I have an 03 RX-1 with almost 18,000 km on it. My mechanical knowledge and ability is a little weak.
A couple weeks ago I took it to the dealer for maintenance and advised them to fix whatever else they could find. Among what they said was wrong, was the secondary clutch needed some ramps, and there was a bearing that needed replacing. Apparently this bearing had been updated but my sled had the original in it (I'm the second owner) and they are prone to failure. They didn't call it by this name, but I suspect they were referring to the jackshaft bearing. When I picked it up the mechanic said that there was a small spring missing from the chain case that he replaced, mentioning that obviously someone had removed/opened the chain case on the sled before.
So yesterday I took it out for the first ride of the season. All was going well until it developed a bit of a rattle. It sounded to me like it was coming from the area of the brake. I looked around but of course I don't really know what I'm looking for. The rattle only seemed to appear when braking or starting, it was fine at cruise. So decided I had better limp it home.
Along the way the rattle got worse and worse, and was happening at all speeds. I got to a road and stopped and shut it down. I looked under the hood again and eventually noticed the secondary clutch was backing off the shaft. (This would be the jack shaft, right?). I got it back on and then noticed that there was a bolt with a long collar lying in the bottom of the cowling. Sure enough that bolt threaded in nicely to the end of the jackshaft by the secondary.
I then fired the sled back up and gave it a bit of gas. It rattled like before, but then suddenly the rattle stopped. And the sled went nowhere. The engine revved up fine, but did not cause the sled to move. No reverse either. The clutches seem fine, the primary is driving the secondary. With the engine off I can't rotate the primary, but I can rotate the secondary and the jack shaft just fine. When doing so, the axle where the drivers are attached does not move. The track can move freely. The bottom line is there is no connection between the jack shaft and the track. So based on all this I'm assuming my chain broke.
Having never had a problem with the chain case before, until someone did some work on it, and so soon thereafter having issues with it, compounded by the fact that a bolt was found lying in the bottom of the cowling, which even my meagre knowledge suggests is wrong, I'm inclined to believe the mechanic did something wrong.
So, I'm asking for some general advice and diagnosis based on the above symptoms. If I'm right that the chain broke (or some other failure exists within the chain case), then can anyone offer a theory as to why? Assuming that bolt either worked it's way out, or was never put in in the first place, would that somehow have contributed to this failure or no?
Needless to say, if this is all a result of shoddy work, then I would expect the mechanic to fix it all at his cost. But I want to be armed with knowledge before having that discussion.
A couple weeks ago I took it to the dealer for maintenance and advised them to fix whatever else they could find. Among what they said was wrong, was the secondary clutch needed some ramps, and there was a bearing that needed replacing. Apparently this bearing had been updated but my sled had the original in it (I'm the second owner) and they are prone to failure. They didn't call it by this name, but I suspect they were referring to the jackshaft bearing. When I picked it up the mechanic said that there was a small spring missing from the chain case that he replaced, mentioning that obviously someone had removed/opened the chain case on the sled before.
So yesterday I took it out for the first ride of the season. All was going well until it developed a bit of a rattle. It sounded to me like it was coming from the area of the brake. I looked around but of course I don't really know what I'm looking for. The rattle only seemed to appear when braking or starting, it was fine at cruise. So decided I had better limp it home.
Along the way the rattle got worse and worse, and was happening at all speeds. I got to a road and stopped and shut it down. I looked under the hood again and eventually noticed the secondary clutch was backing off the shaft. (This would be the jack shaft, right?). I got it back on and then noticed that there was a bolt with a long collar lying in the bottom of the cowling. Sure enough that bolt threaded in nicely to the end of the jackshaft by the secondary.
I then fired the sled back up and gave it a bit of gas. It rattled like before, but then suddenly the rattle stopped. And the sled went nowhere. The engine revved up fine, but did not cause the sled to move. No reverse either. The clutches seem fine, the primary is driving the secondary. With the engine off I can't rotate the primary, but I can rotate the secondary and the jack shaft just fine. When doing so, the axle where the drivers are attached does not move. The track can move freely. The bottom line is there is no connection between the jack shaft and the track. So based on all this I'm assuming my chain broke.
Having never had a problem with the chain case before, until someone did some work on it, and so soon thereafter having issues with it, compounded by the fact that a bolt was found lying in the bottom of the cowling, which even my meagre knowledge suggests is wrong, I'm inclined to believe the mechanic did something wrong.
So, I'm asking for some general advice and diagnosis based on the above symptoms. If I'm right that the chain broke (or some other failure exists within the chain case), then can anyone offer a theory as to why? Assuming that bolt either worked it's way out, or was never put in in the first place, would that somehow have contributed to this failure or no?
Needless to say, if this is all a result of shoddy work, then I would expect the mechanic to fix it all at his cost. But I want to be armed with knowledge before having that discussion.
Extreem
Veteran
Chain case failure.
