Loose gearshift lever yz426

[laserracer]

My gear shift lever keeps coming loose ive tried grinding the slot out on the lever so it closes up more but it only lasts 1 ride then its loose again the splines on the shaft and on the lever seem ok, am i missing somthing here ?? or should i just buy an aftermarket lever ? or is there some tip i should know about ?ive also put in a longer bolt and fitted a locnut to the end still doesnt work

[skidMark]

ive also put in a longer bolt and fitted a locnut to the end still doesnt work

err thats what i would have suggested, maybe you are clicking it ridiculously too hard, i have yet to have a lever ever come loose. are your spline teeth all stripped off or something? once its on the spline they are hard to move, and a bolt with a locknut, it shouldnt be going anywhere.....could always just get it welded on the end then grind the weld off should the need ever arise, would be my last resort though.

[laserracer]

yeah the splines seem ok and its not like its slipping but its loose on the shaft so if i leave it loose its going to flog out the alloy splines on the lever, with welding id be to scared of frying the shaft seal

[skidMark]

yeah the splines seem ok and its not like its slipping but its loose on the shaft so if i leave it loose its going to flog out the alloy splines on the lever, with welding id be to scared of frying the shaft seal

maybe it has slotted the groove the bolt goes into? (on the shaft)

drill out the gear lever bolt hole a bit bigger to take a bigger bolt. to sllow to the worn shaft slot....

that is if its work the shaft, go have a look, if the bolt ya shoving in the hole is smaller shes gunna come loose....

other thought is get the nylock nut and put loctite threadlock on it...

and the bolt also....do it up and leave it, it shouldnt come loose. loctite is invincible.

at least you are sorting it before it buggers the shaft.

on another note maybe it is the incorrect lever made for a bigger shaft?

hope something in this helps ya mate.

Skid.

[westie]

yeah the splines seem ok and its not like its slipping but its loose on the shaft so if i leave it loose its going to flog out the alloy splines on the lever, with welding id be to scared of frying the shaft seal

The teeth on the spline may look ok but they're probably worn past a certain point. Similar thing happened to my rm125. However I found a drill and small bolt through the lot will work till I replace the spline.

[laserracer]

Thanks guys great advice.. as usual..SKIDMARK.. you were so right.. i checked the shaft more closely and yep wear in the slot, so a bigger bolt it is ,then hopefully the bastard stays put

[theblacksmith]

Hi mate - seeing as its become loose a few times I strongly suggest u use loctite on the splined shaft,shifter splines and on the new bolt youre gonna put on it and leave it for a whole day without any use or force on it.Make sure its really clean before applying loctite and tighten it as much as you possibly can without snapping anything of course.If and when you do need to remove it off the shaft simply apply oxy acetylene heat for a short period(just enough to burn loctite and not the seal on box casing)Have some water handy for quick cooling at hand.You only need to heat it till you can see a little smoke come from the burning loctite(have a neutral flame and hold tip of blue cone on the spot)
To be extra careful you can always cut a slot in a thin sheet to deflect heat off the gearbox casing while you do this.You could also use a heat shielding paste(awesome shit) available from Strata Welding or Wurth.Hope you get it sorted mate-cheers.

[telliman]

just buy a new shifter, the last thing you want to do is wear the teeth on the sline!

[laserracer]

STINK ..redrilled gearshift lever to next biggest bolt size
doesnt leave a lot of meat left in the alloy shifter on one side had to grind a flat surface on one side for nut, now looks pretty weak....STUFF IT im going to buy a new one and keep the old one as a spare...BIG THANKS ..for all the help guys... now the hunt is on for a new shift lever

[skidMark]

STINK ..redrilled gearshift lever to next biggest bolt size
doesnt leave a lot of meat left in the alloy shifter on one side had to grind a flat surface on one side for nut, now looks pretty weak....STUFF IT im going to buy a new one and keep the old one as a spare...BIG THANKS ..for all the help guys... now the hunt is on for a new shift lever

try it how it is may it may well be okay they are stronger than they look.

[Katman]

could always just get it welded on the end then grind the weld off should the need ever arise, would be my last resort though.

Sorry Mark, but with all due respect, you are doing yourself no favours, with your level of mechanical advice, should you ever hope to be employed at my workshop.

[Katman]

The fact of the matter is that while the splines on the gear selector shaft may look fine there will be some degree of wear. Replacing the gear lever (and bearing in mind there is a great degree of variation in quality between aftermarket options) will only fix half the fault. Ultimately the shaft might well need replacing as well - sometimes not as expensive as you might think.

[theblacksmith]

Sorry Mark, but with all due respect, you are doing yourself no favours, with your level of mechanical advice, should you ever hope to be employed at my workshop.

And alloy (Aluminium) will NOT weld to steel - so dont bother.

[barty5]

had the same prob with my 426 when i had it replaced alloy shifter with aftermarket steel one (way cheaper was $100 plus for new alloy one) anyway the steel one bit in a lot better after cleaning up shaft never had slipage probs after that.

[laserracer]

hey barty5 ,yep might just go for a steel one where did ya get yours from, and how many $ was it