Drive axle bearing???behind speedo???

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nick5oh

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Mar 10, 2015
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Hunstville, Ontario
Got a 99SRX, speedo pooched, wanna change the bearing(whatever it's called) while I'm in there, I know the bearing can be the cause of the speedo failure. The speedo gear housing cap has popped off and is MIA. thats all I know so far.
Question is....can I get at this bearing from the clutch side of the sled? Or do I need to go underneath? I know I need to remove the speedo housing and cable, then I should be able to see the bearing right? 3 set screws and yank the bearing off the axle right?
Should I go into the chain case and change that end bearing as well? The chain case oil is pretty dirty. Don't see a drain plug so I assume the case cover has to be removed to drain the oil? Mine as well change the axle bearing (or whatever you call it) while I have the case cover off right?
Basically looking for instruction on how to do this stuff....I'm an automotive mechanic so I'm not a full blown retard about to butcher a sweet sled lol, just looking for some tricks/guidance. Thanks guys!
 
so if the speedo housing has popped off, you should already be seeing part of the bearing as those 3 12mm wrench needing nuts are gone that secure the housing.

you need to loosen the track, go underneath and loosen the set screws on the bearing and while your under there look behind the chaincase in the tunnel and you will find the drain bolt for the chaincase(also needs a 12mm wrench).

you can change the clutch side drive shaft bearing no problem without opening the chain case unless its stuck to the driveshaft. if your concerned about the chaincase side, you will have to remove lots more parts as that bearing is pressed into the case.

can you be a bit more clear on that thing you said about the "speedo gear housing popped off"? that really doesnt happen in my experience.
 
That bearing has a collar. I've always removed chaincase and pulled it out underneath. Think it's the only way
 
bearing does have a collar along with a retainer thats riveted from the factory to the bulkhead. if the bearing isnt stuck to the shaft, that entire bearing assembly will come out the clutch side and saves alot of time and labor over dropping the skid and track to remove the shaft.
 
I've got two of these to do- one on a 2001 srx that the bearing is obliterated and a 1999 sx600 that isn't as bad. I'm hoping and praying the bearing comes off easy and I don't have to take the whole axle out but I'm doubtful on the srx...
 
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snowdad4 said:
so if the speedo housing has popped off, you should already be seeing part of the bearing as those 3 12mm wrench needing nuts are gone that secure the housing.

you need to loosen the track, go underneath and loosen the set screws on the bearing and while your under there look behind the chaincase in the tunnel and you will find the drain bolt for the chaincase(also needs a 12mm wrench).

you can change the clutch side drive shaft bearing no problem without opening the chain case unless its stuck to the driveshaft. if your concerned about the chaincase side, you will have to remove lots more parts as that bearing is pressed into the case.

can you be a bit more clear on that thing you said about the "speedo gear housing popped off"? that really doesnt happen in my experience.
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Possibly a rubber or plastic cap in the end of the speedo gear housing is what's missing, I can see right in. The whole housing is still bolted in and is not broken or anything.
As far as getting the job done, your post has made it pretty clear on how to do it, thank you for that! So basically I'm gonna cross my fingers that I can pull the bearing out the clutch side right? And as far as loosening the set screws....that is done from underneath, but I have to remove the plate under there to access the screws correct? You mentioned chain case drain plug....I need to drain and fill that as well....so once I have the cover off I can see that too I guess correct?
 
set screws are accessible without any plate removal. that plate, i would call it a retainer, holds the bearing to the bulkhead and it is riveted from the factory. no easy removal and no need unless that bearing is completely stuck to the shaft. theres a few tricks for that as well prior to removing the retainer.

the set screws are a torx style. t-15 off the top of my head but dont hold me to that. little advice, those are easily stripped and then your job becomes even more of a pain in the butt. some quality penetrent along with heat as well as a quality torx bit will help a bunch. tap that tor bit into the set screw with a hammer before you trying to spin it out to make good contact. i recall there only being two.

you will find the drain plug when your under the sled, its obvious as there is a cutout in the backing plate behind the chaincase. once drained, do open up the cover side so you what you have and what condition. also you can get a better clean of things from that side.
 
snowdad4 said:
set screws are accessible without any plate removal. that plate, i would call it a retainer, holds the bearing to the bulkhead and it is riveted from the factory. no easy removal and no need unless that bearing is completely stuck to the shaft. theres a few tricks for that as well prior to removing the retainer.

the set screws are a torx style. t-15 off the top of my head but dont hold me to that. little advice, those are easily stripped and then your job becomes even more of a pain in the butt. some quality penetrent along with heat as well as a quality torx bit will help a bunch. tap that tor bit into the set screw with a hammer before you trying to spin it out to make good contact. i recall there only being two.

you will find the drain plug when your under the sled, its obvious as there is a cutout in the backing plate behind the chaincase. once drained, do open up the cover side so you what you have and what condition. also you can get a better clean of things from that side.
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Great advice and info I really appreciate it! The plate I was talking about was underneath the sled. Like a skid plate. I was wondering if that needs to be removed to do this job...I know the speedo plate is riveted to the bulkhead and I really hope I don't need to deal with that at all. Hoping the bearing comes off pretty easy, fingers crossed....sled only has 35xxkms on it. Thanks again for all the tips/info/advice.
 
