Britbike forum Forums British Motorcycle specific Brands Bsa bulletin board A65 Clutch Basket Removal?

Hey Everyone,
Ive been searching around the site for about 6 months, just joined.

I have a 63 A65 i got for song, The motor oil looked like it was mixed with water and not sure how long it was sitting. Im in the middle of spliting the cases but im stuck on the clutch basket. I have the puller but nothing yet, Should I remove the transmission first? I have the haynes manual, but it doesnt cover this in detail, thanks in advance for you help.

You do need to get the clutch all out of there before the gearset will come out. Are you saying you bought the clutch hub puller but haven't tried it yet?

I have the puller bolted in, but the basket itself has a lot of play, not sure exactly what the puller is "pulling". The basket moves around the shaft. There are screws behind the basket, are those to be removed before the basket? They are hard to get to with it in place

The puller threads into the hub of the clutch, not the basket. Its bolt pushes against the mainshaft. You might need heat if the previous owner used some form of Loctite on the hub, tighten the bolt then smack the puller bolt with a hammer. It fits on the mainshaft by a taper and keyway. The basket sits on rollers on the clutch centre and the centre fits on splines in the hub. You cannot pull the mainshaft before taking the hub off. After pulling the hub you can remove the backplate behind the clutch and then remove the gearbox sprocket.

IF you have a rattle gun they work a treat on the hub pullers.

Thanks for clearing that up everyone. Here is my Next question, How does the basket come off? I took the plates, and rollers out, The basket has play(up and Down) Should I pull the other sprocket and it comes off together? Sorry for the newb questions.

Pull both sprockets off together, the front sprocket normally is free and does not need a puller.

Thats Gavin, I will use heat first before I try to puller again, The front sprocket is on there good. I will post up with my results.

With the hub rollers out there usually is enough play in the chain that you can lift the chain over one row of teeth of the basket at the top, work it around to the bottom, then the next tooth row, then off. So you should not have to take off the engine sprocket.

Dmadigan, im going to give that a shot first thanks for the tip.

On these earlier 4-bolt clutches, the flange on the clutch center is captured inside a cover that's screwed onto the chainwheel from the back. So, even with the rollers out, there is only a little bit of lateral play in the chainwheel, not enough I would think to get it off the mainshaft without pulling the crank sprocket as well.

The crank sprocket is usually free, yes, but with some corrosion it could be stuck on there. Penetrating oil and heat may work the trick, and some tapping to break it free. If you have to use a puller, it's best to use one that threads into the two holes in the sprocket. If you have a puller that accepts different bolts, I think the outer timing cover screws fit the threads, and may be long enough to reach a puller.

Just an update, I was not able to move the chain to remove the basket, I was able to free up the hub, but it seems like the basket was caught up because there is a lot more play, however I was not able to remove the chain, Looks like I have to remove the engine sprocket, I might have some free time tonight, I have been soaking with WD40 and using a slide hammer to gently tap the engine sprocket, if that does not free it up, I have a puller that uses the bolts, but not sure if they are long enough to use it, Is it safe to use a 2/3 jaw type puller with the chain on?

Don here's a dirty secret for pulling that gear off: if you don't have any english bolts to fit in those two holes in sprocket, then just muscle in a couple 5/16" regular bolts- fine or coarse thread whichever will go in a little ways. Nobody will ever know.

And put a penny on the end of the shaft, it keeps the puller's spindle centered. (Thanks to John H. for that one).

Oh... I thought the holes were 1/4". 5/16"? Ok, it's been a while since I've been in there.

A jaw puller would be ok if you don't put a lot of torque on it. Get a little tension on it and then tap on the center bolt of the puller with a hammer. If that doesn't do it, rig up a proper bolt-type puller.

Leon, I was thinking the same thing, I will muscle in some bolts that fit my puller, I will see what i can come up with tonight,

I put some 1/4" thread bolts and rigged up a puller, its bending the bolts i have in there, Ive tried wd-40 for the last week or so and its not giving. Im hesitant to push the bolts thru with some scrap metal behind it, I saw the OEM tool on ebay, but i dont see how its different from mine, Any other suggestions?

Did you heat it? Some heat shouldn't hurt anything other than the seal behind the sprocket. And use some PB Blaster. I've never had one that hard to get off, but torch and PB just about always works.

If Allans tip on the hammer blow does not work there are pullers that have an hydraulic action instead of a thread, as they are expensive you will need to take the engine to a shop that has one, I had a neighbour now moved who had one and it pulled everthing apart with little effort or damage.

http://www.google.co.uk/products/ca...b_T6zhKrGM0wWtur3DBw&ved=0CHkQ8wIwAQ

Cant believe its been so long, Just wanted to update and ask a couple more questions.

I ended up using a 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF(Automatic Tranny Fluid) to loosen up the procket, come right off after maybe 2 days of soaking. WD-40/PB Blaster, Heat did not work. Also changed the bolt style Puller to a 3 jaw puller.

On to my next question.

In the process of removing the sludge trap, however, does anyone know of a source that supplys the Sludge trap Tube and Plug for the 1963 a65?

I can not find it anywhere online, Do the other years fit? The Sludge trap plug is pretty damaged, but i might be abel to save the tube.

Thanks
In Advance.

Wow Don, you work about as slowly as I do. I'm going on a year and a half now just to rebuild my A65 engine. Sometimes I think, to other subscribers, following my progress must be like watching paint peel.

I've never looked at a '63, but I'm under the impression that all A65s are the same with regard to the sludge trap. Posting a picture would probably confirm that.

It's normal and expected to destroy the cap on getting it out. Assuming it's the same as later years, caps are available from a number of suppliers. I got my last one from my engine man; I'm not sure where he got it, but he gets most of his parts from MAP Cycle.

Some (maybe all now) replacement caps have a hex socket instead of the slot. Be sure to ask for that; if you ever have to remove it again, you might just get it out without destroying it.

I been using that acetone and ATF also. I can't swear it works better, but you can slosh it around with wild abandon.

I don't ever want anything else but those hex head plugs now. Easier to get in, also, if your threads are less than perfect up there at the top of the hole.

The sludge tube and plugs are different for the early A65 motors. Your sludge trap will have two plugs. Though it's only stictly necessary to remove the timing side plug, taking both plugs out makes it much easier to get the tube out. Rabers should be able to supply replacements. Part numbers are 68-1211 and 68-1212 for the plugs and 67-1220 for the tube. AFAIK, there are no allen head plugs available for the early motors.

Thanks once again Alex for straightening me (and more importantly, Don) out. Must be just '63 or '63 and '64, cause my '65 crank is like the later ones. Ok, later... ]

Thanks for all your help, Ill take some pics when I get it out, Been moving a little faster on the BSA because im about done with the heavy labor of another project I had laying around.

SRM do plugs for the early models, they are same as the late A10 plugs. ( infact SRM do sell plugs for all years on A10/A65 cranks. )