Well I ripped another swing arm boot as posted yesterday, so I tore it down. My bearings were in better shape than I thought but still needed replacing. I then decided to separate the drive shaft housing from the differential section and do something about the back of the bearings getting wet every time I loose a boot. And to keep grease where it belongs.
Next I will be roasting Ricochet about putting an extra 3 to 5" on their skid plates to help protect the boot. Something has to and will be done in this area on my machine before I take her out again.

 

the rock, make sure you don't make that skidplate too long or your swingarm will hit it when it tops out during maximum extension of the rear shock (like when you jump your quad). I noticed this when I made the stainless skidplate for my 650.

 

I hear you. Well, with the unit on a jack with the shock disconnected, there is still room for 4 or 5 more inches of plate!

 

looks great, and a better way to push out the old race. good thinking.

 

Thanx for posting the pics. I pushed out each old race using a 1" socket and a long entension (at least I think it was 1" socket). It worked perfectly.

As for the freeze plug trick, I used 34 mm plug and it worked fine too. It was tricky getting it to fit right, so I had to file off a little around the outside edges of the freeze plug before inserting in and tapping it in with an extension and hammer. Then I used some blue silicone (liquid gasket stuff) instead of JB Weld to hold it. On the inside of the swingarm (near the freezeplugs), I sprayed in some foam insulation in a can and it worked nicely. My thoughts were that if the freeze plug ever comes out, I think the foam insulation will keep it from getting caught in the universal joint and causing damage. I used liquid gasket instead of JB Weld b/c I thought it would make it easier to remove the freeze plug the next time I replace these bearings (so that I can get the old races out again).

Happy trails...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]