clutch basket repair (hinson)

[AKheathen]

what we have today is a hinson billet basket that has suffered from the gear bolts coming loose. this happens to not be the only one i have seen recently, so i figure i would do a writeup on repair and/or upgrade on how it is fastened. there is 2 options here.... first, being that you may simply upgrade to flat head flush mount screws and stronger steel thread replacement. the second, which i will show in a step-by-step process, is to upgrade the 1/4-20 fasteners to larger 5/16-18 size. lets start with the required materials.

4: 5/16-18 x 3/4" flathead socket screws. or 4: 1/4-20 x 3/4" flathead socket screws depending on which way you go. stainless preferred, and at least grade 8. the hex style will handle allot more torque, vs. Phillips version.

4; 5/16-18 or 1/4-20 thread repair kit, with at least 4 appropriately sized inserts. there are many different brand and style kits, and going with helicoil, and even some auto store brand kits will run you more than 2x what you should be paying, as the end result is the exact same with any kit.

1: locktite red, or equivalent

1: locktite blue, or equivalent

1: 1/2" ball carbide burr bit

1: 3/4" ball carbide burr bit....both can be substituted with a 45 degree mill or other cutting bit suitable for hard steel

brake cleaner (note)

wd-40

cutting/tapping oil preferred

safety glasses and latex/nitril gloves advised

 

OK, safety first.... brake cleaner, especially chlorinated, is really allot worse than many may think, even i have treated it carelessly for several years. for starters, (and you'll get a kick out of this one) breathing moderate amounts, not only "makes you lightheaded" but it effects your blood flow and nervous system. my example would be the story of the one time i was cleaning a cv joint on the floor. my wife came out and grabbed me for some action in the back.....well........10-15 min. later and still nothing goin on with the little captain.....another red flag which many rarely know about, is that, when burned, it can turn into a highly potent poisonous gas that can kill you slowly over a matter of days, and up to 2 weeks of agonizing pain before you go. all it takes is a tiny whiff, and 2 days later the symptoms start to appear. it also lingers in porous areas ans scratches, even though it appears to have flashed off.

next, is the large amount of metal shavings/filings you will be dealing with. i highly advise you to wear any kind of eye protection, since it will all be covered in a harmful fluid, and it really sucks to get metal embedded in your eye, which happens all the time, even though you don't hear about it. i also like to have tight fitting gloves to deal with the mess of shavings and oil, and be able to rip them off for somewhat clean hands to handle other things. it is important that the gloves will tear off if you snag them on a rotary tool

enough twisting your ear on safety, other than keep mind on good ventilation and enough work room and light to move around safely

 

now, on to the meat of the project, lol.

here, i have the rivets drilled and punched out of the stock basket to show how everything goes, and next to it....the damaged hinson we are going to repair.

 

now, the inside of the basket, which is where you will drill form, to keep the bit from walking off-center and making an unusable hole. select the proper bit size and drill on the slow setting with moderate pressure, so that it makes nice curls, and doesn't chatter or grab. use just enough cutting oil, or substitute with atf/power steering fluid, and maybe wd-40 or marvel.

 

here, i dropped all the bolts in the holes, and checked for on-center with the plate. my holes were off just a tiny bit, but workable.

 

time to tap. alway start from the side the bolt will install from. it will be a little hard to get the tap started at first, but once it starts catching with a little pressure, you can still move it around a bit and get the tap squared up. you don't want to put any side load on it as you are turning, and you will need to back out until it pops and get easy every time you feel it start to bind. once again, use plenty of cutting oil here. continue until the end sticks out 1/8"-1/4" through the other side, and back it back out, and repeat with the others.

 

clean all the shavings and oil with brake cleaner and allow to flash off. carbcleaner, intake cleaners, and electrical cleaners usually leave behind an unnoticeable oil film that will prevent adhesion. add just a drop of red loctite to the threads, not the insert before install. you don't want a bunch of it coming through and sticking the insert to the bolt when you need to remove it for any reason. and 1 drop creeps a long way.

 

it may be hard, sometimes, to get some inserts started in the threads. just push in a little and keep screwing until it pops down into the threads, then just keep screwing them in normally until the very top thread is half covered by sitting in a full-depth thread that you tapped in the material. this is very important, as i have personally seen what happens when someone doesn't. the top thread pulls up and digs into the bolt when you are trying to screw it in or out. i tried to get a good pic of one that appears like it may be good, but still needs to go in a Little more, but my phone doesn't have macro, that i know of, lol.

 

there are different methods with the different tools in various kits, which is usually to punch the tang off from the topside, but when you have access to the bottom of the threads, like we do, it is suggested to use needle nose pliers to twist the tang off, without prying the good threads out of their slot.

