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Help with stuck swingarm

JohnnyC

Chop it!
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Hi everyone, I just picked up a 76 Honda CB 750 from craigslist. It's pretty ugly and has been sitting outside for a few years, but I want to turn it into a cafe racer. The problem I'm having is I can't get the swingarm off and I don't want to cut it because I need it. Even with the shocks off it will barely move up and down and I can't get the shaft out. Any ideas? I don't want to hammer on it too hard. Thanks in advance.
 
Hi JohnnyC is there a grease nipple on it ? if so try splashing some heat on the pivot point and then forcing grease into it .back the swingarm nuts to the end to protect the threads and rap it back and forth with a wooden block.dont go all mental and damage anything or over heat it .took me two evenings of frigging around after supper to get mine out .Good luck
 
Thanks for the help. There is a nipple on it, but it is froze and I can't get any grease to pump into it. I'll have to find a replacement nipple and try again. All I have is one of those handheld propane torches. I've tried heating it a little bit, but it didn't seem to help. Do you think propane will get it hot enough. Do you think I should buy a MAPP torch? The swingarm is going to get painted anyway so I'm not worried about ruining the paint. Is it possible to get it too hot?
 
Thanks for the help. There is a nipple on it, but it is froze and I can't get any grease to pump into it. I'll have to find a replacement nipple and try again. All I have is one of those handheld propane torches. I've tried heating it a little bit, but it didn't seem to help. Do you think propane will get it hot enough. Do you think I should buy a MAPP torch? The swingarm is going to get painted anyway so I'm not worried about ruining the paint. Is it possible to get it too hot?

I used a crappy propane torch also ,thats why it took so long.That and the fact that all the grease in mine was dried up and hard. keep heating it and trying to get some grease into it.Since you are going to use the swingarm I would not heat it excessivly.A little patience and tenacity will go a long way .
 
Patience is they key thing. Put a pan under it and before you quit for the night soak everything you can with oil. Whatever you have laying around. Drain oil if you have to. Spin it around the next day, heat it, tap it, work it back and forth and re-oil before you quit. It'll come out eventually. Use a nut on the end of the bolt when you tap it for as long as you can, then use a piece of aluminum so you don't ruin the threads on the bolt. It sounds like the bearings will need to be replaced anyway, so unless you're using a sledge hammer you're probably not going to hurt much. Good luck!
 
BTW make sure you have good ventilation when you start heating up that oil soaked swingarm cause its gonna make smoke, maybe some fire . post some pics of this endeaver LOL
 
Good point Mcgyver. Oil and fire not the best combination. Any lubrication you can get into the joints where the swingarm meets the frame will work it's way in and help during removal. Just wipe it down if you have to heat it.
 
I'm not a metallurgist, but I think you could get it pretty damn hot without having to worry about the swingarm itself. Just don't melt it with an oxy-acetylene torch! Also, don't use water or anything else to cool it down. If you get it red hot and let it cool at room temperature, you would just normalize the steel. Cool it down too fast and it will become hardened but brittle. The things you should be concerned about when using heat are the sleeve that goes between the bushing and the bolt itself. I don't know if they are heat treated or not, but if they are and you get them too hot, they will normalize and not be hardened anymore. I think you'd be fine as long as everything is not glowing red. If you got them really hot and were worried about it, you could replace the bolt I guess. :twocents:
 

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I got it!!! :smoke: Thank you all for the suggestions. I hammered on it here and there over the weekend each time heating it up with my new MAPP torch before I started and when I was done I heated it again and I soaked everything with penetrating oil. The MAPP torch works a lot better than the propane one! I started a few little fires but no damage was done! I had a box of baking soda near me the whole time and I make a heck of a mess with that and the oil. I'm going to have to use another bolt though because the threads are a little damaged from hitting it so hard even with a nut on it. That is not a big deal though because I already have one. By the end, I was using a 2.5# mini sledge hammer and hitting it almost as hard as I could. At one point I took a little anger out on it. I started with a little hammer and worked my way up! Once it moved a little bit I knew I could get it and just kept beating it back and forth. I hope the rest of the tear down goes a little more smoothly. I don't have a camera or I would try to post a picture of the messed up threads and the mess I made. Thank you again for the help.
 
Just had mine off for a re-paint, yep, a load of whacking, sweating and cussung, but I got it off. Same with the center stand. The bearing dust seals will need replacing after using heat. Getting it back in place is just as big a PITA, a lot of pushing, pulling and wiggling trying to get it lined up. Good luck
 
File this for Future reference:
The best penetrating oil I have ever used is KROIL. Used to be only available from the factory in Nashville, but now some auto supply stores and even Fastenal may have it in stock. KROIL makes WD-40 and PB Blaster look like spitola. It won't free up parts that are cross-threaded or gauled, but will make it easier to come apart.
A gallon of it is less than $50, but will last me 10yrs, using a small squeeze oiler.
 
I just talked to a guy a couple of weeks ago who also swore by Kroil. He said that SiliKroil was the stuff to get but that you needed to order it direct and it had to be shipped to a business address. Is that what they have at Fastenal? I have one of those about 10 minutes from me.
 
I just talked to a guy a couple of weeks ago who also swore by Kroil. He said that SiliKroil was the stuff to get but that you needed to order it direct and it had to be shipped to a business address. Is that what they have at Fastenal? I have one of those about 10 minutes from me.

Never knew a "business" address was needed. I've always had it shipped to my home. If one was needed, make one up! Don't know that ALL Fastenal stores have it, but you can call and ask them at your local store. Used to be that only factory direct sales were made, but in this economy, not too many folks have more business than they need. SiliKroil has silicone in it, but that stuff won't hardly burn off, much less wash off.
 
I'll have to give that Kroil stuff a try next time I battle something like this. I was using PB Blaster and WD40.
 
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