Removing rear wheel on shaft drive

I want to remove rear wheel on a 1982 xj650 and check brake,need step by step help(pics are a bonus ) in how to remove wheel,does the drive shaft have to come off??..any advice would be great .thanks

 

Doug,
The process is outlined in the maintenance and owners manual, which by happy coincidence is available on the XJCD for a paltry $10.
See about scooping one up.

 

I followed the steps in the service manual. One detail is that after I pulled the axle, I loosely inserted it back through (just peaking out the shaft side) and took a rubber mallet and pounded on the tire to get it to separate from the shaft. I don't know the last time my rear wheel was off, but it did need a little persuasion to release.

 

Thanks I am going to send for the cds to the guy in Huntville,its just that I seen the warnings on here on brake delamination, it made me real nervous,and wanted to check it out ASAP because I have no idea when the last owner replaced the brakes,,thanks guys

 

Quick summary:
- Remove the brake lever rod - let it hang.
- Remove the bolt & nut on the holding rod at the bottom, keep them handy, let it hang.
- Remove the large axle nut, then loosen the pinch bolt on the other side. Remove the axle - usually by putting a screwdriver through the hole on the large end and pulling.

Then comes the fun part - removing the wheel from the drive splines. Some wheels come off nicely, others require "persuasion". Essentially just wiggle or cajole the thing off to the right (assuming you're looking at it from the rear).

Then it's just a matter of pulling/wiggling the whole wheel out the back. Sometimes removing the license plate gives some more clearance.

 

Any issues putting it back on or does it just slip into place?

 

Basically reverse of the directions I gave above - add some good axle or bearing grease to the splines before putting it back on and you should be good.

 

Service manual calls for moly grease on the splines. I couldn't get mine to pop on. So, what I did was thread the axel through enough for the bolt to catch and tightened the nut to walk it on. That worked like a charm. Before that, I spent about 5 minutes trying to get it to pop on.

 

Thanks Altus and Joe Friday I will keep you posted on my progress