Stuck pivot shaft.

[Anonymous]

I?ve got a 1982 GS450 with some 54000 kilometres on the clock. Recently I discovered that my swinging arm were as rusty as the Titanic. And to make matters worse, the bearings weren?t what they used to be. But not to worry I thought. I can just dismantle the swinging arm and put in some new bearings, they are relatively cheap. And with some grinding, cutting and welding I should be able to deal with that rust. But I never got that far. Why? The pivot shaft is stuck. And I mean really stuck. I tried to turn it with a BIG !#% wrench. I didn?t move a millimetre. I tried to use reasonable large hammer hoping I could knock it out. But that didn?t help either. So what I?m hoping for is that there someone out there who has been in a similar situation and has a neat solution to this annoying problem.

Thanks a lot.

Breakaleg.

Breakaleg.

A Danish GS rider.

[Anonymous]

Try heating it up with a small torch. It's probably as rusted as the rest.
You'll have to replace the bearings anyway.

Had the same problem while restoring my GS850. Heat worked well.
Make sure you don't damage any threads, so don't use too much force. You'll just need some patience.


Welcome to the forum BTW!!

[Anonymous]

Cheers.

Cheers mate. I?ll try that.

Breakaleg.

[Anonymous]

Stuck pivot shaft

If you can get it moving slightly with the big hammer try knocking it back from the other side,then from the original side and so on.The spacers inside are probably stuck solid.Once you get it moving try to get as much WD40 as you can in there and keep tapping back and forth.Also try using a brass or ally drift,it'll save your threads.I had to resort to a 2 pound lump hammer and drift and it eventually came free.While your swingarm is off take the opportunity to fit a grease nipple,it'll save hours of frustration and stacks of cash in the future.

[Anonymous]

Thanks

Thanks a lot. I?ll try that as well.