[Ducati] Removing Crankshaft

[ducati5555 at aol.com]

I removed the crank on my 94 M900 about 5 years ago, right after I bought the bike.? It only had 4,000 miles on it and I found bits and pieces of the plastic bearing cage in my oil when I changed it.? I was new to ducati and am grateful to Alex who diagnosed the problem immediately.? I didnt know what the pieces were initially when I changed the oil.

I proceeded to pull the engine out of the bike and split the cases.? Its been awhile but I remember needing a?gear puller to remove some of the gears.? The one on the right side of the engine was especially difficult as it was held on with a keyway and a taper.? The taper had locked and it took a few days to get the gear off.? 

To get the preload on the bearings correct when installing, I used a long piece of ground flat stock with a hole drilled through it.? I placed the flat stock across the? edge of each case and measured down to where the bearing seats.? I used a long depth?micrometer to take?these measurements.? ?I then got a large caliper to measure from shoulder to shoulder on the crank shaft.? I then knew how much to shim the crankshaft to get the correct preload.? (The preload is calculated by the amount of interference).? 

I then heated up the cases and pressed in the bearings and then assembled the cases around the crank shaft.? It was my first time doing this on a Ducati, although I had done once before on a dirt bike.? Its lasted over 37,000 miles since then and still running strong, ?so I am pleased with how it all turned out.

Mike
94 M944
97 916
99 ST4






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