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Rear end, driveshaft R&R

7K views 25 replies 14 participants last post by  Hondadiver 
#1 ·
My '03 with 136k on the clock has developed a vibration. It doesn't become very noticeable until 60-65 mph. It's worse under engine deceleration than when accelerating, and disappears when there is no load on the engine. It reminds me of a driveshaft universal joint going bad on a car. I've got 7-8k on a set of Bridgestones; I swapped rear wheels, just in case - no change.

It looks like it's pretty easy to change the rear end, but the manual only mentions the driveshaft incidental to removing the swing arm. So, I'm looking for hints and tips about R&R of the rear end and drive shaft, and thoughts about other things to look at. All (constructive :lol:) comments appreciated. TIA!
 
#2 ·
Make sure you get a pre 2006 shaft. They are different lengths, the 2006 and up are longer if I remember right.
Molly on the splines
Make sure the spring is on the stub shaft on the rear drive.
The drive shaft will pull out of the front and will with a little finesse slide right back in.
 
#4 ·
It's already mentioned to remove the right side muffler. If you don't already have one you will need a 17mm 12 point box end wrench to remove the 4 nuts holding the final drive. It really isn't a bad job. Good luck.

Wayne
 
#5 ·
drive shaft and final drive

Since no one already mentioned it, get a new trike take-off ( cheap and easy to find ) from a trike shop and if you call several of the larger trike builders, you might find one with a low mileage drive shaft also. Since most of the 01 - 05's are getting old, finding a new or very low mileage one could be a problem without going to mother Honda. I think the final drive goes bad more often that the drive shaft. If you can't find one, I have one with about 60K on it you can have really cheap.
 
#6 ·
drive shaft and final drive

When putting the new final drive on, make sure you have installed the drive shaft first. Then make sure you install the stub shaft on the final drive into the drive shaft while sliding the 4 studs on the final drive into the holes on the swingarm. Oh yea, make sure you have the dowels in place before sliding the final drive on.
 
#7 ·
My '03 with 136k on the clock has developed a vibration. It doesn't become very noticeable until 60-65 mph. It's worse under engine deceleration than when accelerating, and disappears when there is no load on the engine. It reminds me of a driveshaft universal joint going bad on a car. I've got 7-8k on a set of Bridgestones; I swapped rear wheels, just in case - no change.

It looks like it's pretty easy to change the rear end, but the manual only mentions the driveshaft incidental to removing the swing arm. So, I'm looking for hints and tips about R&R of the rear end and drive shaft, and thoughts about other things to look at. All (constructive :lol:) comments appreciated. TIA!
Removal is pretty straight forward, remove rear wheel, R muffler, disconnect brake hoses & ABS (if equiped) from final drive, four 17mm bolts and remove final drive. The drive shaft then just pulls out, lube the splines with moly before installation. Pull the input shaft from the old final drive and use that to help re-install the shaft. Once the shaft is back in remove the input shaft from the shaft and install the final drive, I put the bike in gear to help alighn the splines. Finding a 01-05 drive shaft might be a little harder than a final drive, most trike shops reuse the shaft.
 
#9 ·
Thanks for all the info! I got the driveshaft out with amazing ease - I just hope it goes back in as easy. It was the UJ - bad as any I've seen. I plan to put a lot more miles on it, so I opted for a new driveshaft from mother Honda. It should be here Thursday...


Notice the wear marks on the right "arm."


 
#10 ·
can't ya do like on a car and replace bearings -unless you beat the he:: out of shaft should be easy/cheap fix ! ??? just asking-
 
#11 ·
can't ya do like on a car and replace bearings -unless you beat the he:: out of shaft should be easy/cheap fix ! ??? just asking-
Until very recently all I have heard about that is "No". But earlier today I encountered a post on the General Board covering TECHNICAL issues about Alternators where a responder got on a tangent and mentioned having his drive shaft refitted with a universal joint from a Honda cage, I believe he mentioned CRV or some such model designation. Install done at a drive shaft shop. However, in the pics shown by the OP in this thread, the yokes are beat all to h377, so a I agree with his option to replace the whole shebang. Also consider the splines and the rubber internal shock core, new or practically new take-off is best option.

prs
 
#12 ·
can't ya do like on a car and replace bearings -unless you beat the he:: out of shaft should be easy/cheap fix ! ??? just asking-
I've replaced lots of uj's on driveshafts that were built for replacement in my driving career, (mostly back when UJ spiders had grease fittings on them) but I had one go out on a little car that was, like the Wing, not designed for replacement. When I took it to my local driveline shop, they built me an entire driveshaft, rather than try to repair the original.

Anyway, for two reasons I decided to go with a new factory part: 1. As previously mentioned, the yoke was beat up, and 2. I want another 100k+ miles out of it.
 
#13 ·
I've replaced lots of uj's on driveshafts that were built for replacement in my driving career, (mostly back when UJ spiders had grease fittings on them) but I had one go out on a little car that was, like the Wing, not designed for replacement. When I took it to my local driveline shop, they built me an entire driveshaft, rather than try to repair the original.

Anyway, for two reasons I decided to go with a new factory part: 1. As previously mentioned, the yoke was beat up, and 2. I want another 100k+ miles out of it.
That shaft definately looks bad from my view. Like we said removing it wasn't that bad of a job.

