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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Stripped driveshaft and front pulley....Oh, Crap!
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Message started by MuzzleBlast on 04/02/11 at 20:58:54

Title: Stripped driveshaft and front pulley....Oh, Crap!
Post by MuzzleBlast on 04/02/11 at 20:58:54

Sob story...My friend was planning to demo a bike this weekend and hasn't ridden in a while so I offered my beloved '01 Savage (35k mi.)for a refresher. After 2 laps around the block, he came back around and stopped in front of me and started having trouble getting the bike in gear. Started moving forward and the grinding started in 1st gear. I took the bike and proceeded to grind up a few more teeth off and then decided to quit. Local independent mechanic (been pretty honest and reliable so far so I trust his opinion) says drive shaft and front pulley teeth gone. Also says my drive belt has worn prematurely, probably due to being covered in oil from my second plug leak, but unrelated to this repair. Total bill for parts will be around $600 (incl $230 for belt)from Suzuki and bill for labor another 7 or $800 due to complete engine removal and cracking enginge case in two to do the repair. Mech says this could have just happened and doesn't think my friend could have done such damage, not that it matters, I'm still stuck. Bottom line, even without the belt, I'm looking at a a substantial repair bill on a bike that still would have lots more that could wear out. Any opinions? I'm so pissed, I didn't even have a chance to get my new windshield dirty and now I might be looking at scrapping my trusty steed. (DIY is not an option at this time). Boo hoo. Any help would be appreciated.

Title: Re: Stripped driveshaft and front pulley....Oh, Cr
Post by verslagen1 on 04/02/11 at 21:27:22

1st, get a new drive pulley and check out the drive shaft.
The pulley is aluminum and usually doesn't do any damage to the shaft.
So check the fit and advise.

And you can pick up a used belt with a lot of life left for a lot less.

Title: Re: Stripped driveshaft and front pulley....Oh, Cr
Post by mpnoffi on 04/02/11 at 22:34:16

FYI...I have a front pulley in good condition that I would send you for the cost of shipping it from Memphis TN if that would help. I just did a chain conversion on my 2001...Just let me know.
Mike

Title: Re: Stripped driveshaft and front pulley....Oh, Cr
Post by Howitzer on 04/03/11 at 00:13:50

For $1400 I think you could almost buy another used Savage.

Title: Re: Stripped driveshaft and front pulley....Oh, Cr
Post by Oldfeller on 04/03/11 at 00:30:51

I will try to speak gently ....

Bike mechanics do NOT know the Savage very well as they don't deal with them very often. Think of them as "innocent/ignorant" and you will have a handle on dealing with them.

First, your drive belt likely isn't worn out and it wasn't damaged by the oil. He is thinking "Harley belt" and "rubber belt" -- it isn't either one.

Ours is a hard plastic and tire cord VERY HEAVY DUTY industrial belt that can show little cracks in the bottom of the top grooves after many miles and still be fine for another 100,000 miles. The cord inside carries all the driving loads and the hard plastic teeth take forever just to wear in to seat on a set of aluminum pulleys.

Oil has no effect on our belts, just wash them clean with soap and water and ride on.

Our belts have proven to out last front pulleys 2 to one and it is the inside splines on the front pulleys that wear out first. Mileage to wear out a pulley spline is generally what, 30,000+ miles?

You have been offered a front pulley for free -- take him up on it and install it and just use the same belt.

Used belts get offered up by bobber folks doing chain conversions all the time, if you feel it is necessary pick one up later for a few bucks.

Title: Re: Stripped driveshaft and front pulley....Oh, Cr
Post by MotoBuddha on 04/03/11 at 04:45:29

There was another thread about this a couple of months ago. They guy's mechanic also told him he'd need to replace all kinds of things and spend big bucks. Wrong.

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1298424913/0

Title: Re: Stripped driveshaft and front pulley....Oh, Cr
Post by sbaugz on 04/03/11 at 05:40:02

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1301767867

If you do decide you need a new belt, here is one for $35.

Title: Re: Stripped driveshaft and front pulley....Oh, Cr
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 04/03/11 at 06:11:10

The shaft is a LOT harder than th pulley.. Id bet he shaft is fine,, you KNow you need a pulley, start there. If thats not the whole answer, then you can get the shaft,, & Ohhhh Boy,, youll definitely get the shaft if the shaft is messed up..

Title: Re: Stripped driveshaft and front pulley....Oh, Cr
Post by Chopped on 04/03/11 at 07:44:55

"Local independent mechanic (been pretty honest and reliable so far so I trust his opinion)"

Even the most honest will stretch the truth in this dire time. The economy makes people do weird things!

