Evolution engine pinion shaft nut keeps loosening up

[Aussie]

I have a 1979 FLH with a 1984 evolution engine i fitted to the frame i have a problem with the pinion shaft key after about 150 miles the pinion gear shears the T KEY and it throws the timing off ! this has happen twice since i built the engine , first thing i noticed is the the pinion shaft nut was completly loose and on the 2nd time i so called fixed it, it happened it was very loose !!now i want to add the the crank assembly is the 90-92 assembly that uses the smaller skinner pinion shaft and T key, i noticed the the t key goes into the worm drive the spacer and the pinion shaft gear ,but it doesnt seam to go into the pinion shaft gear very much at all?? so here is the question im asking
(1) What is causing the nut to loosen up i used lock tight on the threads but i didnt have the right socket to torque the nut but i did do it up super tight ?? i have now ordered the correct socket !

(2) because the t key doesnt seam to go into the pinion gear very much i was thinking of machining the spacer so that the key will enter the pinion gear more , but doing this will also move the pinion shaft gear inwards but this still will allow plenty of gear surface to mesh

any ideas??

 

[Jack Klarich]

I have a 1979 FLH with a 1984 evolution engine i fitted to the frame i have a problem with the pinion shaft key after about 150 miles the pinion gear shears the T KEY and it throws the timing off ! this has happen twice since i built the engine , first thing i noticed is the the pinion shaft nut was completly loose and on the 2nd time i so called fixed it, it happened it was very loose !!now i want to add the the crank assembly is the 90-92 assembly that uses the smaller skinner pinion shaft and T key, i noticed the the t key goes into the worm drive the spacer and the pinion shaft gear ,but it doesnt seam to go into the pinion shaft gear very much at all?? so here is the question im asking
(1) What is causing the nut to loosen up i used lock tight on the threads but i didnt have the right socket to torque the nut but i did do it up super tight ?? i have now ordered the correct socket !

(2) because the t key doesnt seam to go into the pinion gear very much i was thinking of machining the spacer so that the key will enter the pinion gear more , but doing this will also move the pinion shaft gear inwards but this still will allow plenty of gear surface to mesh

any ideas??

Welcome to The Forum. Pinions and cam gears are matched sets, that said are you mixing and matching parts? The pinion gear nut is L H thread and requires a special tool I see you now have and the proper torque

 

[Midnight Reign]

I had similar issue when I built my softail w/ Delkron cases. I finally stopped trying to work around not having the proper socket and bought the corect tool, torqued it to the given spec and have not had any issues since, and that was nearly 8 yrs ago. Moral of the story..... there is NO substitute for the proper tools

 

[Jack Klarich]

Thinking out loud here and wondering if you have the correct spacer here, I cant see why the key would shear and the gear does not fit properly unless the spacer is wrong? I believe the torque is 45 ft lbs

 

[Aussie]

i cant understand why the nut loossens up , the threads are fine the nut is new and i make sure there isnt any grime or grease on the threads and i use red locktite, there isnt any vibration and it runs smooth when its running cant understand why the nut loosens up maybe its time for green locktie and torqure it to over 50 lbs?