82 XJ 2nd Gear Fix

[maxim4rob]

To All 2nd Gear Wizards:

I'm in the process of doing the 2nd gear fix in my 82 XJ and I have a few questions for anyone that can help. First, I noticed that when I removed the shifter cover that the marks on the shift shaft and the shift lever were not matched up (aligned). Question: will this prevent the 2nd gear from engaging all the way? When the bike was running 1st, 3rd, 4th, & 5th seemed to be working fine. Just 2nd gear slipped. From what I can see without removing 2nd and 5th gear it looks like the only wear on the 2nd gear dogs is at the very end indicating that they didn't engage into the slots deep enough. The slots on 5th gear look pretty good, a little wear. Which brings me to the second question. I followed Ken Talbots 2nd gear removal procedure and it is great until you get to the actual removal. The engine was out of the bike and in neutral and I could not get it into 4th by dry shifting. Is it absolutly necessary to have it in fourth? It also says to pull out the shift fork shaft until the fork drops. After the fork is moved out of the way it looks like 2nd gear will slide on the counter shaft and out the hole left by the bearing housing, but 5th gear is too big. Does the whole counter shaft need to be removed in order to get 5th gear out? Finally, has anyone relocated the snap ring to the other side of 2nd gear as recommended by Bob Merriam? If so how is this done and have you had good luck with this fix? OK, one last question: I don't mind paying for a new 2nd and 5th gear and they are still available, I understand Yamaha redesigned them to match up better. Would it be better to replace with new than to try the Black and Decker fix? Thanks in advance.

maxim4rob

[TopCatGr58]

Out, wretched gears!

Hey there MaximRob,

First, the synching of the shift pawl and the shift drum would affect all gears if it was causing a problem, but the synch notches only line up when it's in 2nd gear! The Shift drum has detents that rotate it into position after you hit the shift lever for each gear, and the grooves in the shift drum position the shift forks to position the gears into place.

Regrettably shifting it into 4th is necessary. It positions the shift forks and gears into positions that allow you to be able to pull the countershaft and gears. To assist the shifting, you need to turn the driveshaft/Ujoint flange while actuating the shift lever.

BTW, the gear that comes out the side after the bearing cap is off IS 5th. Once this gear is off, this allow you enough clearance to be able to wiggle the countershaft and pull it slightly towards the hole, but then up and out of the engine! There is a NOTCH cut into the shift fork shaft, and the large gears of 1st and 4th can't get by IF that fork shaft is left in place! You say the engine is OUT, so with it UPSIDE DOWN, should be easy, the shift forks will just lay there instead of falling in your face!

The small amount of wear you're seeing is from the dogs and slots rubbing on each other as they are engaged and disengaged. Once you get the gears and countershaft out, put 5th back on the shaft, and see just how far the dogs on 2nd mesh into the slots of 5th!!

I think it's WInterhawk that promotes the shifting of the washer, but I've done 3 repairs, 1 XS, 2 XJ's, and haven't moved the washer on any of them. The thing that keeps the gears engaged is the undercutting angle of the interface of the dogs and slots, and with just a few degrees of undercut, they pull TOGETHER under force, so no pressure from the washer is needed, IMHO!!

IT's your money, you can buy the new gears, or you can use the Dremmel. I've not seen the new and improved gears from Yamaha, so I can't vouch for the amount of undercutting on the dogs and slots!

Have you looked at the 1st and 2nd gear dremmel fix tech tip I posted with pictures and such? IT was done following Ken's info, so it does work!! Hope this helps, and doesn't start too much of a controversy!!

[DiverRay]

I just got dome with a 2nd and 1st gear fix on daily ride. I did the undercut on the gears, and moved the washer. I've put about 1K miles on it since, and everything works great.
I did start wit ha new countershaft set I got from Andreas, and that helped. I still did the undercut, and I think that will help on down the line. I also had two bad shift forks, so my trans was in really bad shape.
Ray

[Ducky]

Hi All:
Did the second gear fix (dremel) Just undercut the gear that would come out. (fifth??) Did NOT attempt to do any grinding on the remaining face of the opposing gear. Worked beautifully, and have put on 5000km since and not a sign of jumping or slippage.

Slightly intimidating job initially, but works great. P.S. did the job with engine in place, and not upside down. Have an engine lift which allowed me to suspend front of bike Way up in the air.

Cheers
Ducky!!

[maxim4rob]

T.C.

Thanks for the quick reply. It's all starting to make sense. I believe I downloaded your tech tip and have it in my pile of 2nd gear repair tips. I'll look for it. I also seem to remember a diagrahm that someone drew. It looked like a cad drawing showing the angle of cut. Does that sound familiar to anyone? I can't seem to locate it. This project is a a frame off restoration with an 1196 big bore kit and a lot of replaced parts, paint and polishing so I want to do the fix right the first time! Anyway, your responses have been great. Thanks again

maxim4rob

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Rob,

Well, these aren't CAD, but Paint, but maybe what you were talking about, they are at the end of the tech tip!

[maxim4rob]

Thanks T.C.

I was able to remove 2nd and 5th gear last night so I'll be grinding in the next few days. Again, your advice is greatly appreciated.

maxim4rob