OK just got back from a Rocky Mountain trip .......the Steamer ran flawless , didn't even use a drop of oil .
The only hiccup she had was pulling into Cleveland at 10 o'clock on a Saturday night she started to rattle pretty loud at the gas pumps .
I just jammed the ear plugs in a little deeper and ignored it , I knew by the sound what it was .
Monday morning pulled the alternator off and lo and behold , found the bolt holding the drive vanes on the alternator shaft had backed out . Wasn't broke just loose which let the drive hub rattle away on the alternator shaft . This is the third time for Tigger 2 .
Here's the alt. with bolt and drive vanes removed , the splines are starting to get sloppy on both the drive and the shaft .
(http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee47/2uoykcuf/repairs/100_2483.jpg)
cleaned up everything with some electric motor cleaner
(http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee47/2uoykcuf/repairs/100_2484.jpg)
Used this stuff on the splines , Loc-tite makes the same stuff , it cures so good that you can only seperate the pcs. afterwards with a blow torch first to melt the stuff to get it to let go .
(http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee47/2uoykcuf/repairs/100_2485.jpg)
Cleaned up the threads in the shaft with a tap . Reassembled it and used a new bolt.
(http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee47/2uoykcuf/repairs/100_2486.jpg)
Started her up and no more rattle can , well it's as quiet as a steamer can be at idle :ImaPoser
and this was interesting , when it was rattling the voltmeter showed only 12 volts at idle , looky what it does now .........
(http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee47/2uoykcuf/repairs/100_2487.jpg)
Tigger 2 never breaks the bolts on the shaft that the sprag is on , it is always the bolt on the alt. shaft that screws up on Tigger #2 , I think we might have it cured this time with the bearing retaining compound I used .
Good fix. I've linked this to Steamer Wisdom.
Nice post. Thanks for the info!
Looks like that is worth doing when the bolt is renenwed :idea: on the list.
Thanks Mustang :icon_salut
I had the exact same thing on my 98. I bought it with 6000 or so on it, and I thought the rattle was a bit excessive, but not knowing any better, everyone told me "they all do that". So I rode it to about 15,000 or so before deciding to one day just pull the thing off and found the exact same issue. I replaced with a grade 8 bolt just to make me feel better, and used some loctite and torqued it down good and it ran as quiet as a steamer could be until I passed it on to its new owner.
Jason
That's the way to do it. I used a Devcon product similar to JB weld to take up the jiggle. And notice folks that he used a flat washer and not a lock washer. What makes the bolts snap off is they slowly get tighter and tighter. So thread locker too so they don't get tighter or looser.
And just FYI, the factory bolt is DIN 10.9 which is equiv to US grade 8. You can get an aircraft grade bolt in DIN 12.9 from McMaster Carr.
Cheers
Oh yeah, and I had a Triumph mechanic tell me they are just a noisy motor.
I think I'll have to take mine out and check as well. The worst part for me is that there are so few Steamers, I have no bike to compare it to! Mine is about as noisy as my 91 R100GS, but I get a little vibe/rattle on acceleration that doesn't sound "right".
This weekend is going to see a bit of a teardown to do some jetting, check the bolt and do a little familiarity tour of the whole Steamer system. Since getting it a couple weeks ago, all I did was swap a seat, lube the chain and ride 1500 miles.
Quote from: "Papalobster"This weekend is going to see a bit of a teardown to do some jetting, check the bolt and do a little familiarity tour of the whole Steamer system. Since getting it a couple weeks ago, all I did was swap a seat, lube the chain and ride 1500 miles.
You going to come up to Manistique next weekend for the Northern Michighan Tiger ride-in? I will be there, and a few others who I know have had and have been around Steamers...I am sure they can provide some tips, tricks and pointers too. You kind of turn into a shade tree mechanic with a Tiger no matter which one you have!
Jason in KC
I've got a case of DAR, too, I think. Anyone have the dimensions of the bolt I need?
mines been re tapped bigger because I let it rattle too long once and it ruined the threads in the alt shaft
Found the stock size in the Bike Bandito fische:
M6 X 16mm.
Grade 10.5 available in packs of 100 from McMaster Carr. That ought to be good for approximately the next 800,000 miles. :lol:
Can anyone hazard a guess how long it would take someone minimally competent (but not stupid) to pull the alternator off and replace and loctite that bolt?
Or is it worth having the dealer do this (it's in for some minor service anyway)? No DAR yet, but if it's only an hour, may as well do this, right?
Thanks
I think maybe an hour or two. If you have the H&B engine guards its more work. You'll need the right Torx socket and extension for the three alt bolts.
Again, everyone, please note that DIN 10.9 is the same strength as US grade 8 bolt. If you buy a box of bolts from McMaster, get the DIN 12.9 aircraft bolts in 6X20mm (as I didn't see a 6X16). The alt shaft has deep threads so it will fit. Or you can cut it to 16mm. If you are in the US, I could just mail you a 12.9.
If the vane jiggles on the splines then use some bearing mount goop like shown above. Its this rotational jiggle that causes the bolts to get tighter and tighter and snap off. Also suggest using thread locker (like Loctite) on the threads and use a flat washer only; no lock washer.
Then be careful you don't pinch that big O-ring on reassembly. You can order those from McMaster as well. I suggest the 10 pack in Viton which is tougher than Buna.
Or the dealer could do it in about an hour. Supposedly there was a tech service bulletin on the alt problem, but not all dealers have ever heard of it.
The alt side is easy--if you have the old design. About 15 minutes, assuming your cush drive rubbers haven't disintegrated. If you have the new design--there is one a nut on the alt side, and you probably need to get a wrench on the clutch side to loosen and re-torque, then I'd say a could of hours.
But as I mentioned in the other thread--this isn't the usual failure mode--the usual failure is the head snaps off the bolt. Loctite won't help that.
Geof
Nightrunner, check your box. :D