U-Joint Pre-Failure Indicator

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Joe
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Before I headed to SeaSTOC I changed the cush drive dampeners. The looked fine but I was approaching 50k miles so figured why not.

Well, right after I put them on, I noticed my wheel did not spin freely, and I could hear the rubber dampeners inside the wheel.

There is some resistance like the rubber is holding the wheel back a little, then it will release.

But, I figured it was just because they were new as it didn't do it before.

I went to SeaSTOC and a couple other local rides and have roughy 4k miles on the new dampeners.

They still have the same noise and resistance, so today I decided to put the old ones back in to see what that would do. Guess what? No difference.

Things I've checked:
- All the bearings are Good
- splines are Good
- Brakes are Good
- Axle is Good
- Wheel is Good
- Rotor is Good

I just changed the final drive oil just in case as it had been 12k miles since I last did it. It did smooth the action out a little but the noise/resistance is still there.

I did separate the brake pads so they are not contacting the rotor at all.

It's hard to describe the issue as the wheel isn't locked, it spins but you hear the dampeners and there it will show as you here the noise.

The noise is only coming from the wheel, not the splines or the other parts of the drive line.

The bike has zero vibration or other issues, rides perfectly and gets good mileage so no other issues.

So, for those that have changed out the dampeners, did you ever encounter this? I'm not really worried as the bike functions perfectly and there are no other issues that I've been able to identify as of yet.

Update: 12/19/2010
This was a bad u-joint, pics are in posts #100 and #104
 

dannyk

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Re: Issue after replacing cush drive dampeners

Joe, I had a new set installed when I had the first 6905rs bearings replaced under warrentee, and since have replaced a set myself on my bike and we replaced a set on ST Dans bike, no issues at all with them as I can recall. Danny
 
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Joe
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Re: Issue after replacing cush drive dampeners

Thanks Danny, I'll try and mess around with my camera tomorrow and see if I can capture the sound on video and post that up.

It's pretty much impossible to install them incorrectly, and I even checked the manual just in case.
 

Paul

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Re: Issue after replacing cush drive dampeners

Has the dust seal (The big grey ring) on the drive side shifted out of place? It is held on with one bolt. Not sure how else it is captured on the final drive.

Ok, I have VTX on the brain. The seal is black, and held on with three bolts. Ron Ayers fiche shows only one bolt req'd. :eek::
 
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Joe
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Re: Issue after replacing cush drive dampeners

Has the dust seal (The big grey ring) on the drive side shifted out of place? It is held on with one bolt. Not sure how else it is captured on the final drive.
Grey? or black? I looked at that, there's nothing touching... it really just sounds like those rubber dampeners are moving around a little as you spin the wheel.
 

wjbertrand

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Re: Issue after replacing cush drive dampeners

Was the rear drive removed from the swing arm during any of this? If so it might be misaligned.
 
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Joe
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Re: Issue after replacing cush drive dampeners

Was the rear drive removed from the swing arm during any of this? If so it might be misaligned.
Nope, never touched it.. just the wheel during a normal tire change and decided to change them.

Like I said, there are no other issues that I can find. No strange vibes when riding, etc..

I was considering it being a u-joint issue, maybe it's binding up and it's being felt at the wheel but I'm not sure I'm ready to yell fire on that just yet.
 

bdalameda

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Re: Issue after replacing cush drive dampeners

Any chance one of the o-rings in the final drive got pinched or slipped out of the slots and is getting it in a bind?
 

Tankereng

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Re: Issue after replacing cush drive dampeners

My ST had some weird noise once......can turn into a serious issue real quick....:think1:

I found the problem/issue doing a little research and found the solution here
 

ChucksKLRST

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Re: Issue after replacing cush drive dampeners

Joe are you sure you have the big C clip in the grove all the way on the drive flange? Maybe you have a flange bearing going bad.

Back the axle nut torque off about 10lbs or so and see if the noise goes away. Is the wheel harder to turn than before?
 
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Joe
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Re: Issue after replacing cush drive dampeners

Joe are you sure you have the big C clip in the grove all the way on the drive flange? Maybe you have a flange bearing going bad.

Back the axle nut torque off about 10lbs or so and see if the noise goes away. Is the wheel harder to turn than before?
Yeah the big c-clip is fine, I checked that when I put it back together.

I checked the wheel bearings and they are fine, nice and smooth.

I'll try loosening the axle bolt.
 

Dinkie Diesel

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Re: Issue after replacing cush drive dampeners

I can't see how the dampeners would have anything to do with rotation binding. I sprayed the heck out of mine, both the rubbers and both sides of the housings, with silicon spray to keep them loose and free to find their own equilibrium. If you can hear them (rubbers) rattling around in there you must have really good ears. I would think a little movement from the loose fitting rubbers is acceptable.

Obviously, if it is intermittently loose/tight it must be something bent/warped or poorly machined. I thought there was a thread on here about someone's big, black, plastic ring on the final drive rubbing for some reason. :shrug2:

If you are 100% sure the drive/driven splines are okay I'd take the wheel off again and try to turn the drive flange (Final Drive) with your hand to eliminate anything in the wheel assy. If you can still feel it with your hand by turning the ring gear I'd have to believe a shaft spline or U-joint needs some TLC. Another possibility is that you may have a warped mainshaft in the transmission from all the wheelies you do! :D Just teasing!
 
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Joe
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Re: Issue after replacing cush drive dampeners

Chuck, yes I always lube that area w/moly.

Dink, I may try some spray on the dampeners to see if that helps but I'll also turn the drive by hand, just to eliminate that area..

Thanks, more updates tomorrow I hope.
 

Papa

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Re: Issue after replacing cush drive dampeners

I'm thinkin' dust seal.
 

Tom Mac 04a

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Re: Issue after replacing cush drive dampeners

Hate to say this Joe...
Pull them out to eliminate the dampers as the cause... if the noise is still there at least you know its not the dampers!!
 

Don-STOC237

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Re: Issue after replacing cush drive dampeners

One thing to check -- Are you sure you received the correct part numbers?

Dampers from a different bike may look the same but be a slightly different size, leading to the symptoms you describe.
 
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