1985 250ES: anyone familiar with shaft drive rear-end rebuilds?

[Tantrix]

I have a 1985 250ES Big Red that I rescued out of someone's yard that has a broken axle and hub, and I'm thinking of rebuilding the rear end. I looked at the swingarm/propeller shaft on www.discounthondaparts.com and according to them, these are the parts needed to rebuild it from hub to hub (including axle):

1 axle - Part# 42310-HA0-000
2 oil seals (1 on each side) - Part# 91254-HA0-003
1 dust seal (on left side only) - Part# 91255-HA0-003
2 radial ball bearings (right side) - Part# 91057-HA0-000
2 bearings (left side) - Part# 91055-HA0-003
1 O-Ring (right side) - Part# 91307-MB0-003
1 O-Ring Rotary Case (left side) - Part# 91351-737-752


For those of you familiar with shaft drive rear ends or have rebuilt one before, does this sound like everything I'll need from hub to hub for a complete rebuild of the rear-end? Any advice or corrections are welcome.


(Also, anyone know what size cotter pins go on the axle nuts and where to get some replacements?)

[honda250sx]

Hopefully DirtCrasher will chime in on this one. He's the man when it comes to ES/SX rearend builds. I have done two. I have used an AllBalls bearing and seal kit both times and i have always had a good axle. Be sure to seal everything up nice and tight. And be sure to run a bead of silicone on the NEW drive shaft boot that you should get as well before clamping up on swinger. Also make sure not to mix up shims on either side of the gear. These are in there to make the gears mesh properly. As for the pins i just have generic kit you can get from just about anywhere. Matched up and installed. Trim to size if need be.

[bigreddaddy]

You may also want to keep an eye on ebay. You may come out cheaper buying a complete rear end there.

[Tantrix]

Hopefully DirtCrasher will chime in on this one. He's the man when it comes to ES/SX rearend builds. I have done two. I have used an AllBalls bearing and seal kit both times and i have always had a good axle. Be sure to seal everything up nice and tight. And be sure to run a bead of silicone on the NEW drive shaft boot that you should get as well before clamping up on swinger. Also make sure not to mix up shims on either side of the gear. These are in there to make the gears mesh properly. As for the pins i just have generic kit you can get from just about anywhere. Matched up and installed. Trim to size if need be.

Before I go any further....I am not very familiar with shaft drive rear-ends, this is my first time working on one.

I am not sure what shape the drive shaft is in, I haven't even peeked inside the boot to check it out. As far as the shims on the side of the gear, is that located inside the axle housing? I am just rebuilding from hub to hub for now just to get the machine back rolling again...although it's possible I might discover some other problems on up towards the drive shaft.

Here's what I know so far after taking the axle out:


1) Left rear wheel was broken off (end of axle broke)
2) Left rear wheel was welded to the broken axle (why I need the new hub)
3) Some bearings are missing and worn

But after gutting the axle housing, I figured I might as well replace everything between the hubs with new parts.

[ScottZJ]

Well as far as getting the necessary bearings you need, contact Dads here on the board (search for his screen name). He sells all the bearings you need to rebuild the entire rear end including the axles. I have done a couple of these rear ends and they are a pita sometimes. Most likely you shouldnt have any problems with the drive shaft itself but the rear drive unit is usually the part that has issues due to mud and water getting inside. You need a special tool to remove the reversed center nut, but I made my own. The needle bearings will be the hardest to remove if they are toast.












My homemade tool

[honda250sx]

Bro pm me with your email will ya. I have a honda 250sx manual if you need one. I can try to email it or i can burn to disk and ship it over to ya!

[Tantrix]

Bro pm me with your email will ya. I have a honda 250sx manual if you need one. I can try to email it or i can burn to disk and ship it over to ya!

I downloaded the service manual for the 85-87 250es Big Reds. It's helpful but only shows the exploded view of the rear end but not what each part actually is. I've been on www.discounthondparts.com trying to match up the parts from the schematic with part numbers.

It's a headache....