1985 FXWG wide glide. Had the inner and outer primary off to replace Primary seal. ( I srewed up installing it ) and just by chance I spun the clutch assembly and found a very noticeable noise. 9025A bearing sounded very rough. I replaced and Now I feel lucky I found the bad bearing.
My question is why would this fail. It only turn when clutch is released and only about 1/3 of engine speed. It runs in oil. This puzzles me.
Appreciate your thoughts or does this happen once in a while. Thanks
Well, its more than 30 years old. So it either has a lot of miles on it or it sat motionless for quite a while. Sitting can be almost as bad as being used, especially if it sat in an area that was not heated in the winter.
Ball bearings are not really all that durable, and they do not like side loading. In that clutch, the bearing is side loaded every time the clutch is released. Also the fluid in the primary is not filtered. All that metal you find on the drain plug circulates until the magnet grabs it. Any that finds its way into the bearing, does a little damage.
Now with that said. Some noise in that bearing does not make it unserviceable. You would need to measure the free play on it.
I just replace it. 22.00. Now sounds the way it should and hope it's good for 35 more years. That will make me 102 years old. May have to go to a Honda Z50 by then.
Thanks for your thoughts