How to remove gear change and kick start oil seals?

[DayvW]

Hi,

On my '76 400 four I want to renew the seals for the kick-start and gear change (one in the clutch cover, the other in the crank case)?  Any hints on removal?  Should I place the bits in an oven before attempting to remove?  And - how do you actually get them out - are there special tools for seal removal?  Thanks for any hints - as always.

[Trigger]

Seal removal, just pull it out. 

[DayvW]

Oh god .. really?  There IS such a thing as a dumb question then ! 

[LesterPiglet]

No dumb questions, only dumb answers.   

[Norniron]

Screw a small woodscrew in to it and pull it out with grips/pliers

[DayvW]

Ahar ... great idea -  that'll do it .. but haven't yet as been out on my (still working) bike (sorry - not sohc .. Triumph Daytona 955) for the first time this year as the roads are actually dry for the most part and farm muck and leaves are few and far between .. ahh ... bliss 

[Drew400]

I read in a recent post, a reply with a tip about inserting an o-ring into an oil seal to cure leaks... sorry that I can't remember where on this site I read that!

Might be worth checking out before you seal her back up again.

Cheers,

D.

[steven400/4]

drew its on your post about rubber greese

[Drew400]

Doh... it shows how adept I am at this blog chat malarkey! Ta for the reminder.

[Lobo]

...yea, me too Drew, Tubeface (whatever), twatter crap etc just befuddles me...

[DayvW]

For the sake of completeness - and in case it helps someone else I thought I'd report my solution.  I tried the screw into the seal - but its so small there wasn't enough purchase.  So - thought I'd try the oven trick - so at the risk of sounding like Merry Berry I pre-heated the oven to 180, popped the clutch casing in, left for 10 mins till piping hot () - then took it out and used a screwdriver to ease it out (I levered it using the side of the kickstart shaft bore as a fulcrum using a thin piece of plastic to protect the housing) and out she popped ever so easily  .  It may have been the expansion of the hole that did it - or perhaps the seal melting  a tad - either way .. sorted.  Haven't done the gear change one on the crankcase yet - but think I'll try similar (or blast it with a hot air paint stripper as that may be easier and if the seal melting a bit is the answer then that too should do the trick).

[DayvW]

And for the crank-case -again the oven approach worked.  I tried using a hot air blower - but the case is too large and so just sinks the heat - so into the oven she went - a tad more difficult than the kickstart seal (once off I could see there was a fair amount of corrosion around it) - but a few blows with a screwdriver (making sure that the trajectory of the said 'driver wouldnt crash into the casing) and she was out.

When putting new ones back in I guess popping them into the freezer to cool them right down may help to fit them?