Wayne
 
#14 ·
When the Driveshaft on my 2006 went bad.. the right mirror vibrated at speed. When I pulled it out, the springs in the U Joint were broken. The only thing I can think of is I had dumped it down into 1st from third in a senor moment and when I dumped the clutch, it must have strained the U Joint and the springs causing them to snap.

Matt
 
#15 ·
This one looks like it went dry and started grinding the needles to dust. I bought the bike with 2 miles on it, and the boot chewed itself up in the first 500 miles. I had it replaced, but it came off shortly after that and it was a little while before I discovered it. I suppose that some road grime could have gotten into the housing while the boot was loose, and eventually worked its way into the UJ...

i would have have dug into it sooner, but the Bridgestones have been noisy and buzzy. The front tire buzzed so loud from around the 3k to the 5k Mark it almost sounded like the playing card in the bicycle spokes when I was a kid. It was almost embarrassingly loud. My first, and last, set of Bridgestones.
 
#16 ·
That is not typical of B'stones. Sure it was not the U all the while? Early year model boots needed to be perforated with a hot awl to keep them from vacuum wrapping and self destructing. Honda eventually vented them.

prs
 
#17 ·
That is not typical of B'stones. Sure it was not the U all the while? Early year model boots needed to be perforated with a hot awl to keep them from vacuum wrapping and self destructing. Honda eventually vented them.

prs
:agree:
 
#18 ·
I'm sure it was the front tire. It was loud from 15 mph on up, and at low speeds it was definitely coming from the front. It lasted 2-3k miles and gradually went away. Last heard 3k or more ago. I'm glad to hear it's not normal for them.
 
#19 ·
Front tire should have 40/41 lbs air in it . On 2nd bt45 n no where near as loud as e3 was 23,000 on first one .
 
#20 ·
I discovered that when I upgraded my front end with progressive springs and a fork brace I was able to run 34-36 in the front and get even wear. That definitely makes the front much less jolty, (new word). I've since upgraded considerably more but I have to conclude that the weak stock springs must have something to do with needing the front pressure that high. Just my experience.
 
#21 ·
I'm sure it was the front tire. It was loud from 15 mph on up, and at low speeds it was definitely coming from the front. It lasted 2-3k miles and gradually went away. Last heard 3k or more ago. I'm glad to hear it's not normal for them.
Strange things happen. I had a set of Metzelers that were so noisy that I tossed them way early, yet others praise them for long wear, grip, and quietness. I even checked several times to be sure I did not have one of them on bassackward. I thought most of the noise was from the front, but then I discovered by replacing the rear first that the rear was the noise maker. I guess the wind shield was bouncing the sound back to me and fooling me. I now ride either Avon Cobra or Bridgestone Excedra. Bpth with excellent grip and fairly quiet for me. Try 'em all and pick what suits Ya.

prs
 
#23 ·
OK, I am confused now. How did this thread go from discussing the u-joints and drive shaft to talking about the front tires? I think that this is what is called hi-jacking.
This one looks like it went dry and started grinding the needles to dust. I bought the bike with 2 miles on it, and the boot chewed itself up in the first 500 miles. I had it replaced, but it came off shortly after that and it was a little while before I discovered it. I suppose that some road grime could have gotten into the housing while the boot was loose, and eventually worked its way into the UJ...

i would have have dug into it sooner, but the Bridgestones have been noisy and buzzy. The front tire buzzed so loud from around the 3k to the 5k Mark it almost sounded like the playing card in the bicycle spokes when I was a kid. It was almost embarrassingly loud. My first, and last, set of Bridgestones.
Post #15, the original poster started it so it is not hijacking.
:shrug:
 
#24 ·
I just pulled the final drive and swing arm on a new 2003 (35,000miles) I just got because I needed to replace a torn boot that was off the back of the swing arm. I am also changing the shock. I pulled the swing arm since I was there anyway and if you have the tool it's pretty easy to pull and check the bearings and grease them, plus it's easier to get the boot on the rear with the swing arm out. This was the first Wing I have ever worked on, and it was not hard to get the final drive out, but damn those nuts were tight and they had never been loosened from the day it came off the factory floor. My problem was the sub frame for the right side bag was right in the way for getting the top outside nut off. After fighting it for a while and not wanting to damage the top nut, I went a little crazy and pulled the trunk and bags off and moved the sub frame out of my way. I see now that I could have just pulled the left and right side bags to get to the lower sub frame mounting bolts and could have left the trunk on, oh well it's will take me an extra night to get the bags and trunk back on, but it's way easy to work on now.

Since the boot had been off for quite some time, and not knowing what condition the u-joint was in, I just went ahead an ordered a new drive shaft. The original one though looks in really good shape, but since I had all the parts off I am chinging it for piece of mind. The guys at Honda Direct Line parts (www.hondadirectline.com) were really reasonable on the replacement parts. I will have the new boot and drive shaft tomorrow. Also I give a shout out to the guys at Kendon, the cruiser lift again makes my life easy when working on my bikes.

-JT
 
#25 ·
It went back together as easy as it came apart. In fact, the hardest part was getting the new brake pads installed - the little clip at the top didn't want to stay in place.

Many thanks for for all your help. It saved me a bunch of time and frustration. :bow:
 
#26 ·
I put a 2010 final drive on my 01 most everything else has been said ..impirtant ...Honda60 molly paste or equivilant on splines
 
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