Bevel gear woodruff key

maurtis

maurtis

New Member
So I suspect that I have a leaking oil seal on my clutch side since:

1) My clutch was slipping
2) There was a pretty good amount of what looked like 2 stroke oil in my clutch area
3) At the end of my last ride I had a high idle and my plug confirms I was suddenly running lean.

So I ordered a new crank seal and woodruff key from PistonBikes. Shipping was quick, but $10 shipping for just a seal and key? Sheesh... but at least they had what I needed.

The woodruff key I ordered was a half moon.

When I pulled off the bevel gear, the key I see is definitely not a half moon. Or is the "moon" portion buried in the shaft?

Here is a picture:

Bevel_woodruff.jpg


So my questions are:

1) Is a half moon woodruff key the right one for the bevel gear?
2) How do I uninstall the old key, just dig it out carefully?
3) After installing the seal, how do I install the new woodruff key?

Sorry for the noob questions, I did search but did not find anything that explained it to me well enough to make me think I knew what I was doing, lol.

Thanks!
 
quite often i use side cutters to grab the key and rock it out of the groove.
a small screw to remove seal,a piece of thick walled pipe or deep socket to drive new seal in-lubricate inside bore of oil seal before installing.a soft face hammer will seat woodruff key,as well as driving gear into place.leave woodruff key rockered a little towards shaft end,it should slide in the cut as gear is pushed on.
 
tooljunkie said:
quite often i use side cutters to grab the key and rock it out of the groove.
a small screw to remove seal,a piece of thick walled pipe or deep socket to drive new seal in-lubricate inside bore of oil seal before installing.a soft face hammer will seat woodruff key,as well as driving gear into place.leave woodruff key rockered a little towards shaft end,it should slide in the cut as gear is pushed on.
Click to expand...
Perfect advice. Follow it to the letter.

If the key seems loose upon reassembly you can secure it with a drop of super glue to hold it in place as the small gear is pushed back on the shaft.

Thanks, Tooljunkie.
Tom
 
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i never thoight of the super glue,mind you i never seem to have any in the shop.
i use locktite stud and bearing mount,it fills a pretty good gap,but it makes things a little difficult to get apart if needed.
 
Thanks for the excellent advice! I should be able to finally get some daylight time to do this tomorrow afternoon.

Also, it looks like the rounded moon portion of the woodruff key faces the shaft. I figured I would add that piece of info to this thread for anyone searching for that info later.
 
maurtis said:
Thanks for the excellent advice! I should be able to finally get some daylight time to do this tomorrow afternoon.

Also, it looks like the rounded moon portion of the woodruff key faces the shaft. I figured I would add that piece of info to this thread for anyone searching for that info later.
Click to expand...

There is only one way the key fits into the shaft.
 
Thanks all, worked like a champ! The only addendum I would make is that in order to pull the seal out with a screw, I had to drill a small hole in the seal first, then used a screw that I dremeled the tip off of so it was not pointy to pull the seal out with.

I just went for a quick ride with the clutch cover off even though Rufus would not approve (RIP Rufus), and my high idle is gone and nothing was spewing out of the new seal. The clutch is slipping a little and I am a little low on power, so time to tighten the clutch up a bit and do a plug chop.

Thanks again for the assist!
 
Before you start messing with the clutch adjustment I'd suggest cleaning the clutch components with a good solvent. Brake cleaner works well. The slipping is probably due to the oil that got on the pads. Adjustment might not be necessary.
Most auto parts store sell brake cleaner. It's a high pressure aerosol.
Tom
 
Thanks Tom. I actually did that as well, cleaned the pads with brake cleaner and roughed them with a flat file, they were glazed pretty badly on the back side, sanded the pads down on the sides so they float in the holes instead of being jammed in there, and cleaned the steel plates with brake cleaner as well.

I think the slipping is just that I did not crank down on the flower nut enough, hopefully, lol.
 
i am not sure of the material used for the clutch pads,a propane torch and a dry rag will eliminate most of the oil,warming the pads causes the oil to sweat out (a heat gun should also work)and wiping with a dry rag will clean the oil off.done this with automotive brakes and clutches.a little scuff with some coarse sandpaper will deglaze them.do not do this after using brake cleaner,the fumes are deadly when brake cleaner burns.if you opt for cleaning with brake cleaner alone,no heat,use safety glasses,it really stings if you get it in your eyes.
 
That reminded me of an old trick we used to do to get oil out of balsa wood on model airplanes. Using brown paper, like wrapping or grocery store bags and a clothes iron.
Laying the paper on the oil soaked wood and running the iron over it would leach the oil out...It goes without saying that if you try this method you probably don't want to use your wife's iron. :)

Tom
 
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