Morning Timbo,
Yup, if the shaft and the square bores in the plates were gummy then it’s a fair bet that was at least a good part of the problem. Also check for burrs on the shaft before it all goes together-check that the plates slide freely on the shaft and carefully file any burrs if needed. You don’t want to remove any material from the square drive, just the burr itself.
A bit of lateral ‘wobble’ in the pulleys is normal and acceptable. Even with new bearings there is often a bit of play. I guess bearing quality has a fair bit to do with it and it’s a big diameter pulley. Once the belt is on and tensioned they run quite true and the clutch plate loads the play out anyway. 3mm is probably what I’d call normal ‘wobble’. At 5mm I’d change the bearing.
Bearings are easy to change if a little care is used. I warm them with a hot air gun first to ease the process and then drive or press them out evenly BUT please support the pulley AT the bearing while doing this and not on the outside diameter. If not supported properly it’ll crack for sure! Restake the new bearing once it’s in. I used to always replace the bearings when I had them apart but these days tend towards an ‘on condition’ philosophy. I.e. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
Lubrication of the shaft is one that’s been discussed a few times. Gadge and others recommend silicone spray lube only on the square drive. Nath uses the thinnest smear of antisieze. I tend toward silicone spray but have put a few together recently with a little antisieze- mainly because I didn’t have any silicone spray.
Key points to consider with lubricating the shaft is that excess lubricant or any oily substance will attract muck and gum up the works. You’ve worked that out with the help or the previous owner
Also, any wet lubricant or excess lubricant will be thrown by centrifugal force to the corks which is also undesirable.
Cheers,