Title: Re: Stripped driveshaft and front pulley....Oh, Cr
Post by Yonuh Adisi FSO on 04/03/11 at 10:29:13

I'd go with what the others are saying. Get a pulley, the one offered for free will do, and install it. Chances are great that the pulley is all that is needed and no engine removal or crank case splitting necessary. As stated the pulleys are aluminum and the shafts are steel.

What most likely happened is the teeth on the pulley itself have warn down so much that they can't bite the shaft's teeth and the grinding your hear is the the slipping.

Title: Re: Stripped driveshaft and front pulley....Oh, Cr
Post by photojoe on 04/03/11 at 13:13:26

Brings me back to when I first got my '87 and experienced belt chirp. My previous bikes being chain driven, I had no idea what the hey was going on. Stop at bike shop, mechanic says "Belt is shot, $300 for the new one installed." Sorry, not going to happen. Long story short, I found this forum and learned how to adjust the belt. No more chirp and $300 saved. That was around 13K miles ago.

Excellent advice and free parts offered to you here. Take it and enjoy the money saved.

Title: Re: Stripped driveshaft and front pulley....Oh, Cr
Post by Boofer on 04/03/11 at 17:44:49

You may think I'm crazy, but IF the shaft is ruined (not likely) and I wanted to keep a bike with 35,000 on it, I would convert it to a chain drive and carefully weld the front sprocket on so as to not hurt the seals. Where I come from function comes first, and you don't have anything to lose but $1400. I gave 1850 for my '01 with 7400 miles. You may even find a steel pulley to weld on at an industrial supply.

Title: Re: Stripped driveshaft and front pulley....Oh, Cr
Post by MuzzleBlast on 04/03/11 at 20:25:54

Thanks to all for the great advice and speedy replies. My new plan is to start w/ the new(er) pulley offered by mpnoffer and check out the shaft at the same time. I will also take oldfeller's advice and clean up the old belt and then see where I stand. If all goes well, you guys will have saved me a buttload of cash and at the same time possibly saved my trusty steed from being euthanized. If I understand correctly, I won't need any other parts other than the pulley, since its not necessary to split the case or remove the engine. Any gasket sets, lockwashers, etc. needed? I might try to do this repair myself if all I need to do is replace the pulley....any special instructions for pulley replacement? Would that be a good time to replace the belt if I do actually need one, or can I get away with not messing with the belt at all? If this is more than I want to tackle, I will still save plenty even if I have to pay for someone's labor. Thanks again for all the help. Jim

Title: Re: Stripped driveshaft and front pulley....Oh, Cr
Post by mpnoffi on 04/03/11 at 21:04:06

PM Sent. Hope this works for you! Good luck!
mpnoffi

Title: Re: Stripped driveshaft and front pulley....Oh, Cr
Post by MotoBuddha on 04/04/11 at 04:39:52

One way to check if the shaft is worn is to compare it to the locking tab washer. That washer doesn't really get and twisting load on it, so the spline notches should not be deformed. If it is snug on the shaft splines, then the shaft is fine. Slide it along the length of the shaft after removing the pulley.

Title: Re: Stripped driveshaft and front pulley....Oh, Cr
Post by Bubba on 04/04/11 at 07:59:39

Loosen the pulley nut B4 you take off the rear wheel. Do as clymers says and have someone apply the rear brake while you loosen the nut...don't ask how I know...

Title: Re: Stripped driveshaft and front pulley....Oh, Cr
Post by verslagen1 on 04/04/11 at 10:24:31

Yeah, sit on the bike, front wheel against a wall, in gear, rear brake applied and if you're on a slick garage floor, put a brick under the back tire. Still spit the brick out the back. I ended up putting a tie down strap around the tire and hooking it to the frame, kinda like an old band brake.

Title: Re: Stripped driveshaft and front pulley....Oh, Cr
Post by Ed L. on 04/04/11 at 15:42:10

There was a post a few years ago about a bike with the same problem. The shaft had some wear on the splines and the splines in the pully were trashed. The owner cleaned everything up real well and put some JB Weld in a new pully then put it all back together and tightened it up. From what I remember it was still as good as new after 10,000 miles. To get a J B Welded pully off the shaft just heat up the pully with a propane torch till the majic smoke comes out of the JB Weld and pull. ;) Luck with it

Title: Re: Stripped driveshaft and front pulley....Oh, Cr
Post by engineer on 04/04/11 at 17:43:03

Some people have mentioned that their drive pulley is aluminum. I was just in my garage and found my spare. A magnet sticks to it and it has some rust so it is steel or cast iron. When I bought it I knew the year of the bike it came from but now I have forgotten. I bought it after reading some posts on this forum and decided I will eventually need one.

Title: Re: Stripped driveshaft and front pulley....Oh, Cr
Post by Carl on 04/04/11 at 21:09:55

The post a few years was my bike, It now has over 15,000 Miles on with the Pulley secured with JB Weld (Plastic Steel) and is still going strong with no play in the drive system

Regards
Carl