Swingarm issue - JB to the rescue!

[murrdogg]

So there we were, doing a nice batch of winter maintenance on our DRZs. We pull apart my buddy Warren's rear pivot and while cleaning out the bearings notice the drive side bearing is a bit mashed. Strange.

Anyway, once we look into the bearing housing we are shocked to find the chain has worn right through the slider and dug deep into the swingarm! Yikes! Not sure how we missed this before, but damn glad we found it before it wore it's way into the bearing!

After pulling it off the bike, we decided that it was worth giving the old JB weld a try, since it hadn't eaten through the main support structure or into the bearing housing.

Here is the first application:

We taped up the inside to prevent the JB weld from seeping too deeply into the housing.

So after letting it cure all night, here is what we have:

It will take a little grinding, but looking good.

Here's the front view after curing:

One more coat of JB should fill it up completely, and then a light grind to smooth it out and clear the excess from the inside. Then a new slider, and an increased awareness of this problem!

So what do y'all think? Is this going to do the trick? We expect to keep a close eye on it to make sure it holds, but I think since it's not into the main support portion of the pivot that much,it should be fine.

[Wogger]

Thats pretty knarly! Ive seen that on a few bikes before but not that deep.

Edited February 22, 2012 by Wogger

[murrdogg]

Yes we were shocked and appalled when we found it.

Since then I've read many stories of DRZ owners' chains going right through the bearings, so I think we're lucky we caught it when we did.

[murrdogg]

So the work continues...

We applied a second coat of JB Weld to the outside of the swingarm:

This will require some filing:

Now to file down the inside:

The thing that looks like a tongue is actually a piece of tape to cover the bearings from the dust. I did a double take when I first saw the pics though...

Here is what the side bearing looked like when we pulled it out and cleaned it off:

And the other side:

Now we are just waiting for the slider and new side bearings to arrive so we can put it all back together. More pics to come.

[gst95dsm]

How many miles on the bike? Gonna have to go take a look at this.....

[murrdogg]

His bike has over 12k on it. He bought it new out West.

Sorry, as in Western Canada.

[z71up]

What size front sprocket was on that bike? I ran a 14t for a year and a half and never even wore through the chain slider. Dang that's crazy though.

[alcontrast]

doing my winter maintenance I found all the rollers were missing from the swingarm "side bearings". No damage to anything that isn't being replaced anyway but damn.. I may be the first person (second owner) to grease the swingarm bearings on this 2005 drz!