Am I missing something stupid?! (rear wheel installation)

Short version.
1982 XJ750 Maxim. Rear wheel locks up when axle bolt is torqued to spec(77 ft.lb.)

Longer story.

I removed the rear wheel for tire work. When everything went back together and I torqued the castle nut, the wheel is locked up tight. Wheel doesn't turn, brake plate will not rotate. I double checked the parts diagram to make sure I was not missing a spacer, everything looks right.

Axle through swing arm, thick washer, brake plate, wheel, drive hub spacer, drive hub, thick washer, castle nut.

What am I not seeing?

This is not the first time this wheel has been off and I did not have any problem last time when I installed new bearings about a year and a half ago. BTW, the bearings are spinning freely.

I feel like a complete newb! This is frustrating.

 

Tighten the cinch bolt prior to the castle nut.

Gary H.

 

DOH!!

I suppose I hould be thankful that I don't have to spend enough time working on the Maxim to remember stupid details like that!

Thanks for the head slap Gary!

 

Lol. I've done it too.

Gary H.

 

The pinch bolt gets tightened last, otherwise the axle can end up pulling the right side of the swing arm over as the axle nut is tightened.

 

The factory service manual doesn't detail the order of re installation. When I torqued the axle nut before tightening the pinch bolt the wheel assembly locks up tight. If I follow a loose reverse order of dis assembly, i.e. pinch bolt then axle nut torqued, everything comes together nicely. It's not truly reverse as I needed to install the brake tension bar before torquing the axle nut.

I would have thought that it would not matter if the pinch bolt was tight first as the axle pulls the spacers, brake assy, wheel and hub together on the inner bearing races and should require fairly massive torque to lock the assembly up. Do I have something out of spec? It was fine before I took it apart this time and I probably did tighten the pinch bolt first the last time I put together, but I can't be 100% sure. I don't remember specifically.

 

If your method gets you a wheel that spins then go with your method. Just make sure that the axle is fully seated before locking pinch bolt down.

 

That, I did.

 

Maybe this will help

 

i put it all together, tighten the pinch bolt, tighten the axle nut, then loosen the pinch bolt, jiggle the wheel, re-tighten the pinch bolt. that way the axle can find it's own happy place after everything is tight

 

Are you SURE your spacer is in there? Maybe you need to go back in and take another look..... Or your rim isn't fully seated in the splines.

 

MN-Maxims,
Thanks, I have several service manuals and cross referenced the parts blow ups to be sure I wasn't missing anything.

Polock,
Basically what I did the second time around yesterday. Everything appears to be OK and she rides fine. No pulling or shimmy, except for that minute head wobble when decelerating through 35mph.

hogfiddles,
Yep, absolutely sure the inner spacer is in the drive hub. I very carefully cleaned the hub and wheel splines to check for obstruction and applied new grease. I don't see how it could not be fully seated.

 

Exactly.

Gary H.

 

it shouldn't be doing that. Something is wrong. Check swing arm bearings and headstock bearings, and wheel bearings. There should be no head wobble at any speed unless you hit a very uneven surface.

 

+1 what he ^ said.

Gary H.

 

I had head wobble until I got a new front tire.

 

Replacing stem bearings usually solves it for me

 

I plan on rebuilding the forks and new steering head bearings this winter. The wheel bearings are new a year an a half or so ago. The "wobble" is almost imperceptible but has been present since I've owned the bike. Since both new wheel bearings and new tires front and back did not alleviate it, I have to assume it's the steering head at issue.

 

As would I.

 

OMG - I wish I had been patient and waited for this link to be suggested before setting off for the bike show (without this spacer) . Going for second gear resulted in the most dreaded grinding crunching noise. I will fit the spacer when it arrives will say several prayers I havent killed the final drive gear

 

1. That post was 8yrs ago.....
2. Grinding in 2nd gear - Usually isn’t from the rear end. That would be a transmission issue. The rear end doesn’t really care what gear you’re in.
3. Forgetting to put the spacer in usually results in a rear wheel that won’t turn.

 

I guess I am clutching at straws hoping a spacer will sort it. I was sure all the gears went in when the engine was still on the bench. I managed to select all gears just now, but there seems a lot of slop when moving the wheel to and fro when in gear. I will drain the oil and inspect the clutch before pulling the motor out, unless there are any other possibilities ? Thanks

 

There will be some play when in gear. Not a lot but the bike can roll forward and backward a little when in gear.

 

So this is bouncing between threads. You have a wheel locking up when the axle nut is tightened to locking up in second gear on a test ride. It looks like you replaced the missing spacer for the locking wheel with axle nut tightened, however it's hard to keep up with bike history so maybe you should start a thread on the bike so all the information is in that one thread. There are details missing, why was the engine on the bench? Did you split the cases?

 

will do!