[AKheathen]

while the loctite it setting up, i moved on to modifying the backplate. note that i used a variable speed electric drill. this is not because i don't have the proper tool, or that i don't want to use air, it is because you need to use low and medium speed- moderate pressure to cut the tapers into the plate, which is made out of a t-1 or spring steel. a regular hss bit will likely fail before making a cut, aside from it being the wrong angle. because i do not have a press, only hand-held tools, and carbide bits, that is the rout i went. start with spraying liberal amounts of wd-40 on the bit and hole and Begin with the 1/2" ball on med, or low (1&2 setting on dewalt) or just low if you don't have med. apply a bit of pressure on it as you start to cut the hole out bigger and find the right speed that does not chatter or grab. you should see fine angle hair curls coming out as it is cutting. stop every once in a while to spray the bit and wipe excess material out of the way. stop once there is no longer the vertical lip of the original hole, for the 1/4" screws, or once the 5/16 screws can go through.

if you are using the 5/16 bolts, then switch to the 3/4 ball bit, and continue cutting the hole at low speed with moderate to light pressure, until the top of the cutout is about 1/16" smaller then the head of the screw. you should have a nice, machined look to it, but you don't have to have it perfect.

once you have lined up the holes the way they fit the best, install the screws in ascending sequence, until snug. tap them inward, but not excessively hard, as to damage the helicoils, and re tighten. repeat again, and then remove the plate, after marking it and the basket to line up again.

if you want to use the gasket, like me, then trim it now, and re-assemble the gear assy. note the proper location of the cushions and conical washer. also note, that i have flipped the backing plate to give a new wear surface for the washer.

install the bolts using the same ascending sequence, only, this time, it is best that you use an impact driver as shown (not impact gun) work your way around a few times after tightening fully with the hex key. before installing the screws, however, you want to make sure they are clean, and free of oil, and use blue loctite.

here is your brand-spankin-used basket finished- note, that the screws are no longer than needed and do not stick out. it is advised that you soak your plates and go to bet now, to give the loctite time to fully cure. however, if you need to get it done now, then apply some heat to the whole assembly to 150f+ for a force cure, before installing.

happy trails, and good luck.

 

 

-Heath H-

[dirtydownunder]

great write up man !!!!.

[Smokestack]

Awsome Needs to be added to the stickies

[SAVAGE420]

Awsome Needs to be added to the stickies

 

Done!

 

 

Yeah good shit for sure, will help lots of people on what to do and not to do.

[camatv]

the stock backing plate is a hard mofo. MUCH better than the cheesy back plate that comes with the hinson..

on a side note the last barnett basket i got had an ALLUMINUM!!!! plate IT DIDNT LAST LONG..

 

tim at titan can machine the backing plate for the screwes.. if needed..

[bigborebanshee]

The paper gasket and conical washer can be omitted on the aftermarket basket,they serve no purpose.The purpose of the conical washer is to take up the slop when the rivets start to stretch and the basket gets sloppy.With bolts,the backing plate is securely bolted to the basket and no clearance should not develop between the basket and backing plate unless the screws come loose.

 

But kudos on modifying the factory backing plate,I warped a few of the aftermarket backing plates from doing standing start full throttle holeshots before I modded a stock backing plate to fit my billet basket.The factory backing plates are bullet proof.

[AKheathen]

that's not how i see it, but i could be wrong.......the backing plate is suppsed to stay solid against the basket, and even the tension from the wansr won't do anything to save it once the rivets or bolts come loose. the conical washer presses the gear up against the gasket/basket, otherwise the gear will be floping loosely to wear on the plate/basket assy. this way the gear can still rotate against the coushins, but not continuously beat around with every pulse of the crank, just the front/back load.

[polkaudio]

Great job.

 

One thing I'd like to point out about bolts. Typical Stainless bolts are weaker in shear, which is the situation here, than grade 8 so they're not a very good choice of fastener. The only time I'd use stainless here is if they were ARP. But I'm not sure you really need stainless since this assembly is covered and coated with oil.

 

And one question. Why did you use a ball mill on the backing plate to make the tapper for the bolts instead of a carbide countersink? Tool availablility perhaps?

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to dump on your article, I thought it was very informative. I hope I never have to do it, but now that I've seen it done, looks to be not too bad of a job.

[camatv]

if your bike makes over 65hp i can guarantee that you WILL snap the lil bitty bolts that come with the hinson and EXPLODED the backing plate on the barnett baskets. the stock backing plate is sweet the aftermarket baskets should have figured out a way to reasemble the basket with the stock backing plate even if it was using stockish rivets that you needed to have pressed in...

 

 

or you can buy the hinson springloaded basket.. thats what seems to work excellent!

[MikeNick]

Nice write up Heath..

[gofast5]

Wow I really wish I would of seen this sooner. My basket pulled apart and the gear actually broke into about 6 or 7 pieces and locked my whole banshee up.. You spend all that money for their basket and it goes to shit. Ill be having a word with them tomorrow and asking about any refund or anything thats ridiculous.. (or how ever you spell it)

[B Rich45]

Your a pro!!!