building a better 86 T3

**200x Basket** · 08-24-2003, 06:11 PM

I got bored today and started assembly of my 86 t3. here a couple pics to make lubrication easier.

**Lots_Of_Nothing** · 08-24-2003, 06:50 PM

nice....parts look brand new.....not to mention verrrry smart idea.....way to keep the bearings good alot longer.....how do you do that? just drill a hole and fit a grease zerk(however you spell it) in there?

**200x Basket** · 08-25-2003, 09:38 AM

drill, tap, and screw

**Jeb** · 08-25-2003, 03:14 PM

Good Work!

It's been my experience that most KXT rear wheel bearings these days are lubricated, sealed bearings. Meaning you can't really lube them unless you remove the seals that are built into the bearings. You have to fill up that whole carrier with grease before it gets anywhere near the bearings. then, if they are sealed, hows it going to force grease through the seals? I guess you gain the fact that it can force some grease between the axle and the bearing surface. between the bearings is a distance collar that fits the axle pretty closely. the rest is a void that has to be filled with grease. did you drill some holes in the distance collar so grease can get through too?

Now on the rocker arm, thats a great place because it's needle bearings can sure get seized up over time. did you leave enough room to get a grease gun clipped onto the zerk?

can you get to it without pulling the seat/fenders off?

Also, my compliments. It's tough sometimes to get good threads to work through that thin wall tubing.

:-D

**200x Basket** · 08-25-2003, 06:18 PM

well while the bearings are sealed the seal is nbot made to work against a pressure. when you pack it full of grease it will get past the seal due to the pressure on the inside seal. all of your aftermarket double row greasable bearing carriers work this way. it was easy to tap them. it took about 2 minutes to do both parts. there is plenty of room to grease the pivot but you do have to remove the seat.

now for the kinda bad news. i was about to install my rear brakes on my tecate when i discovered that is a 87 tecate bearing carrier. my rear brakes wont fit. that is ok. i was planning to use a dual piston caliper from a 92 ninja 600r on the rear any way. it will be a pretty easy swap. i already have the 600r master cylinder on the rear. i cant wait to ride this machine. it has some crazy mods that should be alot of fun!! 8)

**TeCaTe_MaN** · 08-25-2003, 07:34 PM

Originally Posted by Jeb

Good Work!

It's been my experience that most KXT rear wheel bearings these days are lubricated, sealed bearings. Meaning you can't really lube them unless you remove the seals that are built into the bearings. You have to fill up that whole carrier with grease before it gets anywhere near the bearings. then, if they are sealed, hows it going to force grease through the seals?

what i did, is when i was installing the bearings i pulled out the inner seals so there are NO inner seals on the bearings, the grease will have direct acess to them and keep the outer seals in so nothing can get in from the outside :-D

**Jeb** · 08-25-2003, 08:41 PM

Sounds like you guys have got it covered!

chris, that dual piston caliper idea is pretty killer!

**200x Basket** · 08-27-2003, 01:38 PM

well i rode it for the 1st time just a few minutes ago. it was great. it starts on the 1st kick and has no problem pulling the front end up, even with the cal fab swinger. i dont have brakes yet so i cut my ride short. the dura blue axle is WIDE and made it feel alot more stable. i am running a complete 86 kx250 engine so i dont know how it compares to stock but it is fun. i know the gearing is different and the compression is a little higher due to a thinner head gasket. now i am just afraid to bust up all this new plastic.

**200x Basket** · 08-28-2003, 07:55 PM

how is this for wide? it wont even fit in my truck

i have not messed with the engine yet, i want to run it to see what probles it has before i tear into it. ans the tank is junk, i need a new one

**toyota200x** · 08-29-2003, 07:09 PM

Seriously, that is the coolest looking t3 I have ever seen, the vampire tire look awesome and the handlebars are great. I can't wait to see it with the plastic.

**200x Basket** · 09-01-2003, 12:48 AM

fmf silencer and ninja dual piston rear caliper.

**200x Basket** · 09-01-2003, 01:07 AM

rear

**Jeb** · 09-02-2003, 09:48 AM

I'd forgotten how much longer the KX250 Kick Lever is. Does it interfere with the rear fender when you kick? Or did you switch back to Tecate when you put the rear fenders on?

The caliper looks great. It looks like some kind of "works" trike with the cal-fab arm, that axle, and the caliper. No offense, but the tires just don't fit with it! Needs Turf Tamers!

:-D

On a different note, that looks like the same front tire I have on my 85 R. Kenda Front Max, right? Now I can see exaclty what the gold R rim and that tire would look on my KXT. Do you know if the splines on the rear hubs are the same? I haven't pulled My kxt ones off yet to see. I need to pull my Tri-Z ones off too for the hell of it and see what changes.

**200x Basket** · 09-02-2003, 01:26 PM

i know the rear tires are "different" but that is what was on the rims. i have been trying to decide what to buy. the rim is a 250r rim with a kenda on it. i have a tecate front rim but the tire is old and i wanted to ride this beast. i wanted to get it back together so i could work on the mods. i have several more, including a pro circuit pipe!!

i iuse the kx kicker because it is aluminum and lighter. it is tight between the fender but at least it does not jam my foot into the peg. :shock: i lean forward on the bike and angle my foot down as i kick. it works great. i have a spare you could try out if you want.

**tecatecrazy** · 09-02-2003, 04:54 PM

hey basket , I was wondering about that kicker too. I would be nice to have the extra leverage on these hard kicking suckers. what year kx is that from, or were they all the same spline... sure like the looks of that swinger on there....what ya gonna do with your brake line, zip ties?? :-D ---Joe 8)

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building a better 86 T3