1987 250sx problems

[pudding]

hey there, i am new here, but have been visiting for a long time. I have been reading the 250sx diff threads here etc, and you guys are covering ground that I have too. the driveshaft cover on mine ripped, filling the diff with water.

now to get to this i think i have done a bad thing.:eek: to get to i had to remove the swing arm, but to remove the swing arm i loosen the drive off the left side of the engine, to get the bearing to come out of the pivot, to slide the driveshaft out of the road.

but i think i have dropped gears off the shaft throu the gearbox, because it come out a fair way. so now i will get a need driveshaft cover, and give the diff to the honda dealer so he can use his special tool to remove the nut holding the pinion, renew the bearings and seals, and re set the diff up

I was wondering if any of you guys have the individual pages of the manual on PDF or something so i can figure out if i have to lift the barrel and split the engine to makesure the gearbox is ok, or do i just have to remove the side cover,

I have been looking at the parts catalogues and i can not see any evidence of a circlip on the end of the shaft or nothing.

I may have to look harder for a repair manual

anyway its a 87 model, but it was sold new in about 1991 i think. because they were outlawed in the US, they loaded them into a ship and sold em to us, and the 250sx although are getting pretty stuffed now, are as legendary as the 300 for there ability to handle NZ farmers.

any help is greatly appreciated

most importantly keep up the good work!!

pudding

[pudding]

ok, i have brought a manual, it will arrive soon :o)

but if anyone can share an easy way to replace this boot in the future i would like to know it!!

[Tri-Z Pilot]

Maybe this will help. I know its for an 87 big red, but the motor is the same as the sx, and the drive setup may be too, as well as some other stuff possibly.

http://campaigns.hondampe.com.au/Motorcycles/manuals/atv/own87atc250es.pdf

[pudding]

hey thanks for the link

it will be good for a reference for seting the clutch again etc,

the diff seals and bearings have worked out kinda spendy, which is not what i need lol....but hey i am not going to see my bike in bits. its too nicer bike to be worrying over a few bucks

anyways, will get the diff back soon, will build the sealing surface on the left rear hub this week, its worn. then will do my homework on the engine.

will see how things pan out this year, might strip it down again, sandblast and powder coat the frames, rims, generally keep it as tidy as i can. i have some free 18x11-8's i got off my customer (local dumb), they are a 2 ply block pattern tire and are near new, might fit them too

[Dirtcrasher]

I dud a huge tutorial on this not too long ago..... I'm sure it can be found in a "search" or I'll have to do it again :lol:

It is entirely possible to replace that shaft, get all the gears in place, and line up the oil holes and bushings. You have to remove the right cover, kickstart gears and shaft and find the all important 1st gear thrust washer. THATS the one everyone forgets or overlooks!!

I'm gonna be nice here :) but this is how people end up paying dearly by not buying and reading a manual first. Countless people have done this and screw it up or sell the trike so don't be one of them :D

See if you can find my post, has to be under "differential", "shaft", :removing swingarm" but it might have been 6 months ago but IDT it was much longer than that... Otherwise I'll help you out!!

[Tri-Z Pilot]

Dont go with 18's on an sx, it's just a waste. Although the Sx is a somewhat sporty trike, your ground clearnce is gonna be shot, plus you will be winding out REALLY quick. 22's are a good tire for SX's, even then you are still only reaching 55mph maybe. Some spidertracs or mudlites would be a good tire, just dont get something too agressive.

[pudding]

cheers for that dirtcrasher, be honest, this is the first maintenace this thing has had in a while lol. i brought i years ago working summer jobs on farms, left it on the farm and 8 years later it turns up on me door lol

i guess the manual will say...........remove engine lol.......to pull the swing arm, i should have known better with the atv's i have been round over the years lol.....i will search the forum under diff or something, i spent a couple hours reading about 250sx's the other night before posting, but one post on 250sx diffs had no conclusion lol......it was a machine in alaska with big tires on the rear

i runn half worn maxxis tires that are like a std tire on the DS650's etc, they work good, i am not a believer in huge tread on trikes, just the right tread, and using reading the terrain. the 18x11-8's were free, there is nothing lost using them, i have some 8 inch ITP rims i will run them onto, cause the tires on them are stuffed, and the 350x kept running the tires off the beads lol

[Dirtcrasher]

I can't even find the post so I'll have to just tell you :D

Please download a manual and then:

Get as many of the gear pieces and bushings and thrust washers out of that hole in the left side. Drain the oil and remove the right side cover and the kicker shaft - which may also have a thrust washer behind it, don't lose it or mix it up. You may have to wash out the bottom end with gas or something to find all the pieces or the oil just gets them stuck to other parts. Good lighting, a magnet and a hooked pick will help you out...

Once you have all the parts, you can lay the trike on it's right side and begin with reassembling that counter shaft. Try to get it almost perfectly horizontal so gravity helps you. The very first piece to go in is the 1st gear thrust washer (I believe it's 1st gear....) I put grease on it to stick it and hold it in place. Then you can start stacking all the gears and bushings in place. Sometimes those bushings have an oil hole, that hole has to line up with either the hole in the shaft and or the hole in the gear (if there is one...) It will take some fiddling and although things can be installed 2 ways, only one way is correct. Then you can slide in that counter shaft/output shaft and just rotate it a bit to get everything in place.

