Leaking Slave Cylinder & Pinion Seal

[TJVV47]

Greeting all!

I'm new to the board, and though I've gleaned much from surfing topic threads, I'm now posting a little sooner than I imagined.

I'm in the process of (hopefully) purchasing a 2002 R1150R with moderate mileage. While the bike generally reveals to have been under rather good care, it became clear in talking to the service tech' at the dealership that the bike had relatively recent service notes indicating signs of leakage from both the pinion seal and clutch slave. Unfortunately, it appears that neither issue was addressed prior to the unit reaching the sales floor. We've now entered the inevitable discussion of what is going to need to be done in order to bring the bike up to suitable operating form, and of course... who's going to cover the costs.

With respect to the clutch slave cylinder in particular, I'm curious if such a slave leak "necessitates" complete clutch replacement as well? Is there a possibility that if we're catching the leak relatively early that the clutch plates won't be critically contaminated, or is this just wishful thinking on my part? We've not yet had the opportunity to get the bike back into the dealership's service bay in order to note the extent of the slave leak and contamination, so I cannot at this time provide further details. I'm currently attempting to best understand the situation and forecast likely scenarios.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and suggestions.
Cheers!
~Tim

[riceburner]

If you're buying - the bike should be in the best possible condition that the dealer can manage. Especially if it's a BMW dealer.

If the dealer can't manage to even sell a bike that's roadworthy (leaking clutch slave would render it unroadworthy in my opinion), then I'd say name and shame the dealer and walk away, never to return.

Quite frankly I'm shocked that any dealer would even consider selling a bike with a leaky clutch seal. If you let yourself be talked into giving them ANYTHING then you have only yourself to blame tbh.

[jas]

I agree with riceburner, the bike should not be available for sale at a dealership if there is a known problem. I also agree that the dealership should be mentioned. There are many members in the PNW that may want to know this (myself included) information.

[TJVV47]

I'm curious if such a slave leak "necessitates" complete clutch replacement as well? Is there a possibility that if we're catching the leak relatively early that the clutch plates won't be critically contaminated, or is this just wishful thinking on my part?

Thanks for the support guys, but I'm really interested in the potential contamination issue above. Are there functional grades of contamination, or is this generally "one drop" scenario?

[iowabeakster]

The first drop leaked probably wouldn't contaminate the friction surfaces. The leaked fluid must travel through a hollow shaft along the horizontal push-rod to get into the gizzard of the clutch. Then, it'll spray around and contaminate the friction surfaces.

If this was my bike (paid for long ago, and been reading this forum for years), and I noticed a leaking slave, but not noticed any slippage... I would not automatically assume on replacing the friction surfaces until I opened up the bike. It may have not have started slipping yet, but it might in the near future. Opening it up is the only sure way to know that everything is ship-shape.

I also question the dealer putting the bike out for sale, with those known issues. They had this knowledge, before taking it in on trade! So, that should have been a consideration in what they paid for it. If they think that you should pay to repair a bike that they currently own, I would walk away from it now.

If you still think this bike might still be worth a try, I would ask the dealer to replace the slave and pinion seal (at their cost). I would also ask for them to pull the tranny from the engine. I would ask to witness it. If the clutch is contaminated, they need to pay to replace the disc and housing. (Plus, you would also get a look at the splines between the clutch disc and tranny input shaft. This is a separate issue, but a potential big $$ repair!!)

If the dealer doesn't like those requests I'd shake their hand and walk away (99% sure that is what would happen). I just think it is reasonable, given what you know about the leaking slave. If they find that acceptable...open it up, and let's take a look.

[Airman]

I agree with riceburner, the bike should not be available for sale at a dealership if there is a known problem. I also agree that the dealership should be mentioned. There are many members in the PNW that may want to know this (myself included) information.

I probably deal with the dealer you're talking to. I don't think you're violating a confidence to tell us who it is. If the dealer steps up to the plate and does the right thing they'll gain respect from the community. If not....well, that's nice to know as well.

Another point here: The are a lot of low mileage R1150R's on the market. I would not consider one with a known problem like this that is so time consuming to repair. I don't know if you've seen where the clutch slave is, but I think there's more than a few man hours in the fix. I can see them wanting you to heavily commit before they would start work, then fight you when it gets expensive.