My guess is you either lost the keyway on the secondary or the cotter pin is missing from the top drive gear and the nut backed off. Either way, whoever worked on the sled should be responcible to cover the repair.
My guess is you either lost the keyway on the secondary or the cotter pin is missing from the top drive gear and the nut backed off. Either way, whoever worked on the sled should be responcible to cover the repair.
carsrtoys4me
Veteran
Probably stripped the splines on shaft or clutch. Or at least messed them up. Pull the secondary and have a look. Then go raise hell at the dealership 
Thanks for the replies. I don't want to pull anything more apart, I don't want to disturb the evidence, and I don't really know what I'm doing anyway.
To be clear, the racket going on was on the right side of the sled, near the brake chain case, not coming from the secondary.
Anyone else have any thoughts?
To be clear, the racket going on was on the right side of the sled, near the brake chain case, not coming from the secondary.
Anyone else have any thoughts?
carsrtoys4me
Veteran
Are the you sure when you spin the secondary its not just spinning on the shaft? Spin it and see if the brake rotor moves. If it does then yes a problem in chain case. If not, then probably the splines are messed up.
You can also pull the dipstick for the chain case and see if there's any metal flakes in the fluid
You can also pull the dipstick for the chain case and see if there's any metal flakes in the fluid
thrasher
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Secondary bolts don't just come loose and fall out. It was obviously never tightened in the first place. There are also 2 washers that go between the bolt head and the secondary clutch.
Something seized in the chaincase as well? Needs to be taken apart and have a look, and yes, let whoever fixed it do that. There is a small spring in there which I believe has something to do with the reverse mechanism. Obviously again, something was not put back together properly when the jackshaft bearing was replaced.
Mistakes can and do happen. Be calm and let the mechanic diagnose what he did wrong. A good mechanic will admit he goofed up a little and make things right. If he doesn't, time to raise a little hell. Good luck with the repairs.
Something seized in the chaincase as well? Needs to be taken apart and have a look, and yes, let whoever fixed it do that. There is a small spring in there which I believe has something to do with the reverse mechanism. Obviously again, something was not put back together properly when the jackshaft bearing was replaced.
Mistakes can and do happen. Be calm and let the mechanic diagnose what he did wrong. A good mechanic will admit he goofed up a little and make things right. If he doesn't, time to raise a little hell. Good luck with the repairs.
I'll have to double check but I'm pretty sure that the secondary does spin the shaft including the brake rotor.
I am definitely hoping the mechanic will realize his mistake and stand behind his work, that's all I ask, I just want to be prepared with some knowledge in case he doesn't.
I am definitely hoping the mechanic will realize his mistake and stand behind his work, that's all I ask, I just want to be prepared with some knowledge in case he doesn't.
So, is the lost bolt on the secondary likely to cause a failure in the chain case, or is there more at play here?
thrasher
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No, lost bolt in secondary should not damage the chaincase, but everything is turning so fast, that it is possible. If secondary comes off the jackshaft splines, then the track will not turn. May have damaged the jackshaft itself however. To change the jackshaft bearings, the chaincase needs to be opened and the jackshaft removed. If they didn't remember to tighten the jackshaft bolt, what else did they forget to do in other places, like inside the chaincase?
RxThunder
Expert
Re: Chain case failure.
There is no keyway on the secondary on this sled, the jackshaft is splined.
That is why I do my own work, when I forget to tighten a bolt, I have no one to blame but myself.
Extreem said:
There is no keyway on the secondary on this sled, the jackshaft is splined.
That is why I do my own work, when I forget to tighten a bolt, I have no one to blame but myself.
So I called the dealer. Didn't get into the details, but they weren't able to take it as they had too much work on hand already. They also weren't clear, but said that due to some sort of issue they may have to close next week. Advised to call next week and if they're still there, they'll answer the phone. Makes it sound like they may be going out of business for good. 
thrasher
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Well that certainly sucks. You may want to ask for a refund on the work previously done before they go out of business, because you are going to have to have someone else fix it now.
So in the end, the dealer that did the work went bankrupt, I never could get a hold of them again. I took it to another dealer. The secondary was fine, just needed to be reinstalled. The chain had indeed broke. The diagnosis was that the chain tensioner was left loose, it backed out, and the loose chain piled up and broke. $700 to fix the other dealer's mistake.
Thanks for the advice guys. At least I got some riding in this season thanks to the brutal and extended winter.
Thanks for the advice guys. At least I got some riding in this season thanks to the brutal and extended winter.
smokingcrater
Expert
Could have been worse... Just be glad your sled wasn't physically at the dealer when it went bankrupt! That can get ugly for a consumer, if they have touched it there is technically a mechanic's lien against it, and it could be months, if not longer, before you get it back. Went through that with a boat dealer who went belly up while my boat was there. He hadn't worked on it yet, and even then, it was off limits to touch it.
