cush drive

[johnbirchjar]

Hi guys,It looks like I will need a new cush drive in the Classics clutch(gray/black sludg in the bottom of the primary chain case )Andover Norton have them but they are old/new stock(possibly 30+ years? old)anyone know who's parts bin Norton raided for the clutches on the air cooled rotories?J.B.

[wust588]

John,I can't remember where the clutch components came from (maybe Commando?), but if your hub needs replacing, I wouldn't let the age of the hubs Andover Norton have, be of any concern. Last forever in a parts bin!Have you stripped the clutch assembly already, to see what's worn? Some of the "sludge" might be from worn chain tensionerpads?

[johnbirchjar]

Not Commando,pretty close,had a biker buddy round to look at the clutch to see if his Commando clutch puller would do the job,unfortunatly not .Hopefully Dell Boy will be able to find his to lone me .I don't think the sludge is from the tensioner,they were replaced only about 7,000 miles ago(with engine re-build)and look just fine,while on the subject of the tensioner,in the workshop manual it says"Push in the Ballbearing with a small screwdriver to release the oil preasure"all well and good exept the ball bearing in question can only be reached once the tensioner is off!!and there was no oil in the tensioner anyway,so when I reassemble said tensioner how much oil should I put in it?(the W/M dosn't say)J.B.

[wust588]

I wouldn't worry too much about the tensioner assembly. By the time you've removed the assy from the engine, it'll fall apart anyway, along with oil...To put it all back together, push the lower piston / spring into the body, squirt some oilin to the top hole before fitting the top piston. Judge the amount of oil so that you will be able to fit the unit between the chain runs. It should prime itself anyway.It might be a good idea to clean the tensioner body (especially around the ball bearing) before re-assembly.ATB.

[Dell Boy]

I think I have found the clutch locking tool John. Still looking for the spring compressor. I do have three of them somewhere.Dell Boy.

[johnbirchjar]

Thanks guys,J.B.

[Interpol2471]

Make sure you use locktite 242 or similar when replacing the clutch hub screws I worked on a bike recently and these were loose and came undone locking the clutch solid.

[johnbirchjar]

Hi guys,the "Cush Drive"saga continues .I now have the clutch assembly on the bench,but how do I extract the Cush Drive End Plate from the Cush Drive Housing?(obviously the 5 countersunk screws are out)Do I use the two threaded holes in the face plate by running a couple of bolts through these so they push on the clutch hub?(I have tentatively tried this but did not use to much force incase it was not the correct thing to do)I have an IP2 workshop manuel, but this is not a lot of help as it recomends a "Factory Exchange" ,but offers no instruction as how to extract said face plate.any sugestions will be greatly appretiated,J.B.

[johnbirchjar]

Come on guys one of you must know how to get the cush drive end plate off the cush drive housing .from a dispairingJ.B.

[wust588]

John,Turn the assembly over and tap the internally splined boss with a soft hammer. That should push off the plate.Hope that works.

[johnbirchjar]

Thanks for that,I will try it early next week(I am off to Lichfield tomorrow and doubt if I will have time over the weekend)rgds J.B.

[johnbirchjar]

Yep,worked just fine ,BUT ,it looks like I may have pulled it all appart for nothing,to my untrained eye the Cush Drive Rubbers look just fine,no obvious signs of wear and tear,the surfaces are all blemish free,no lumps out of them,ditto all the edges, a nice tight fit on the caseing,what else must I look for?advise please.The down side is that two of the allan screws "rung"so I had to drill off the tops to get the face plate off which left me with two little stub that I somehow have to remove (unfortunatly,not enough sticking out to grip with Mole Grips or a small pair of Stilsons)drill the stubs and use an Easyout? other sugestions are most welcome,rgds,J.B.

[johnbirchjar]

Hi guys,the cushdrive saga continues,Isent off to And;Norton for new C/D/R's they arrived this morning,totaly differant to the ones in my bike ,according to the Clasic Parts Manual there are 15 rubbers needed,not on my bike, only 10 are required(5 large and 5 small)AND mine are shaped to fit in the cage,not so the replacements,they are just oblong blocks with rounded edges. .Did Norton change the rubbers on later air cooled bikes?are the CDR's differant on a Commander?I'v had the bike since new,so unless Nortons fitted differant shaped CDR's when the engine was rebuilt some 60odd thousand miles ago(by John Williams )everything is as it left the factory .I look foreward to your input ,rgds,J.B.

[wust588]

John, the parts book is correct! There are 15 rubbers in all of the Norton clutches and all of one size.The replacement rubbers you have are the correct ones and the ones fitted originally would have been exactly the same.After being mangled in your cush drive assembly for the last 60K miles, it is quite normal for them to look like the ones you removed.Looking at the rubbers you have, you will see why it is a ball aching job to get them to fit...........

[johnbirchjar]

Yep, your right,I just hadn't seperated the old ones enough ,Anyone got an old main shaft they can lend me?rgds,J.B.

[wust588]

John, I will have a look to see if I have anything you would be able to use.

[johnbirchjar]

Thanks 588,hang fire on the Main Shaft,I am going to try something differant,I will keep you informed,ride safe,J.B.

[wust588]

John, if that doesn't work out and you are still after a mainshaft, PM me your address and I'll send you a shaft.

[johnbirchjar]

Will do Very HappyJ.B.