Originally posted by McRider
I have rebuilt several KDX top ends and never used a holding tool on the advancer shaft, and have never had a problem.
McRider, don’t take this as a flame attack, but there is word for folks like you: LUCKY. The advancer shaft pin problem is well known and pops up on this forum regularly. The previous owner of my bike was a mechanical hose head who
WELDED :scream: the left hand nut to the advancer shaft (no doubt after ruining it in the same manner as the guy you described) . The pin in my case was bent and not broken, so it just goes to show you that luck can play a part – but do you want to rely upon it? In the last couple of years I’ve seen this pin break on two KDX’s who’s owners I ride with. These guys were not so lucky and the loose pin rattling around tore up the clutch baskets pretty good (one guy didn’t figure it out until the pin jammed up somewhere and his bike wouldn’t shift).
Originally posted by trsrdr
Jeff Fredette said that without holding the rod securely, it was highly likely that one or both of the pins could be bent or broken. They look fine, but I may replace them anyway.
Besides, Jeff Fredette has rebuilt more KDX’s than you and I will ever see in a lifetime, and if this problem is on his radar screen, that’s good enough for me.
Depending on the amount of force needed by trsdr to remove the nut, the pin may or may not be ok, but you need to inspect it to be sure. For a bike that’s already got the jug off for a top end, we’re only talking about a side cover gasket and a couple of hours of wrenching.