Can't find the snap ring

[scdmarx]

I can't see a snap ring to disconnect the drive shaft. I see the yoke, shaft and a seal, but I can't see the snap ring. All the pictures I can find on the internet show a pair of snap ring pliers reaching into a hole, but that's about as good as it gets. I get down there with a flashlight and poke around, but I just don't see a snap ring. It's GOTTA to be there. Everybody says so. The motor is resting on a floor jack with a jack stand on each side for the night. The drive shaft is all I got left before I start to wiggle it out of the frame.

Do I need to rotate the rear wheel to find it? Both tires are sitting on the ground and the center stand leans way forward. I planned on taking a look at that as well while I had the engine out.

I guess I need a more detailed description of how to remove a snap ring.

I'm going in after an oil leak from the rear cover. Bad pump? Plugged up? Something came apart?
I got my 14year old doing the work for me. I can't get down there to do it lately. I walked him through an oil change on our mini van last week. That was his first mechanical chore he's ever done. So he's all jazzed up about this. But he's slower than a 7 year itch. It's been a long day and the motor still ain't out yet. :builder: :head bang:

 

[mcgovern61]

I pull the boot forward and look in with a flashlight. The snap ring is a little deep inside on the motor end. You will need a right angle set of tips or right angle snap ring pliers to get the snap ring off. I tried with 45 degree and straight tips and it does not work. 90 degree tips are needed.

 

[AApple]

Ron, I had a hard time finding it, too. I did have to spin the shaft around to find the ends of the snap-ring. It DOES sit down into the engine-side of the yoke a little. Once I found the ends, it came off easily, and went back on easily, too. I used 90 deg snap-ring pliers, and used a large flat bladed screwdriver to hold the boot back out of the way.

shfring

• AApple
• Jun 25, 2012
• 1

Driveshaft snapring

 

[scdmarx]

shfring

• AApple
• Jun 25, 2012
• 1

Driveshaft snapring

That explains it,

DUH! I was looking here. :doh: Thank you! :wave:

 

[joedrum]

:shock: :smilie_happy: :hihihi: oh2: :mrgreen:

 

[AApple]

:blush: Well...now ya know. And don't forget to install the bolt/washer that holds the rotor onto the pulse generator when ya re-assemble the rear cover....I hear leaving those out can cause all sorts of problems... :mrgreen: k:

 

[slabghost]

:blush: Well...now ya know. And don't forget to install the bolt/washer that holds the rotor onto the pulse generator when ya re-assemble the rear cover....I hear leaving those out can cause all sorts of problems... :mrgreen: k:

:headscratch: And how the heck would you know? Huh? :smilie_happy: :smilie_happy: :thanks:

 

[scdmarx]

:blush: Well...now ya know. And don't forget to install the bolt/washer that holds the rotor onto the pulse generator when ya re-assemble the rear cover....I hear leaving those out can cause all sorts of problems... :mrgreen: k:

Ya, I heard there was a guy here that thought Honda supplied his bike with spare bolts. Just in case. :fishin:

 

[AApple]

:smilie_happy:
Actually, mine is one of the few that got out of the factory withOUT the spare bolt package....musta been a shortage of them that day.... :smilie_happy:

 

[scdmarx]

Well....Ok....now what do I do?

Here's the leak I was after:

Oil leak from top of rear cover.


Runs down onto frame and makes a big mess.


Hot pipes stink like burned oil.


From what I understand, there's not supposed to be very much oil inside this cover. Just enough to splash the chains and keep the clutch wet. There is a scavenger pump at the bottom to transfer accumulated oil back over into the engine/transmission sump. This is the only way for this "splash" oil to get back.

So, logically, I go in after the pump. Expecting to find something broken, sheared, or plugged up, I was baffled to find everything in tact, tight, and nothing visibly plugged.
Here's the back side of the pump.

The front side of the pump.


The inside of the pump. Everything looks good, rotates good, little passages clear.


The pump drive shaft look and feels right, and the hole (return path to the case) ain't plugged.
So what gives???? Looks simple enough. What else could there be???


When we started we drained better than 2 qts from the crankcase drain plug, and we caught just about a half of a qt when we pulled the rear cover. I didn't measure it, just eye balled it and called it.
Now....I did find this funny looking cover gasket approximately right about where the oil was pouring out from. This is where oil would start running out like crazy after about a minute of engine running.


The only thing I've ever seen to pull a gasket inward like that is vacuum. But I gotta ask...why would there be enough vacuum in the crankcase atmosphere to suck the gasket in, and where does this oil source feed from, and why is it not pumping back into the crankcase, or at least not fast enough to keep up before the rear cover is full enough to leak very badly from the top? Oil is pumping out, not sucking in.

So many questions, and so little pizza left.

 

[dan filipi]

Sounds to me like the cover has been off and the gasket messed up at that time.

 

[mcgovern61]

The crankcase vent is right above there. Is it possibly clogged?

 

[AApple]

That looks like an assembly error to me, too. The oil is getting slung up in that area from the chain(s), and the rotor, and getting out. I don't think the gasket could get "sucked" into the engine under normal circumstances, unless the cover, or the engine casting is really warped in that area. Even then, I would suspect it would get pushed OUT. Looks like whoever put that rear cover on last just had a boo-boo.

 

[scdmarx]

The crankcase vent is right above there. Is it possibly clogged?

Is that the vent hole? I'll check to see that it's clear. Where does the oil come in at?

 

[scdmarx]

That looks like an assembly error to me, too. The oil is getting slung up in that area from the chain(s), and the rotor, and getting out. I don't think the gasket could get "sucked" into the engine under normal circumstances, unless the cover, or the engine casting is really warped in that area. Even then, I would suspect it would get pushed OUT. Looks like whoever put that rear cover on last just had a boo-boo.

There I go think'n like a car again. :doh:

Yup, I suppose it could be that a cheap gasket, or a reused one, maybe just didn't lay flat during assembly and got squished in like that to fit. The funny thing is, I rode this thing for a year (7,000 miles) before this oil leak suddenly happened. I couldn't ride it because the leak was so bad.

So do you all think all I need is a few gaskets and we can put this thing back together? :moped:

 

[slabghost]

So do you all think all I need is a few gaskets and we can put this thing back together? :moped:

That would be my guess. There are two crankcase vents and if both were plugged there should be pressure build up not vacuum. Maybe there's a 3-4 year old mechanic around who noticed a slot and tried to put a stick or something in to finish off the tiny bit of seal that gasket had.

 

[AApple]

Ya...I'd think a new gasket there would take care of it, no problem. It's possible that there was just a tiny little edge of the gasket in the gap there, that over time just soaked up enough oil to make it pliable enough to fold down like that. Or...maybe the case vents were starting to get a little clogged, and the internal pressure was enough to start it blowing oil out. Who knows....

 

[scdmarx]

Ya...I'd think a new gasket there would take care of it, no problem. It's possible that there was just a tiny little edge of the gasket in the gap there, that over time just soaked up enough oil to make it pliable enough to fold down like that. Or...maybe the case vents were starting to get a little clogged, and the internal pressure was enough to start it blowing oil out. Who knows....

Your recent stator thread is gonna be a big help to me. Where did you get your gaskets and how much were they?

 

[AApple]

Ron, I bought the gasket set off of ebay. I went ahead and got the full engine set, since I wasn't sure what all I would need at the time. As it turns out, I'm gunna need the head gaskets now, so that worked out for me. If I remember right, the full set was around $130? Lemmie go look...I think I posted in one of the threads....

Otay..here we go...Gasket set was $139 + shipping.

 

[scdmarx]

Are the head gaskets from Honda?