A10 Swinging Arm removal

[Chipster]

Hi all,

Newbie to the forum, so 'Hello' to everyone. Chipster here, from Northumberland, England.

I've got a 1959 A10 and I can't for the life of me remove the swinging arm. The silent block bushes are clearly shot now, far too much play, but how on earth do I remove the swinging arm, and then how do I get the bushes out for replacement?

Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Will also take some pics of the bike to post, as she is currently complete.

Thanks.

[Caretaker]

Hi, if you are a BSA A owner, you are no newbie here!
Welcome, and hope you find good help.

Regards

[fido]

Are you sure the play is in the bushes? On my A7SS the hole became enlarged in the frame where the large nut goes on the end of the hollow spindle. I could not get the spindle out and ended up welding the nut to the frame. I've had frames powder coated with the swinging arm in situ because the bushes have rusted in. Some people saw through both sides of the spindle and then use a fly press to remove the bushes with the spindle fragment.

[Brian]

Hi Chipster, these can be very difficult to remove. No doubt lots of people will have their way of getting them apart but I will explain how I dismantled mine. Mine is the type with the brake crossover shaft [hollow spindle] but the same will apply if yours is the solid type. First drill out the end of the spindle from both sides to just inside the frame, the spindle is soft and easy to drill, this will release the swingarm from the frame. Once you have the swingarm out heat the area around the bushes, I used a gas burner I have but a oxy set would do the same. You dont have to get it red hot or even close but hot enough for the bushes to soften up enough to push them out. I held my swingarm on its side and kept heating until the spindle started to come out by itself. Once you have the spindle and the inner sleeves of the bushes out let it all cool and clean out the excess rubber left behind. Next you have to remove the outer sleeves of the bushes, you can use a hacksaw blade to try and split them but I dropped a piece of scrap metal inside and put two small pieces of weld [arc] on them and then knocked it all out from the other side. You have to do this to both sides. Job complete. Now all you need to do is repaint the swing arm and put new bushes and a spindle in. All the parts are available from C@D Autos in England, thats where I got mine from. There may be other ways of getting them apart but thats how I did mine, hope this helps.  Brian.

[Chipster]

Thanks Brian and Fido for your replies. Excellent advice. Fido - I'm not absolutely positive that it's spindle play and not an enlarged frame hole, but I won't know until I take it apart (I think).

Assuming that the bike was in perfect condition, with no seized parts, to remove the swimging arm, would it 'normally' be a case of removing the large nut on the right hand side and then knocking the spindle out from the right, or is there more to it? If this is the case, and it's usually straight forward, then I've still got the brute force route to try again before resorting to hacksaws.

[Brian]

The spindle does just push in but I have never been lucky enough to find one that would come out. But try everything you can to get it out before you resort to the more severe methods.  Brian.

[fido]

There is also a bolt on the head end of the spindle to stop it rotating but yes, in theory you could drift the spindle out with a block of wood and a lump hammer.

[trevinoz]

I have been through this. Butchered it apart and replaced everything except the cross-over shaft. I used never-seez on the spindle when I reassembled it. The frame had to be repaired around the spindle holes as it was worn where the spindle pivoted after everything seized.