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Noticed a new squeak last ride. Climbed under the ole' gal to take a look and found this:



Pretty gnarly huh?

I've been reading posts about Pivot Works and others not containing all the parts I need. I'm thinking I better go ahead and do them all while I'm in there. From what you saw in the pic....any advice? Is there one bearing kit that "has it all"? I'm trying to avoid buying a kit and it's either poor quality or it's missing something.

Also....I don't have a paper service manual, so I'm thinking about ordering a subscription to that online service manual website (can't remember the name). Any feedback on that as well?

Thank guys!!

From my experience, the Pivot Works kits need to be ordered separately to get everything needed for a rear rebuild. For my KX, I ordered the shock bearing kit, suspension linkage kit and a swingarm bearing kit, 3 seperate kits in all. They had everything needed for my rebuild. You will need the pivot bolts from Kawasaki though. Personally, I prefer the OEM parts myself. They seem to last longer and are of better quality. The only downside is that they are pretty expensive.

You know...as I sit here and look at the picture, I notice the left side damage to the "U" on the bottom of the shock. Yikes . I guess just replace the bearings and move on huh? Nothing can really be done about that....except for replace the whole shock. Man....I wish I would have known about this a few rides ago

Replace the bearings, sleeve, seals and definately the lower shock bolt. The lower shock bearing is the most replaced suspension bearing in my opinion. I do atleast 2 in 14 enduros, sometimes more if we have a really muddy season. It wouldnt hurt to inspect and grease the other bearings either.

I'm not sure what the picture shows thats so awful. Yeah..it's bad...but the crud between the shock clevis and the unitrack isn't necessarily indicative of anything horrible.

That said, the lower shock bearing is the weak point of the suspension linkage, and yours is likely toast. I use a double sealed bearing in that locaiton 'cuz I got tired of replacing it all (bearing/collar/bolt/seals) 2-3 times a year.

I haven't used the on-line manual. Those that have like it. Certainly there are pics in it that surpass anything you'll find in the OEM manual (in which any pics are pretty much worthless).

Re: 'Man....I wish I would have known about this a few rides ago..'

Not to beat a dead horse..but there was indication the bearing was bad before it started squeaking. Bet'cha the back end had a 'snick' to it every time it unloaded which was the noise from that bearing getting beat up. Unload the rear suspension (cantilevering the bike on the kickstand works), lightly touch the rear wheel to the ground...you'll hear it when it starts to go south. You'll see and feel it, too.

Don't wait to hear a complaint from the bike before you get that routine maintenance schedule checked off!

Re: 'It wouldnt hurt to inspect and grease the other bearings either.'

Amen!

OK....thanks for the advice so far.....got everything taken apart...not too bad.....except for this:








What do you think? The shock mount hole is "wallered" out. Is it salvageable?

Please be gentle

What's still in there?


Looks like the outer race of the bearing.


What's missing from the pieces you took out? Anything?

With that race out, my WAG is that you'll be fine.

Those Uni Traks are spendy.

From RonAyers:

Part Number: 39007-1229
Description ARM-SUSP,UNI TRAK
Price $125.87

TAKE THAT!!!


So much for gentle.


Get that shell out...I'm thinking you'll be fine.

This is a good object lesson, folks.

If you think a dirtbike is a machine you put fuel in, ride, and forget about it..you would be incorrect! Some have described dirtbikes as a 'blackhole for $$$'. Yeah. Pretty much. They take not only a fair number of $$ to keep in shape...but more than a fair amount of time. I spent most of yesterday dinking with my bike. Cleaning it from the last ride, resetting the handlebar iso-cones, resetting the forks in the triples (I ran over a CRF that decided to flip a u-ey in front of me), replacing the top brake line guide (which included taking the brake line off..which led to a system bleed), adjusting my aluminum kickstand mount (shortened the inner collar, added a washer to tighten the slip-joint), replaced the oil in my WER, cleaned all my air filters, cleaned the air box (which was preceeded by an overhaul of my twinair airbox cover that's never fit worth a crap..but it does now..glued a piece of window screen bead into the removed seal to get a touch more depth, glued it all back together)....

