Tranny (shifter) bokerforked (Found: star cam broke off the shift drum!)

[Fred W]

Wow, what a bizarre failure. I think that star wheel on the end of the shift drum is just used to provide the "detent" positioning of the drum. There should be no appreciable torque being applied to it other than the detent spring(s), right?

So it seems that only the shift drum needs to be replaced. I'd have to check to be sure, but I'm still thinking that means splitting the cases to get the forks lined up on the drum. But maybe...

 

[lnewlf]

weld it ?

 

[wfooshee]

Wow, what a bizarre failure. I think that star wheel on the end of the shift drum is just used to provide the "detent" positioning of the drum. There should be no appreciable torque being applied to it other than the detent spring(s), right?
So it seems that only the shift drum needs to be replaced. I'd have to check to be sure, but I'm still thinking that means splitting the cases to get the forks lined up on the drum. But maybe...

The star part of that is indeed the piece that gives the detents to the shifter, but the pegs on the side are where the ratchet applies the torque to turn the shift drum. When I kicked down from 3rd to 2nd something had the shift drum not wanting to turn, and had it locked hard enough that the shifter pedal ripped the wheel off the end of the drum rather than just not moving. One is curious what that might be.......

 

[Mihalis fjr]

Unfortunately,the only way is to split the engine cases to change this thing..Also to see if something goes wrong inside there.Perhaps was a hardware failure in this thing and not anything else..I would do that..Also,i have never seen and never heard about a like this problem!...Really very strange!!!

 

[Geezer]

Had you noticed any difficulty shifting, over time, before this happened? I'm thinking that the transmission was worn to the point where you were applying increased pressure at every shift and eventually something had to give. In which case, Howie's generous offer looks like the way to go.

 

[wfooshee]

Shifting has been smooth and effortless, absolutely nothing weird leading up to this.

 

[yamafitter]

The shift cam assembly design changed in 2006 so if you are going to go with replacing parts the shift cam assembly part number for a Gen I is 5JW-18540-00-00 and is listed on the Ron Myers website for $156 approximately. The problem is without taking everything apart and closely inspecting everything we do not have a root cause for this failure. I suspect you may have a shifting fork issue and/or worn dogs on the gears themselves and you are very quickly going to be over $500 just in parts. Interestingly the shift cam assembly gets cheaper with the newer bikes.

RadioHowie's generous offer really is the way to go whether you are going to just repair your transmission with parts from Howie's motor or stick your head on Howie's short block and go that route.

Good Luck.

 

[rPGoatBoy]

Yeah, that's what I want to do. Drill hard steel and have the bits fall down into the crankcase, and then hope I can rig the drill exactly coaxial with the shaft.

The epoxy question was not remotely serious. Besides, there has to be something that happened in there that made the star cam move without the shift drum.......

It's something that could be done with a minimum amount of FOD dropping down into the crankcase if you use some axle grease on the tap. You're at the "what have I got to lose at this point" part of this motor's life, a few metal shavings aren't going to grenade it. There's a screen on the oil pump pickup and an oil filter that would do their jobs.

There isn't anything necessarily wrong with your transmission, particularly if you said it shifted smoothly up until the moment it didn't. It could be a poor weld, or a small crack that was exploited through 11 years and 90,000 miles of Floridian heat cycles. I think you'd have bent/broken one of those tits on the star wheel, or bent the stamped steel portion of the shift shaft before a proper weld would have failed if something internal had jammed. If you could post decent pictures of the broken end of the star wheel, I may be able to tell you more.

Having that been said, I think Howie's motor offer is the better choice for you. Good luck!

 

[Fred W]

I think I'm with Goat Boy here. What do you have to lose with that engine, Walt?

Maybe get some plastic and tape off the entire engine crankcase except for a hole where you'll be working on the shift drum. Try drilling and tapping first and if that don't fly try welding it back on. You shouldn't even have to pull the engine to try any of that.

You can't F up the shift drum any worse than it is already.

 

[Geezer]

Weld it back on and see what happens. Or get a professional welder to give it a try. If it works then you're good to go, if it doesn't work then drive up to Howie's and relieve him if that boat anchor.

 

[wfooshee]

You guys are scaring me with logic and peer pressure....

Seems the shaft is already hollow, so no drilling, and I have the taps........

Trouble is, I have no idea where the shift drum is in the shift pattern (other than almost in second,) and the scar on the shaft isn't helping me very much.

 

[Mihalis fjr]

https://www.partzilla.com/parts/search/Yamaha/Motorcycle/2004/FJR1300ABS+-+FJR1300AS/SHIFT+CAM+FORK/parts.html

https://www.partzilla.com/parts/detail/yamaha/YP-5JW-18540-00-00.html

 

[rPGoatBoy]

You guys are scaring me with logic and peer pressure....

Seems the shaft is already hollow, so no drilling, and I have the taps........

Trouble is, I have no idea where the shift drum is in the shift pattern (other than almost in second,) and the scar on the shaft isn't helping me very much.

I'd drill up the hole size slightly to the next bigger screw if possible, that way there's less risk of breaking off a tap in a too small hole. If you tap it, the tapping action should rotate the barrel clockwise until it stops. It shouldn't take much force to move; I was rotating mine with the star wheel with my fingers when I was putting my engine back together. You can determine whether that position is 1st or 5th by rotating the main shaft of the trans while the bike is on the center stand and see how fast the rear wheel is spinning. Then you could set your star wheel at either the 1st or 5th notch, make sure everything is functioning properly, and reassemble use some green loctite on your new screw and broken section. If you're having trouble rotating the barrel, you could try a jam nut and screw in your freshly tapped hole, then you should be able to put the barrel in whatever position you want prior to reassembly.

That's what I would try before going to the trouble of pulling the motor. Worth a shot if you've got most/all of what you need.

 

[RPrice]

Ummmm..... You Sir, have waaaay bigger Cojones than I do to get into **** like that. Me?! I'd go ahead and buy a new FJR. But, that's just me! Good Luck and may the Force be with You!

+1

 

[rushes]

A cheaper easy fix:

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/158337-2004-cerelean-silver/

I don't think I would attempt to band-aid the broken part.

It might fail again at a really bad time or place.

 

[wfooshee]

Yeah, $4000 is NOT cheaper.....

Hey, this is Ride to Work Day!!! No fair!!!!!! (Although since I normally ride to work every day, I think I have some ride-to-work days in the bank....)

 

[ionbeam]

Ummmm..... You Sir, have waaaay bigger Cojones than I do to get into **** like that. Me?! I'd go ahead and buy a new FJR...

As a CPR instructor once said, "Hey, the person is already dead, how can you make it worse? Go ahead and do what you can."

 

[clocklaw]

Keep in mind that is $4,000 Canadian.....should be about $3,700 USD

Yeah, $4000 is NOT cheaper.....

Hey, this is Ride to Work Day!!! No fair!!!!!! (Although since I normally ride to work every day, I think I have some ride-to-work days in the bank....)

 

[rushes]

Yeah, $4000 is NOT cheaper.....

It's a LOT cheaper than my previous easy fix. (post #13)

 

[RadioHowie]

Hey Walt,

Just found out this evening my sister-in-law from Chipley is coming to visit tomorrow...

If she's got a big enough trunk, and has the room, I'm gonna try to convince her to take "The Lump" back with her.

That oughta save you about 600 miles!

Wish me luck!