So remove the speedo cable, the the speedo cover (couple bolts), the go under sled and loosen the set screws? The pull bearing out of the clutch side?
About the bearing for the drive axle that's in the chain case.....when should that be changed? How would you tell if it's worn?
 
Yes be very careful with those torx set screws, you strip those and you'll be kickin yourself! I think you'll be fine just leaving the original bottom bearing in the chaincase for now if the sled only has 3500km on it which is extremely low Kms for our neck of the woods. pretty much all the SRX 700s I see have a minimum of 10,000km on them. Anyways, make sure you use red loctite on those set screws when you re-install them. They have a tendency to fall out.

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if you can't get the speedo bearing off, you'll probably have to drain chain case, pull chaincase cover, loosen bolt on bottom gear by holding the brake lever and using a 14mm socket to remove bolt, then back off chain tensioner (loosen jam nut first) to put slack in the chain so then you can remove drive axle to pull speedo bearing with a bearing puller. This is your worst case senario.
 
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Ok so from left to right first picture is what I'm guessing (what I'm pointing at) is missing??
3rd picture is the key (looks like a dowel) that spins speedo.
4th picture is 12mm drain bolt on back side of case...dark picture hard to see.
6th picture is chain tensioner
Last picture is of spacer behind bottom gear. It sits on the bearing race. Top gear also has one. Don't get them mixed up!

Hope this all gives you a better understanding!
 

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Cooper0809 said:
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Ok so from left to right first picture is what I'm guessing (what I'm pointing at) is missing??
3rd picture is the key (looks like a dowel) that spins speedo.
4th picture is 12mm drain bolt on back side of case...dark picture hard to see.
6th picture is chain tensioner
Last picture is of spacer behind bottom gear. It sits on the bearing race. Top gear also has one. Don't get them mixed up!

Hope this all gives you a better understanding!
Click to expand...

yes much clearer now thank you sir! and yes that rubber cap is what is missing, guess I need to buy a whole new speedo housing.
 
so I got it all apart....cap was missing, gear missing, and the little sleeve that the gear rides on as well as the washers/spacers are missing. The square pin that goes into the drive axle and into the speedo housing is there.
So I turned the speedo cable by hand and it's not working???should it?
Also I took a quick peak under the sled, saw some collars and some wheels but didn't see any set screws at all. Gonna go take another peak in a bit.
 
YAAAY! Found those damn set screws....only 1 actually...guess the others fell out...or maybe someone was in there? Anyways....new speedo housing I guess will correct all my missing parts issues...and I've got to attempt that bearing...:(
Found out why the speedo wouldn't move when I turned the cable as well...cable was out of the back of the speedo. Cross your fingers for me on this bearing boys! Thanks for all the help once again
 
if the bearing is stuck on the driveshaft, and the retainer riveted to the bulkhead is securing the bearing somewhat, how is it that removing the chaincase will allow someone to remove the driveshaft to access the bearing?

wouldnt the bearing need to be off to allow enough lateral movement in the shaft to clear either side of the bulkhead? with the retainer out of the equation, your onto something. but that danged bracket brings a whole new set of issues.
 
He would be able to slide drive shaft over a bit to clutch side so he could get a bearing puller in behind the bearing...that's all. Your right he won't be able to remove drive shaft, but by taking the bottom gear off he'll be able to slide the drive shaft over. He doesn't need to remove the whole chaincase, just the cover and bottom gear...
 
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After fighting with the bearing using punches and hammers and chisels and a whole lotta WD-40 and a propane torch and also a lotta cursing and swearing I almost got the bearing off! At least now I can get a puller in there. Kinda worried about the chain case side now cause the axle is now moving since the bearing is not holding it in its position. Thinking the seal may be compromised and that maybe I should open the chain case to have a peek to make sure all is still in the correct place???
The speedo drive pin is also stuck in the drive axle....won't come out by hand at least.
 
Good for you! Sometimes it can be a pita, and other times they just slide right off. The seal on the chaincase should be fine as it's on the outside (backside) of the chaincase. Keep soaking the speedo key. At least it's not busted. Most of the ones I see are snapped in half...yea there not fun getting out.
 
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