...and that's the short list.

Aren't dirtbikes fun!!??

Oh...and if you happen to be a rider who has some family member take care of your machine (Hubby? Dad? Mom for that matter!), remember to say 'THANK YOU' once in awhile.



...couple times after every ride should cover it.

Thanks for hanging in there with me CC. Lesson learned for me. No maintenance is really THAT hard. This is the first maintenance goof for me so.....NO MORE! I will be doing all the preventative on time from now on.

I went back out to see if there was any of the race left in the sleeve. It's so boogered up it's hard to tell. Most of the bore is smooth, but the rough area might have some metal ground in....especially since the bearing was missing a little metal:





I guess I'll put the new bearing in there and hope that the dust seals have enough lip on them to cover up the gouged our area. Man, this makes me sick. I always thought I took care of my bike.....

In average conditions (well...around here anyway) that bearing requires service at least 2X a year. At that, you will be replacing parts.

Part of the problem with this bearing is THE bearing. OEM parts (the 1/2 dozen or so I've used) all have a lousy pin fit. The things look crooked in the race when the bearing is brand new! I asked at a couple of bearing shops for a replacement..maybe of a different mfg...they said 'No can do.'

Use BelRay waterproof grease.

Looking again at that hole...more at the thickness of what's left rather than the hole itself. That 'view' looks pretty bad.

Put a bushing in there? Might be worth a try. There isn't a whole lot of metal to work with as far as making the hole bigger for a bushing. A good machine shop would be able to tell you if that's even a consideration.

There are some metal-guru types on this board. Maybe one of them will chime in with some 'fix-it' advice.

It's probably not a JB-Weld candidate.

Got a good MIG/TIG guy around?

Maybe take it to an aluminum boat mfg. place.........

Might keep a watch out on ebay. There are some UniTraks listed there now..just not for your bike.


Seeing as this is a 220....have you replaced the stock piston yet?

...as long as we're talking money.........

Pretty rough.

If you can smooth out that bore and press the new bearing in it should be O.K. bearing wise. The seals are another matter.

The center of the seal is steel. When all is bolted together you'll notice that the seal is stationary relative to the bearing inner race; the rubber lips on the seal slide on the linkage as the suspension works.

With those gouges the seal won't be able to keep the mud out.

If you are pretty artsy-crafty that sealing surface looks like a good candidate for JB Weld


CC is right, that bearing needs servicing/replacing probably 2X year if you ride regularly. I have never inspected mine and found it NOT trashed. I suspect 90% of KDX'es are running around with that bearing in need of service/replacement. It really is a crappy set up.

CC had a bearing solution he came up with. Do a search on his posts, you'll find it. May be the way to go in this case.

The upside to this is that your suspension is going to work MUCH better after all is fixed. You'll be back seeking clicker help because they'll actually DO something:partyman:

What is going on at the bottom of your shock?
Can we see a picture of just the U? (clevis)

OK...here's a picture of the "U". It's got a worn spot on it, but that looks like JBWeld territory to me. Fill it in and file it smooth and level.



Update from today's journey. It took CC's advice and called a local welding shop which led me to an aluminum fabrication shop. On my Uni-Trak, they said they could build up the granrley spot with a weld and then machine it out to 22mm and get her back in spec. They had no worries about doing a good job. But, at $60 an hour and maybe 2 hours time put into it to do it right....I'm at $120 and I can get a new Uni-Trak for that.

The trip wasn't wasted however. They put a micrometer in the gnarled up hole and, except for the very outside edges of the hole, it miced to 21.95mm. Since the body of the bearing makes contact with the "hole" in the middle (does that make sense?) I might just be.....kind-of ok.