If you skip the thrust washer, 1st gear will die soon as it only half engages. And if the oil holes don't line up, something will starve.

Then you can reassemble everything else and your good to go :beer

Anyhow, you should be able to get it all squared away with some time and patience. Good luck and post up when you begin if you have any questions.

[pudding]

dirtcrasher, cheers for the advise its much appreciated!

the workshop manual should be in the mail soon, then me and a friend of mine who is actually a mechanic (i work on more hyd stuff, hoses etc), will strip the cover off and lay it over and work on it, he works for beer, just make sure he works before beer!

me and MR gravity go way back, we are good mates lol......i know where you are coming from,

what really warms the heart is honda, here, as long as you are prepared to wait will get you any bit you want for them, admitably its not always cheap, but its nice to see the big company still cares, i wonder if they carry all the plastics for my 70, 250sx and 350x, i wonder if i should spend the big money and renew the plastics, the first sets have lasted ok for 25years, would make them look real good!

does anyone know why it was called a SX? i had a 86 200sx atv when i was a kid, and my grandmother still has one with the orginal seat cover on it, they are a good bike too, but don't know why they were called SX's too

[Name Brand]

i guess the manual will say...........remove engine lol.......to pull the swing arm, i should have known better with the atv's i have been round over the years lol.....i will search the forum under diff or something, i spent a couple hours reading about 250sx's the other night before posting, but one post on 250sx diffs had no conclusion lol......it was a machine in alaska with big tires on the rear

Had to have been mine...
The thread in my signature below is the most current one and has links to some of my old tech questions inside.

Are you just wondering how to remove the whole swingarm? I can pull mine in about 30 minutes. What conclusions are you trying to find?

[pudding]

ya i learnt the hard way lol......take the diff out of the swing arm before removing i thought i could get it in one piece

never mine, engine is on the bench, will start stripping it, for the gearbox reassembly lol, get new gaskets etc

left rear has a new flat sealing surface for the seal to run on, new bearings, seals, etc, pinion is showing signs of the hardening disapearing, but it all got put back together, i don't plan of selling it, or using it day in day out. this old duck has had the new zealand farmer treatment, it has spent its life pulling trailers on farms, this is a bit of long waited tlc ! pivot bearings will be replaced, new seals, and some of those frost plug looking things that were in the pivot tube that were sacrifised to punch the races out, the bearing has been spining on the screw in stub on the right hand side, i will get a new bearing and assess the wear

just doubled the value of the bike lol.........but really, what else would i own, its too much fun

after this i think the 350 x will get new wheel bearings, and chain and sprockets needs a bit of plastic welding so does my atc70

[pudding]

well its running, finally

the shift seems to be light, i dunno if that is good or not, i guess it has something to do with the spring on the end of the shaft in the right hand side of the crank case, if you guys can pin point eactly what i did, i will put it right, if else, i will read the workshop manual again,

thanks for the help with the rebuilt, it did my head in working on something small, but i am slowly learning as i get older, that you can fix things with out hammers,

got a couple hoses to fix, one on the carby, the other on the engine breather, which i cannot find were it attaches too......looks like it just sits up under the fuel tank

[Vealmonkey]

I'm glad to see that you got it running. We all have made mistakes and had to learn the hard way. Luckily nothing or no one was hurt and it was mainly a time and a money thing, even though the money part can still be painful. LOL

[Name Brand]

well its running, finally

i am slowly learning as i get older, that you can fix things with out hammers,

Cool!

"When the only tool you own is a hammer, everything starts looking like nails."

[pudding]

ya its a good feeling, i still dunno with the light shifting, i am sure its the spring on the shift shaft, i might not have put enough tension on, or it popped off on install, but i cannot see it doing any harm, and it runs fine, shifts nice and clean, it maybe because i don't ride it much i forgot how it should be.

i am a stinker with machinery, i can't stand things being perfect, but hate it not working and in bits. i don't look at resale value when it comes to rebuilding things i love (everything i own with a motor lol) i doubled the value of this bike in parts, rebuilding the diff and boot, gaskets, manual, oil, filter, it soon mounts up! the shaft thing was a wrong move and cost me lol......but hey, i learn a bunch and fixed a clutch slip issue allong the way. .....i will rebuilt the starter on the 250sx next, it stuffed, but will check the battery first, but sure it needs brushes

in the last 2 years i have restored/rebuilt a vintage tractor, i have done no engine, clutch or trans work lol....it works so i refuse to touch it, but cause its a rare machine, and little is known about it, everything else was a labour of love, and deep pockets, .....now this thing is the most expensive vehicle i ever owned, and i almost finished, and i need to spend another couple grand on it, then get the photos done, and it will be published in a magazine, ......

like the tractor, i loose all track of time and money, just get things done, cause all the toys i own, are rare in everyone elses eyes round here, and i don't really plan on selling them just yet.....

hope fully in the next couple years i will go completely insane and buy new gaurds for the 70, 250sx and 350x, that way they will be fresh for another 20 years