Problem Removing Alternator Cover

[ChrisK]

I'm in the process of removing my flywheel to have a friend lighten it for me. I believe I ran into a major problem.

Below are pictures of what I'm talking about. I used a puller almost exactly like the one pictured in the Haynes manual to remove the cover. Once I separated the cover from the motor, I looked at the back of it and immediately noticed something that didn't look right. I saw a loose c-clip and another loose ring. I fished them out and it seems the mystery ring cracked off of the case itself and the ring was being held below it. To me, this looks devastating. Seeking the opinion of experts. Could this have been caused by the cover being stuck to the motor so tight it didn't give way to the puller soon enough? I should note, the cover was "gasketed" by the stuff that comes in a tube, not a paper one.

Here's the pics:

In the top of this pic you can see where the ring cracked



Here is a close up of the ring, upside down, and out of the cover:



To the left in this picture is some material from that ring that was left in place:



So, what happened, can it be fixed, am I screwed?

[ChrisK]

Edit: I think I know what happened. It took so much force for the puller to pull the cover off that when it finally popped the cover it slid down the shaft far enough to where the puller impacted only the bearing, not the shaft anymore. I think that jolt cracked it.

Does that make sense to anyone? Unofficial terminology and all...

[ChrisK]

Nevermind, I keep digging deeper. Just pulled the alternator out and discovered the broken piece is, in fact, part of the cover. Here's a picture:

 

The bearing seems to be operating just fine. What do you all think?

To me it looks like I could attempt to press that bearing back down. After that I don't know if I would be okay to just leave it, or if I could attempt a fix with something like QuikSteel?... Or if I just need to start hunting for a new cover...

[Dirty Duc]

Despite my generally cavalier attitude toward things of this nature, I would probably start looking for a replacement cover...

I don't have any theories as to why that happened, but aluminum cracking apart can't be a good thing.

[TheoRex]

The "ring" in the second picture looks like it was part of the cover, was there supposed to be a snap ring or something that was with it?

[ChrisK]

Despite my generally cavalier attitude toward things of this nature, I would probably start looking for a replacement cover...

I don't have any theories as to why that happened, but aluminum cracking apart can't be a good thing.

I already know why it happened, I had to apply too many turns to the puller to get the cover to pop off. When it finally let go, it impacted the bearing in the cover, which cracked the ring behind it.

You're right, it's not a good thing. But if the only reason for that ring being there is to keep the bearing in place, I'm wondering if there could be a fix for this that would reattach that ring.

[ChrisK]

The "ring" in the second picture looks like it was part of the cover, was there supposed to be a snap ring or something that was with it?

I've already mentioned that it was part of the cover, and I've already mentioned there was a c-clip in there as well. You can see the c-clip sitting underneath the broken ring in the first picture.

[Dirty Duc]

You're right, it's not a good thing. But if the only reason for that ring being there is to keep the bearing in place, I'm wondering if there could be a fix for this that would reattach that ring.

I'm thinking there is no cost-effective way to reattach that ring unless you can weld aluminum and have machining capabilities.  It can be done, but I'm thinking it will be cheaper and easier to just buy a replacement.

[ChrisK]

I'm thinking there is no cost-effective way to reattach that ring unless you can weld aluminum and have machining capabilities.  It can be done, but I'm thinking it will be cheaper and easier to just buy a replacement.

I have access to quite a bit of free machining, to be perfectly honest. The reason for pulling this cover off was to remove the flywheel and have it turned down for no more than a 12 pack of Busch Light.

From what I can tell by looking at it all, that ring never has any load put on it while the bike is in use, if it did they wouldn't have made it just 1/8" thick. That bearing only acts as an end support for the shaft, as far as I can tell.

I'm a big fan of QuikSteel, so I'm just thinking it might be okay to press that bearing back in place, reattach the ring with QuikSteel, grind off the excess, and call it a day.

[ducpainter]

Get a new cover.

[ChrisK]

Get a new cover.

Can you please give a reason? This thread and forum are useless without them.

[Dirty Duc]

Can you please give a reason? This thread and forum are useless without them.

The purpose of that ring is to provide support for the snap ring that retains the bearing against those invisible creatures (gremlins) that make bearings walk down shafts to contact inappropriate objects (like the flywheel/stator assembly).

Inside the alternator cover is not really inspect-able without removal (hence why you are just discovering this). 

If you are not concerned that unplanned pieces of metal came loose inside your stator... why repair it at all?

It wouldn't have broken if it never had any load on it.

[ChrisK]

The purpose of that ring is to provide support for the snap ring that retains the bearing against those invisible creatures (gremlins) that make bearings walk down shafts to contact inappropriate objects (like the flywheel/stator assembly).

Inside the alternator cover is not really inspect-able without removal (hence why you are just discovering this). 

If you are not concerned that unplanned pieces of metal came loose inside your stator... why repair it at all?

It wouldn't have broken if it never had any load on it.

Yeah, that all makes sense.

For your last sentence, it broke because of my puller, not because of anything that happened while the bike was running. The gasket sealer was holding on strong enough that I think the cover flexed some, then when it finally broke loose the bearing impacted the main puller bolt hard enough that it cracked the lip on the back side of it. That's probably partially user-error for giving one too many cranks on the puller bolt.

[Dirty Duc]

I've broken my share of parts.  I suspect that area had some other stresses in life.  the impact may have been the triggering circumstance, but metal can have invisible cracks in it.

[ChrisK]

I've broken my share of parts.  I suspect that area had some other stresses in life.  the impact may have been the triggering circumstance, but metal can have invisible cracks in it.

True.

I'm shopping around for covers and can't believe how scarce they are... believe I found one through ducpower.com though.

Still interested in hearing other people's opinions on this. Also, interested in hearing opinions on the best way to keep the motor from spinning while removing the flywheel nut?