docandy
I have a problem with the bottom rear suspension bolt on a 888, the one that attaches the bottom of the shock to the swinging arm. The bolt is seized into the bushing in the shock end, and I can't undo it. Have already broken both my 8mm sockets🙁 . Any suggestions on how to remove it without damage to the swinging arm?
griff851
The bottom bolt takes a 17mm socket. It runs from Lh to Rh while standing at the back. The nut is on the Rh side. There is a cut in the mount and and a keeper plate on the Lh to stop the bolt turning. Undo the nut then use a punch to push the bolt through is the normal procedure. Soak it with CRC or WD40 or whatever penetrating spray oil you have for a day or two, then try again.
Griff
docandy
Seized rear suspension bolt
On my bike, the bolt has an 8mm socket head, and the bolt head is on the right side of the swinging arm. The keeper plate on the left is stopping the nut from being removed, so the only option is to unscrew the bolt. The problem is there's not much space to get a decent socket in, and the small ones I've tried have both broken.
loony888
griffs description is the correct assembly, yours seems to have been bodged. the keeper should hold the bolt head leaving the nut to apply the torque to tighten/loosen. unfortunately, with the nut locked in place by the keeper you have to apply the force to an allen head, and that will make it harder because the force s pulling the nut against the keeper and the face of the swingarm the keeper is against. as suggested, use WD40 to soak it and leave it to penetrate as long as possible, then use an allen head socket with a decent extension to clear everything and a breaker bar, you may even need an extension on the breaker and it will probably shear the bolt so be careful.
NOTE, IF YOU APPLY THE METHOD ABOVE USE SOMEONE TO STEADY THE BIKE HOLDING THE BRAKE ON! the torque of a large breaker bar could rotate the bike forward and off it's stand.
paul.
brad black
the from right to left with a steel keeper plate behind the nut on the left is how the monster lower shock mount is, i think that's how my 888 was too. the swingarm has the round hole for the bolt to feed in from the rh side. that way you can remove the shock without removing the exhaust first. not like my '89.
lots of penetrant, time and then heat on the lower shock mount. if you heat it from below you'll put as little heat as possible into the shock itself. not ideal, but it might be an option as you spiral into depressing reality prior to trying to get a hack saw blade between swingarm backet and shock to cut the bolt on both sides.
does the bolt turn? even if it's seized into the lower shock bush the bush will turn in the shock so it should turn. if it won't turn at all then it might be the nut. i'd soak it all and get it hot with the heat gun.
a snap on 3/8 drive long 8mm hex bit might do it - i've put a lot of load on mine over the years. put some rubber or heat shrink, etc over the hex piece to stop it marking the swingarm hole.
or drill the head off the bolt, remove the exhaust and punch the headless shank thru to the LH side. the friction between the head of the bolt and swingarm, compounded by corrosion, can cause an amazing amount of resistance to movement. we drill the heads off a few bolts - clutch slaves, clutch spring caps, etc - that you tear the head out of the hex and the remnants just screw out with your hand.
docandy
Here are a couple of photos to illustrate the problem - not a pretty sight. I will try to get a stronger 3/8 drive 8mm hex bit and in the meantime keep squirting it with WD40. The swinging arm is off the bike with the rear shock still attached. When it all goes back together, I'm going to use a bolt with 17mm hex head and fit it the other way round as Griff describes. Would a stainless bolt be strong enough for this application?
Mr.R
Hi,
My '92 851 has the same set up as your 888.
Having seen your pictures I'd follow Brad's advice and drill the Allen head off of the bolt then punch it through from that side.
Start with a small drill bit and work upto a 10mm one and only drill to the depth of the bottom of the Allen head.
I've used a good quality Stainless Steel allen bolt and nut on my bike for several thousands of miles now without any problems.
I've been wondering about replacing all of the rear suspension bolts with Titanium items, but I'm not sure if they're upto the job?
I do use them to hold the brake calipers and disc's on without any problems and they put up with an awful lot of stress under hard braking.
Steve R
griff851
Hi Steve,Ti's main strength is in tension not shear. But as you say its worked on Brake calipers. If you stick a Ti bolt of say 5mm in a vice and hit it side on you can snap it off, a steel bolt will just bend. (yes, nothing better to do during smoko)
Docandy, that looks nasty, perseverance and care. Then get medieval and drill the head off. The choice is yours as to whether you do the 851 style or the 888/monster, both will have issues if mistreated. After you wash your bike and its dry, give it a spray down with CRC/WD40 (obviously not the brake disks or pads), most of the seized/corrosion issues will never happen again.
I'm using my old 851 bolt on 888 swing arm, its good because you can put the socket on the bolt then stick the 3/8 extension through the hole. No hole in the 851 one. Allen key bolts are good too thats why they use them, if you have the proper 8mm allen key socket, they are fairly cheap from the tool shop.
Griff
loony888
after recently replacing the strada hoop and rocker in my 888 with a corsa one (thanks speedmade!!) i needed to replace the bolts also as they were different lengths, mine were marked 8.8 which i learned was a tensile rating and i could only find 10.9. i figured they were a high tensile bolt also and would be stronger, they were and are, but in the table i also noted strengths for stainless steel bolts and the ratings they give them i would definitely not use them in an application where the original fit was high tensile. here's a link to the page i'm talking about and if you scroll down to the table headed "metric bolts" you will see what i mean.
http://www.boltdepot.com/fastener-information/Materials-and-Grades/Bolt-Grade-Chart.aspx
cheers all,
paul.
Foggy 888
Apply a little heat from an oxyacetylene torch and it will loosen right up. You can use a very small tip to keep the flame right on the nut.
LUCKY
Put an old allen head socket into it and stick weld it to the capscrew head as far round as you can.Let it soak in WD40 for a few days and see how you go with a decent Snapon breaker bar.
Ciao
