekend. How is this accomplished. I haven't even looked at it yet, but I figured I'd ask before diving in. I assume you don't have to remove the final drive. Is it just a matter of pulling the axle and removing the brake rods?

Any insight greatly appreciated. 8)

 

I'm assuming you have a 750 Max. Thats what I used to have and if memory serves me, you remove the cotter pin, axle nut, slide the axle out and then remove spacer and brake mechanizim. Then slide the wheel to the RH side of the bike and it "thould" come right ont. (Have a small drain pan handy as you may lose a small amount of gear oil)

Hope this helps

Kelly

81 XJ 550 Max

 

I put the bike on the centerstand - and then drop the rear axel down by disconnecting the shocks. More room to work... but you can do it without too.

Just remember how it came apart and you'll be fine. A friend with a camera is a nice thing. Plus you can start doing documentation for us.

 

Place bike on center stand. Remove cotter pin from castle nut on left side of axel. Remove castle nut & washer. Remove brake adjuster rod from right side of wheel hub by unscrewing it's adjuster nut while being careful not to lose the spacer retained in the forked end of the adjuster rod. After losing adjuster nut retrieve flashlight from house then drive to local store for batteries for dead flashlight. Find adjuster nut and place in pocket. Then look for adjuster spacer which fellout after losing adjuster nut. Hint, it will roll "down hill". Remove cotter pin from torsion bar bolt on right side of wheel hub. Remove torsion bar from right side of wheel hub by removing bolt from which cotter pin was removed. But I bet you were smart enough to know that! Loosen axel pinch bolt on right end of axel. Insert a phillips screwdriver or suitable punch into hole in right end of axel and while turning axel back and forth pull to remove axel from swingarm and wheel hub. Catch washer that will fall from right side of wheel hub (also know as brake hub). After failing to catch washer which will roll down hill too, use flashlight again and be glad you bought good batteries. Remove brake hub. Remove wheel by pulling it to the right side to dislodge it from final drive splines. After cursing loudly when wheel hits your foot hope wife didn't hear you so you don't have to explain. She will make you pay one way or another. Remove wheel. Attach torsion bar bolt to end of torsion bar so as not to lose it. Do same with brake rod adjuster nut and it's center spacer and also with the axel and it's associated nuts and washers in the order of their respective places. After retrieving these items from your pocket summon your kids to pickup the loose change that fell from your pocket also. Let kids keep the change. This will smooth things with the wife for the aforementioned cursing. Take wheel to bike shop for tires and wait to get reamed by their shop rates and markup on tires. Attempt to pay cash and then give them debit card because you were 53 cents short because you gave that to the kids. Bring wheel back to the bike and install in reverse order ( or something close to that). Look up torque settings for bolts because you want to be a great XJ'er then remember you don't have a torque wrench. Tell everyone on list you torqued them anyway. No sense in looking that stupid!

 

Great story! You have a flare for the telling of tales friend! Did you by chance lube up your axel and spacers before you put them back in? Fresh grease is just what the doctor ordered for continued good health for your axel. For the rear nut, gute-n-tight (German torque using a 3/8" driver and one hand, not two) should be close. Don't muscle in on too much, 60-70 pounds ought to do it. Haynes specifies 77 foot pounds. You may also want to pick up on a "hairpin" type pin for your torsion bar bolt and axel nut to ease the next entry, saves having to fish for a new cotter pin or fussing with the old one to try and save it. How much did you loose for the tire (and what kind is it) and balancing if I may ask?

 

Thats the single greatest tip ever!!! someone should sticky that!!

 

Thanks for all the replies, they will come in handy. There is no need for the flashlight, as I have a decent shop with a drop light (and level concrete floor so rolling direction is anyones guess...). The tires are Metzler Lasertecs in the stock sizes. I think it was around $200 delivered for both front and rear.

 

Good price mounted and balanced. Wouldn't holler too much for that, heck of a lot easier than wrestling with them yourself.

 

Fresh grease is just what the doctor ordered for continued good health for your axel. You may also want to pick up on a "hairpin" type pin for your torsion bar bolt and axel nut to ease the next entry


Yes I missed that and thanks for making mention of it. First time I had a flat on my Seca was while traveling through Dallas. Mech had a bear of a time getting my axel out. Straight out of the factory with no grease and in less than 3k miles it was stuck. New cotter pins are mandatory for me. I keep a bag of assorted sizes in my bike along with a tire gauge and the tool bag.

 

2 handy tips.

1.
When working on the bike and there is a possibilty of nuts bolts or washers being dropped and rolling away never to be found. Spread either a towel or blanket under the bike, usually stops things rolling.

2.
Have a really good excuse for when the old woman demands to know what you done to her towel!!! I blamed HER bloody cat last time and bless her she believed me.

Faighaigh.

 

Ha! Priceless! I'll bet the cat didn't appreciate all the oil you fed her though. Rough on the bowels (he he). Rolling some spare pins in with the kit isn't something I would have thought of, Kudos to you MAX! I'll remember that, I'm sewing my new tool pouch next week.

 

I didn't mention that the last time I had to remove the rear wheel was at a gas station about 4 miles from home. Having a new cotter pin to install was so nice since I didn't have a hammer to beat the other one straight. One thing I didn't have though was a new pinch bolt. Sucker broke as soon as I turned it. Had to ride it home like that .<<<Very carefully>>>! Can't prepare for everything. (g)

 

Zounds! I'll bet you inched home with that! Glad you didn't run into any problems headed home! I don't plan on carrying spares of everything, just a few essentials, fuses, cotter pins, tire patch and inflator kit, the usual tools, and a multimeter. I've often thought about those tire inflator lines you pop into a spark plug hole. Seems simple enough and so on but the patch and inflator kit I have is smaller than the hose assembly so I'm not in any great hurry to replace it. Had my chassis ground strap break on me once and thank God for clothes hangers, wrapped it around a case bolt and a chassis bolt to get home. Guess necessity is the mother of invention.

 

Yea that's one thing about us gearheads, "We WILL find a way to get home!