Clutch basket and hub locked

[dmstarr]

I replaced my KX250 clutch basket, and now the hub and basket will not spin independently of one another. I used two old clutch plates bolted together to hold the basket and hub and tightened the clutch nut with an impact gun. Did I overtighten it?

[griffbones]

Now to be sure, you do have the trans in neutral right? And you are trying to turn the center hub not the basket, right? And you have not yet installed the clutch plates yet, right?
If so you might have dammaged the bearing that the basket rides on if you over tightened the hub nut.

[FPMXer]

Did you get the washer installed in between the two hubs? If not they will bind on each other.

[dmstarr]

yes, trans in neutral on the stand. plates are now out.
history:
I put in the new basket, assembled everything, all pieces accounted for and it spun fine. torqued the with an impact wrench and put the plates in. finished assembly and started it in neutral. I noticed the back wheel creeping, and figured the plates hadn't settled in yet. Took it off the stand, clutched it, put it in gear, and LURCH, Stall. Played with the cable. no amount of tension could disengage the clutch.
this is when i removed the pressure plate and clutch platees, and found the basket and hub will not move independent of each other in neutral on the stand.
I'll borrow the neighbor's impact wrench and remove the nut today, and verify the thrust washer is in place and that there are no obstructions between the hub and basket.

[dmstarr]

ok. it was overtightened. it spins now, but not as freely as it used to. I put in a magnum billet clutch basket, the model was for a 92-05 KX250. Now I'm wondering if the basket is made a little differently than stock, and there isn't enough clearance with just the one thrust washer?
I only tightened it with an impact gun on the "1" setting. Makes me a little nervous.

[Lakeshore]

Did you get the washer installed in between the two hubs? If not they will bind on each other.

This part IS crucial. You did get back IN BETWEEN the two, right?

[dmstarr]

yes. basket, big washer, hub, splined washer, clutch nut.

[FPMXer]

What about the washer behind the outer hub? The outer hub could be rubbing on the case itself and with the nut tightened is not allowing the free spin they usually have. It should go two roller bearings over a steel collar, washer against case, outer hub, washer, inner hub, splined washer and then nut. Tighten it with an impact, then stake the nut when it's all good. But only stake it if it's a new nut. If it's an old nut then put it in a vise and with a nail set tap the staked part back into the nut so it will go on all the way.

[dmstarr]

FPM,
yep, all the parts are in place, including the two bearings, collar, and washer. i used the parts diagram. The staking/"unstaking" of the nut is interesting. I didnt restake it, nor did i punch the stake marks back out. but it did go on all the way tight.
Again, maybe i am just expecting more free spin than it should have. I've yet to put the plates in and start it - just been too busy. Maybe once I get it back together it will work fine.
It just feels "tighter" than before when I move the outer basket (hub) with my hand. It doesnt sound like there is any scraping or dragging. The bearings look and feel great. The washer is in place. Guess I'll try to start it up tomorow. I'll let y'all know.

[dmstarr]

Nope. Still a nice bg CLUNK when I go into gear. On the stand, the back wheel spins the same speed and torque with or without the cluch lever. The damn thing just will not disengage. With the engine off, in Nuetral, the tire spins freely and the basket doesnt move. I put it in gear, and a loud "clunk' is present and there is a definite stopping of the wheel, even with the clutch lever completely in.
This is driving me mad.

[FPMXer]

I will have to peek into my manuals for an answer. Do you still have the old hub's? If so then take the news ones out and reinstall the old ones with a complete clutch set up and see what happens. It could be the new stuff is not correct. If you have anything to measure the new with the old and see if there are any differences between the two.

[dmstarr]

I discarded my stock basket because it was so badly notched. i have a friend that has an OEM, I'm going to try that next.

[SJRTX]

As a rule of thumb, you dont ever want to "torque" anything with an impact. Torque specs are listed in the service manuals for a reason.

[don46]

Just a thought, most bikes when cold will spin the rear tire when on the stand, did you try to ride the rear brake with the clutch pulled in to stop the tire?

[dmstarr]

Yes, Don. That was initially a problem. Once I got it off the stand I could get it into gear, but they are still dragging so badly that the bike stalls all the time. I have adjusted to cable out so far that when the lever is all the way in, the clutch bolts contact the case.

[FPMXer]

The clutch bolts should not touch the clutch cover at all. It sounds like the hub is the wrong part or the springs are wrong. The plates don't have to move out too far when working correctly. I would suspect the hub is wrong. It's the only thing that makes sense to me why your having troubles. Did you have the same issues before swaping out the hard parts?

[dmstarr]

No. this is a new problem. I had a jerky clutch before, but that was from the notches on the basket. I replaced it with a Magnum/PE basket. It had the right part number on it, but I also suspect there is something not fitting together properly.
The clutch bolts only touch the cover when I pull the cable tight enough - I know this isnt a normal condition. I was only doing it to try and fix the dragging. My point was that even with the plates being separated that far, it still drags. Something is causing the basket and inner hub to drag.

[Hutoa]

I'm had the same problem. I have a 1994 KX250. I replaced the stocked basket with a Talon Basket which fits 93-05 KX250. All the right washers etc are in place but when i tighten to the correct torque the hub locks with the basket. I have to loosen off until I can move then hub and basket independently. Should i have a different shim for aTalon basket perhaps?

The clutch does work if I tighten as far as i can and then lock the nut to the spline by punching the nut.

Any ideas?

[dmstarr]

make sure the primary gear is PRESSED in completely to the basket. This was 95% of my problem. I never did get the clutch working perfectly, but this fixed the symptoms in this post. If you try to drop the gear in (hot basket, cold gear) then tap it with a hammer, it looks seated, but it probably isn't. I had a friend press the gear and viola.

make sure the thrust washer is in the right place!

[gpz600oz]

just a thought but if you replaced the fibers did let them soak before you intalled them? if you put them in dry there proberly ****** ......