can i remove A10 SR engine with the primary chaincase stuck on by clutch centre?

[mikeb]

quick question before i do more damage: i'm having cascades of trouble with my 61 super rocket and the engine must come out as the crankshaft timing-side bush is shot. its almost ready for removal (barrels off etc), but i can't get the clutch centre off even after reading all these tips: http://www.a7a10.net/forum/index.php?topic=5166.0.

So, is it feasible to remove the engine with the primary chaincase sort of flailing around - I've removed the 2 wired bolts holding it to the crankcase and its now only captive to the stuck clutch centre which gives it some movement...
... do you think it would be enough to get the left end of the crankshaft past?

thanks for any advice

Mike

[duTch]

 I'm fairly out of touch with Swing arm models, but at a guess if you remove the engine plates, maggie and genny (which you need to do anyway), I reckon yea'd have a fighting chance...?

[RichardL]

Mike,

 You said you read all the ideas but did not mention which ones you've tried. Though I hate to advocate destroying what might be an original part, one method that is not mentioned in that thread is using a reciprocating saw to cut a groove in the clutch center as far along the length as access allows. If you stop just short of the shaft you should be able to open the slot with a chisel, which will relieve some of the stress holding it on. Maybe you can actually cut through to the shaft without damaging it. Not sure, so I'm not putting out that idea. If you are lucky, you might still be able to connect the puller after the slot is cut. I have to say, i have not actually used this approach with a clutch center, but I've used it on other stuck parts in the past with some success.

Richard L.

[Clive54bsa]

Richard I had a similar problem on my '61 S.R., so I applied the proper removing tool and tightened it down as much as I could (don't strip the threads) and left it over night. In the morning the clutch adapter was on the garage floor.
Good luck
Clive

[RichardL]

That's an interesting one. I would throw in "smothered in Liquid Wrench", or the like.

[East_Coast_BSA]

I had to replace the main bearing on the clutch side of my 59' A10 SR about a month ago.  The bearing started to spin on the crank and it ate the shims (another story for another time).  I removed the engine and transmission mounting plates and removed the cush drive from the crank.  I left the entire clutch assembly and primary housing intact.  I have an enclosed chain and there was NO WAY I was going to mess around with assembling that nightmare again.  I never touched the engine at all, it was left completely assembled.  With the mounting plates removed from the right side of the bike, I was able to lift the engine out in one big piece.  After I was finished with the engine, I dropped it back into place and it was surprising easy to line everything back up and bolt it back to the frame.  It turned out to be much easier than I anticipated. 

[RichardL]

Uhhh, did you mean, "never touched the gearbox and clutch"?

[East_Coast_BSA]

I didn't removed the gearbox, primary case, clutch or the enclosed final drive from the frame.  The engine came out and everything else stayed put.  When I said that I didn't "Touch the engine", I meant that I didn't disassemble the engine.  I took the engine out of the frame with the upper end still intact.  When I split the cases on the bench to replace the bearing, I removed the rocker-box, rotated the engine to TDC and slid the cylinders up just far enough to clear the studs on the case.  Then I pulled the drive side of the case off.  I didn't want to mess around with re-seating the rings, so I didn't let them leave the bores.  This was why I wrestled getting the complete engine out and not stripping it down in the frame first.  I was able to get the engine out with less trouble than I thought.

[Rocket Racer]

amazing how tight those tapers can be! 
While I typically get mine off it should be possible to remove the engine while leaving the inner primary in place.
I typically tear off the top end to make engine wrangling easier. I usually put toilet roll cardboard (cut lengthwise) under the pistons to prevent the rods knocking the cases and a wooden u shaped pattern does a good job of holding the pistons in situ slid underneath around the rods

[mikeb]

ok so spurred on by the encouragement, the definitive answer to the question is... yes! It's easy to get the engine out without removing the primary chain case - at least when barrels, dynamo etc removed. now i wish i hadn't bothered removing the clutch etc. next to dissemble the crank case.

thanks for the advice guys

[RichardL]

Good to know you can put off removing the clutch center until you really need to. Good luck.

Richard L.