He did share an idea though. He said Loctite made a product that was for filling voids/gaps. Kind-of like JBWeld but more fluid.....I can't remember the product name though. He said "just press the bearing into the hole, once it's centered put some of the loctite stuff around the outside of the bearing and it will fill the voids and harden up. Should hold it in place pretty good." Sounds like a good idea.

I got to thinking though.....if I did that, would I have a really hard time getting that bearing out in the future, since it's loctited in? I also though i could do the same with JBWeld....smear a little in the hole, press in the bearing, let the JBWeld dry, and the gaps may be filled up........but then would the bearing be welded into place? WHat's a girl to do?

Of course I could just go get a new UNI, but what fun would that be? Throw me your thoughts. I'm gunna try the Loctite or JBWeld "filler" ideas I believe unless something better comes along. Worse case scenario it doesn't work that well and I have to get a new UNI anyways.

Oh and BTW CC....yes, I have changed pistons. Thanks for noticing and asking I agree with you on those bearings too. Why couldn't they have designed it to have sealed bearings, like the wheels?

You'll be alright. Press it in, and then smooth it up however you have to. With either the loctite your guy recommended, or the JB weld, just use some grease or vasoline on the surface of the bearing so it doesn't bond there. In other words, lube up all the places you DON"T want it to stick.

J.

I am a machinist at a powerplant and see worn out broken parts like this all the time. The loc-tite type products I've had success with in the 0.003-0.005" range. There is a chance the JB weld idea might work. I think the problem will be with the seal mating surface not the bearing surface. The bearing will probably go ahead and hang in the hole and work. "Working" and "working well" are two different things. Afterall, it was "working" when you found it all chewed up. Without a build up (either welded or JB type product) and re-machining the bearing is probably going be off in the alignment department. This will probably cause accelerated wear and failure. These are the reasons I would just toss that one and get a used one from ebay. The shock I would knock off the burrs and put it together. Check it for gap when together and shim it if necessary.

Part Number: 39007-1229
Description ARM-SUSP,UNI TRAK
Price $125.87

I have one that I will sell for $35. It needs the same bearing that yours needs but it is in great shape.

Let me know, I can email pics.

Im not trying to hyjack the thread to sell my stuff, just trying to help out on the cheap.

Man....that's awesome. I really appreciate the offer . I sent you a PM. Looks like I may be up and running soon......

Thanks to KDXRIDER.NET and the good folks here!!

Sure thing. Glad I could help! Im looking at the linkage right now. It may need the other bearings as well not certain though. Emailing pics.

Good Grief ! ! !

ALL of my rear bearing are shot.

I sure wish I would have listened to you guys.....oh.....a year ago!

Well at least I'll have a fresh start now.

Thanks again to everyone that helped

Saying 'rear bearings'...does that include the swingarm? DO check that, too..NOT just the shock/suspension stuff. If you haven't been through those bearings, they're probably shot, too. The chain side anyway.

Have you ever checked your steering stem bearings? Have they been well taken care of, too?



By the time you FEEL them getting notchy with the front-end assembled on the bike, they've been bad for awhile........


You're in for a pleasant surprise when you get your suspension working. It's going to feel a whole lot better!

Good luck!

Thanks CC...yes, I'm having to replace the swingarm bearings too .

The steering head is on the "to-do" list for this weekend. I've never checked it. Please let it be OK.

Seems everything is coming due at once:

rear shock bearings
new Uni-Trak (thanks Chris)
linkage bearings
swingarm bearings
clean/grease steering bearings
time for a top end too
clean KIPS mechanisms
replacing a flat front tube

I've read to clean the KIPS stuff, let it soak in kerosene for a while. Is that the common consensus?

I've also notice my expansion chamber has some carbon like build up in it too. Any trick to cleaning it out? Or don't worry about it.

Man, I sure would rather be riding this weekend than spending all this money and doing all this work....