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1990 Elite LX 50 (SA50) grinding sound

Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2020 11:14 pm
by TwystNeko
So I just picked up a 1990 Elite LX 50 from a local seller a few days ago. It ran fine when I got it. Had to replace the battery, and the rear wheel was flat. Fixed those, and was driving it around for a few hours today. Seemed to be fine. When I stopped at a store on my way home, and came out, it started, and immediately made a grinding noise. Both the kickstart and electric start do this.

Here's what it sounds like:

https://imgur.com/P4iQh38

Any ideas? I'm going to open it up this weekend, as it's now raining and I don't have a day off until then.

Re: 1990 Elite LX 50 (SA50) grinding sound

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2020 12:11 am
by Meatball
Ok so STOP doing that...lol. Opening it up will reveal the issue. Sounds like the starter bendix isnt meshing with the drive face teeth for some reason....and seeing the kick lever jump around during electric start leads me to think maybe the crank nut came loose and the drive face is flopping around in there. Hopefully not rounding off your crank splines.

Open her up and take a peek. If its not glaringly obvious, snap a pic and post it. If you figure it out, also come back and report the problem to help others experiencing similar issues.

Re: 1990 Elite LX 50 (SA50) grinding sound

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2020 9:51 am
by bonesv
Yea, DO NOT RIDE IT until you find the issue and fix it. It's possibly already too late but I hope not.

Re: 1990 Elite LX 50 (SA50) grinding sound

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2020 12:24 pm
by TwystNeko
oh god no, I called a friend with a truck. It's in my parking lot at home until I can open it up on the weekend. I just grabbed a short vid so I can explain what it's doing without, you know, actually making it do the thing. :D

Re: 1990 Elite LX 50 (SA50) grinding sound

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2020 1:42 pm
by bonesv
🙏🏼You did good

Re: 1990 Elite LX 50 (SA50) grinding sound

Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2020 10:37 pm
by TwystNeko
Okay, I've managed to fix it.

Opened up the crankcase, and the nut that holds the "starter" gear had come loose. THe only damage was to the pawl? on the kickstart mechanism.

I removed the kickstart lever, and the small gear that interfaces with the pawl. Electric start works fine, so I'm mobile until I can get that part from somewhere. I'm also going to get some loctite for that nut.

https://imgur.com/a/lR2rvb4

Edit: it's the "Kick Starter Spindle" that I need to replace.

Re: 1990 Elite LX 50 (SA50) grinding sound

Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2020 10:59 pm
by motormike
Well done TwystNeko...Thank you for the follow-up report.
Especially pleasant to have a newb show up here bringing some talents along.
Will you please share your location ?

Re: 1990 Elite LX 50 (SA50) grinding sound

Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2020 11:26 pm
by Meatball
Heres the spindle for a 1990 and many others: https://www.partzilla.com/product/honda ... 70aa9503b0

Maybe you can find an off-brand one for cheaper but you risk fitment issues with those. Also, finding a good used OEM one for cheap shouldnt be too tough. I have a few complete belt covers laying around that Id rather not cannibalize for just a spindle.

Re: 1990 Elite LX 50 (SA50) grinding sound

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2020 12:00 am
by otto-man
You shouldn't need locktite if you torque the nut down to 30 ft/lbs.

Re: 1990 Elite LX 50 (SA50) grinding sound

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2020 12:30 am
by TwystNeko
Meatball: thanks. Now I gotta find that in Canada. ;)

I've got it torqued as far as I can by hand - I don't have a torque wrench. it should be fine, really, but loctite is not horribly expensive.

Re: 1990 Elite LX 50 (SA50) grinding sound

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2020 5:47 pm
by TwystNeko
Yea, it definitely needs to be torqued properly. Rode it around the corner, parked it at work, came back out, started making similar noises trying to start it. So there it stays until I fix it again.

Re: 1990 Elite LX 50 (SA50) grinding sound

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2020 8:12 pm
by Wheelman-111
Greetings:

If you mean the nut on the end of the crankshaft, I'd have a really close look at the splines on that crank-end, and those of the "starter" gear. If by this you mean the outer pulley sheave, that nut gets torqued with the crank locked to about 44 ft-lbs (This is from Wheel-Memory; ALWAYS check the torque spec in the Factory manual. Something - stripped splines, maybe? - may be allowing the sheave to spin on the crank, loosening the nut despite proper torque.

Re: 1990 Elite LX 50 (SA50) grinding sound

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2020 10:36 pm
by TwystNeko
I checked the service manual - says 27 ft-lbs. I'm pretty sure I didn't get it torqued right as I didn't have a way to hold the "movable drive face" still enough. Looks like I'll have to borrow or make a holder for the flywheel to do it right. The nut in question is the one in the second pic of the album I shared.

.. It's that or take it to the shop and pay $$$ for a simple fix. >_<

Re: 1990 Elite LX 50 (SA50) grinding sound

Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2020 8:27 pm
by Meatball
Take the spark plug out and stick a screwdriver down the hole to hold the piston still while you tighten the crank nut.....KIDDING! Dont do that :)

In a pinch, wrap a towel tightly around the drive face while holding it firm and torque the nut as best you can. I used this as a roadside repair to get me home and it wasnt a towel...it was my t-shirt.

Re: 1990 Elite LX 50 (SA50) grinding sound

Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2020 12:54 am
by TwystNeko
I used a pair of vice grips, to carefully clamp the drive face, and then managed to torque it as far as it could go. Works now, yay!

On a side note, now I keep all the tools I need to do this in the trunk. Including gloves. It's like a 20-minute fix now. ;)