Honda 400/4 speedometer drive lubricant question.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

I'm in the process of obtaining new oils seals & seal ring for my speedometer drive unit in the front wheel hub. I've washed the unit out with degreaser as the old grease type lubricant that is black was in need of a change as there was some rust color in there as well.

The old grease looks like either graphite or lithium judging by its colour - any advice here as to what replacement grease is best please?

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

There is a small brass grub screw near the end of the worm gear - does this release the end cap or do I leave well alone?

[Lobo]

Ted, I serviced the Speedo drive on my ‘750 recently and had the same queries. Wrt the grease, I just used the nearest grease to hand…

BUT, wrt that grub screw, my personal advice is to leave well alone. It’s soft, and you may bugger the slot. I got mine out… only to find the cap, despite a bit of heat, gentle hammer, prying and so on, was having none of it - and stayed fast.

They’re not easy units to find, so at that point I backed off and resorted to thorough washing of the innards < a comprehensive re-greasing.

Just my experience fwiw.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Thanks for that Lobo - I have found references about removing the end cap at your peril - I'll leave mine alone & just fill it with grease that I have it will be either Castrol LM or Synthetic Racing grease - the LM being Molybenum Disulphide based is very sticky and not too thick so that's the favourite - looks like the orginal being black. Thanks Ted

[TrickyMicky]

My own preference, being that the drive is of the worm gear type, would be to use graphite grease, which is ultra slippery and designed for sliding/wiping surfaces such as a worm gear. Because it is so slippery, that is why you must not use it in roller or ball bearings, it allows the balls/rollers to skid instead of turn.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Ted, the end cap does NOT rotate out, it has a sort of serrated surface and the way to get it out is to tap the end of the drive flange, the part which locates into the cable with a small drift. The screw is brass and will mangle up if your not careful, I used a bit of heat on mine after it refused to budge at first. However it's not really a securing screw as such and is really small with a pointed end, this sort of squashes against the end cap and prevents it coming loose, however it's in so tight I doubt it would even come out anyway. If the screw mangles up you can just drill it out and fit a slightly larger diameter screw in there instead so long as it's very short. You'll see what I mean if you ever take it apart.

My advice is to take it apart as it really holds grease in there without doing that, you can get the small seal down the hole out after you've removed the drive shaft.

Trigger took one apart and did pics on the site, he used red grease, high melting point IIRC, when refitting.

I can post some pics of one apart if that helps, so you can understand what it looks like, once you see what the parts look like I find it easier to take apart.

Hi Ken,

I'd certainly like to see some pictures before I decide either way - I'm currently waiting for the new seals & O ring - the small seal came out no problem- the brass grub screw came out easily without chewing it up - I've put it back for now so I do not loose it. Cheers Ted

[SeanFD]

Catching up on my reading now and I cane across this.

I don't know if you've moved past this Ted, but noting that no pic was posted, I thought this might help, if not you, someone in the future.

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