Spline lube thoughts and comments.

[steve.foote]

I normally complete my annual services in February. As my RT was just out of warranty, and due to the recent interest in splines, I decided this was a good time to have a look at the clutch splines and the drivetrain.

 

There is already a lot of good "how to" material already available, so I'm not going to rehash any of the mechanics here. However, I thought it would be helpful to pass on a few of the things I noticed along the way.

 

Here are my observations in no particular order:

 

1. The overall process of disassembly and reassembly was not as difficult as I had expected. I used the manual and a little help from the board with no problems. Think of this job as a string of little jobs which all add up to one big job. This job is well within the grasp of anyone with reasonable mechanical abilities.

 

2. The mechanics of the bike are pretty well organized/engineered. I didn't see too many things that made me say "why the #%$@@ did they do that?"

 

3. Get your long bolts ahead of time. I drove all over Savannah trying to find the right thread in something about 5". I finally found some at Advanced Auto Parts, which they kept behind the counter. Ask someone before you give up. Also, you don't need to cut off the heads if you are only inspecting and lubing the splines.

 

4. Nobody at an auto parts store has heard of 'spline lube' nor do they understand why you would lube clutch splines. Honda shop had to order Moly 60. Local independent MC shop had Belray assembly lube which looks similar to Moly 60.

 

5. If you are going to take your swingarm apart, go ahead and order your rear bearings now.

 

6. I sure would like to meet the genius who located the ground cable around the back of the left battery stud...

 

...in a dark alley.

 

7. I used red and blue permatex only where the manual indicated.

 

8. Definately check out the clutch slave cylinder throwout bearing while you're there. Make sure you order the gasket ahead of time.

 

9. A toothbrush is handy for scrubbing the moly on the splines.

 

10. If you take the swingarm apart, use 1/2" drive tools. 3/8" tools is like taking a knife to a gunfight.

 

11. If you don't take the swingarm off, leave the rear wheel on and use the jack to support the transmission.

 

12. Have bungies handy to support the brake caliper and lines.

 

13. Have a couple of ratchet straps handy to support the rear frame.

 

14. You can do this process alone. I only needed assistance to hold the battery tray up while removing and reinstalling the transmission.

 

15. Leave the O2 sensor in the exhaust. It has plenty of cable to lay next to the bike out of the way.

 

16. Take gazillions of pictures while you disassemble so you can get the cable routing correct.

 

17. Unless you are Luke Skywalker, use a torque wrench.

 

18. Did I mention my white-hot-seething hatred of the guy who routed the ground cable behind the left battery stud?

 

19. If you are not sure about something, check the board and/or ask someone. There are plenty of folks who will help you out.

 

20. Make sure you load the bike with approximately 190lbs BEFORE you torque the trailing link to the rear drive.

 

21. Put a note on your windshield reminding you to torque the trailing link before you ride off.

 

22. Leave the fuel distribution system in place if you are not removing the transmission completely.

 

23. There are three splines and two U-joints in the swing arm. This is a great time to check them out.

 

24. According to Microsoft Word, ‘splines’ is not a real word.

[brinkjm]

20. Make sure you load the bike with approximately 190lbs BEFORE you torque the trailing link to the rear drive.

 

Personal note to self: Make sure to do this job when Marty Hill is in Los Angeles.

 

 

Thank you for the tips Steve. I think I'll lube my spline(s) at 60k but will likely experiment on some (other victim's) bike first

[BucksTherapy]

Great tips. Just getting ready to do mine and this has been printed, punched and placed in my instruction binder.

 

Thanks

 

PS Instruction binder now has almos 300 pages in it. At some point you just have to tackle the job.

[Ken H.]

Great tips all!

15. Leave the O2 sensor in the exhaust. It has plenty of cable to lay next to the bike out of the way.

To which I would add - Remember which way the O2 sensor wires' retaining clip on the transmission bolt goes. So later you're not scratching your head trying to figure out why lubing clutch splines destroys the throttle body idle sync.

[Haynes]

Good work on the tips Steve. I think that I'll be doing my spline lube later this year.

[Frank Cloud]

Steve:

 

Any pictures you'd care to share? i.e. How thick do you put on the paste, etc. Now that you are a veteran, you can do mine next year!

[Crazy Noodle]

Hi Steve,

 

I am currently in the process of gathering information to do a spline lube job on a 2002rt. I have ordered the video from Ted. Do you know if anyone has ever compiled a list of part numbers for parts, seals, ect for this job? I think I am going to do all the splines in the drive train while I have it apart. I hope to get this job going next weekend!

Thanks,

 

Todd

[steve.foote]

Frank, the pictures I took were close ups to keep track of the routing of cables and tubes. There is a lot of really good walkthroughs already posted and Ted's DVD. Also, the manual was pretty clear about everything except the clutch slave cylinder.

 

As for application of moly, I made sure the splines were cleaned (I used a stainless steel toothbrush looking thingie) and scrubbed a thin, even coat on with a soft bristle toothbrush (a real one). Make sure you get the moly all the way into the spline valleys.

 

As for doing anyone elses spline lube, I don't think so. It's kind of a right-of-passage to do your own.

 

To quote Rob Schnieder on Water Boy, "you can do it!"

[steve.foote]

Do you know if anyone has ever compiled a list of part numbers for parts, seals, ect for this job?

 

Todd,

 

There is really no way of knowing what you are going to need until you get in there. If you have a couple of weeks to spare, take it apart and order when you know exactly what you need. If you are pressed for time, I would go ahead and order a gasket for the clutch slave cylinder, and a set of swingarm bearings.

 

Also, make sure you have the necessary tools (torque wrenches, sockets & hex heads, Moly 60 and red/blue loctite before hand.

 

Good luck to all those who cross into the brave frontier of spline lubrication.

 

And, make sure you report your findings when you are done.

[Cali Kid]

This may help. It's not all inclusive but it adresses all the issues I have recently dealt with.

 

• Spleen Lube - BMW Part #s
• 231 223 52 156 Gasket- Clutch actuator
• 071 199 63 200 Final Drive Crush washers (2)
• 212 176 70 454 Clutch disc
• 071 111 63 300 Crush washers -Trans
• 331 723 11 091 Paralever-aft bearing (2)
• 331 176 65 838 Pinion Drive input shaft seal
• Moly 60
• 331 723 35 139 Cable Straps (big ole zip ties) (2)
• Loctite 271 (red) and 577 (thread sealant for final drive seal replacement IF you need it, had to order this stuff)

[Frank Cloud]

Steve:

 

Glad it went well for you. Your splines looked great!

 

As for me, I believe I'm going to wait until 40k or so before I tackle the job. At the rate I've been riding this past year, it will take a while.

[SteveHebert]

To which I would add - Remember which way the O2 sensor wires' retaining clip on the transmission bolt goes. So later you're not scratching your head trying to figure out why lubing clutch splines destroys the throttle body idle sync.

 

Ken,

 

Can you explain what you said here? I have one clip that I cannot get to stay on the housing.

 

Steve - Excellent as usual. I didn't have the ground wire issue that you did, but I found the hardest thing about this entire procedure to be putting the foot plates back on and assembling the rear brake push rod. Now that was a pain in the #$%!

 

Chris K can vouch for me here.

 

Steve

[Chris K]

It probably would have went together faster if I had left after lunch!

[Crazy Noodle]

Thanks for the responces. I will post the results.

 

I am ordering a camera this weekend. It is the only way I will ever have photographic memory!

[jjohnson24]

Right Spin- what did the splines look like? Did they show wear ( in your opinion)? After doing it did you feel it had been needed? Was there lube on the splines as you found them?

[steve.foote]

Jim,

 

The before and after spline pictures can be found here.

 

Though the splines didn't have a lot of lube on them, they were exhibiting no abnormal signs of wear. My view is that if you are not having any 'issues' with the bike, don't tear it apart. If you are disassembling for some other kind of maintenance, then it makes sense to have a look.

 

That having been said, lubing the splines can only help things.

[SteveHebert]

That having been said, lubing the splines can only help things.

 

I agree 100%. We all know what mine look like. I just lubed and re-assembled the bike with the worn splines still in place. The shifting is completely different with the lube job. I will have the bike repaired this month, but it feels great now.

 

Steve

[Ken H.]

To which I would add - Remember which way the O2 sensor wires' retaining clip on the transmission bolt goes. So later you're not scratching your head trying to figure out why lubing clutch splines destroys the throttle body idle sync.

 

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Ken,

 

Can you explain what you said here? I have one clip that I cannot get to stay on the housing.

One of the clips that holds the wires from the O2 sensor running upward is held on with a transmission bolt right next to the right side throttle body. If the clip is rotated wrong it will interfere with the bell crank on the right throttle body preventing it from returning all the way onto its idle stop screw. This messes up the idle sync.

[SteveHebert]

Thanks Ken for the clarification.

 

Steve