Rear Drive Seal Failure

kjax909 · Post by **kjax909** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 12:47 pm

It's been posted before, but a reminder never hurts:

While washing my '02 R1150R about three weeks ago, I noticed what seemed like an excessive build up of crud right under the rear dust boot (where the final drive mates to the swing arm housing). Didn't seem like normal road grime, so I decided to check the final drive oil seal--sure enough, no oil can be seen. I go but some gear oil at the local bike shop and end up adding about 2 fl. oz. Not out of the ordinary? I don't know--so I call my delear (120 mi. away) and he informs me that it should not consume oil, certainly not 2 oz. since the 12,000 mile check. How's this for a coincidence? I'm four days away from the end of my warranty. He asks me the miles (about 15,500) and says--"Yeah, you better bring it in." Just had my appt. yesterday and sure enough, the seal was leaking. No worries--replaced w/o charge under warranty in about an hour.

Here's my point. There was no obvious leak--I have a new garage and would have seen anything. No drips, no build up on the rear brake torque arm (which hangs below the final drive dust boot). Just a little build-up of crud thatb seemed not to come from the road.

So, check your rear drive carefully--and check your oil level--that's the test. I have a friend w/ an '02 R1150RS and his looks exactly the same. Unfortunately (maybe), his was purchased early in '02 and is definitely out of warranty (plus he bought it used, not from a delaer).

Post by **KHaynes** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 3:10 pm

kjax909 wrote:...There was no obvious leak ...

If you regularly wash your bike, the leak may not be evident. I'm a prolific bike cleaner and like you, didn't notice the very slow seapage of oil from the boot. Mine was also fixed under warranty.

Post by **yjleesvrr** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 6:30 pm

This is a common problem on our Roadsters. Mine began leaking subtlely around 26k miles. Brian (DSKYZD) and I noticed that both our bikes had this problem on our way back from the Bash last April. Mine was fixed under warranty at around 27k miles. See your dealer if you have this problem.

R4R&R · Post by **R4R&R** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 7:59 pm

I have an appointment tomorrow to have mine replaced. It has seeped in the past but not for a long time. This time the wet 'spot' has gone all the way around, even seeping on the top of the rubber boot. This time tomorrow it wil be fixed and I'll be packing up for another camping trip.

Post by **DSKYZD** » Wed Sep 21, 2005 8:21 pm

Yong's right on. Mine was also fixified under warranty...but it took quite a bit longer than the 3 hours expected. It only cost me time so I don't complain too much.

John, I remember you saying that yours leaked, then seemed to stop. Now you say it came back bigtime. Did it leak enough to actually drip, or could you tell? This would certainly be worse if the leaks were enough to let gear oil get onto the rear tire. I have yet to hear of this happening though.

DSKYZD

Post by **MartinW** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 2:56 am

Seems to be a bit of a 'feature' - mine was starting to leak at 6000 miles.

greer · Post by **greer** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 5:01 am

Mine started leaking at 12,000 miles. Never anything drippy, just a heavy dusting of black crud. Missed the dang warranty by a month. Sarah

vinman · Post by **vinman** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 6:55 am

Mine just started leaking too. I have 16K miles. Now I just have to find the time to get it into the dealer.

R4R&R · Post by **R4R&R** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 2:50 pm

Just got back from my dealer visit - it took them about 3 hours to do it and the paperwork shows that it would've been around $100 if I were paying.

FWIW - I have 30k miles on mine and it started around 18k, then stopped by 21k, and started again around 25k.

Blaster229 · Post by **Blaster229** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 7:51 pm

No such thing as a stupid question, right?? Are you talking about the rubber *boot* part at the back end of the shaft drive??
Novice here, be gentle guys lol

Post by **MikeCam** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 8:05 pm

Blaster, yes that's the spot. Bears watching.

The gear oil in the final drive lubricates the back of the drive shaft and the '????' gear thingee at the hub.

That boot is merely a dust boot to cover the place where the drive shaft enters the final drive. So a seepy, weepy, barely leaky seal can go un-noticed.

If you have a build up similar to that described in the first post - very good description of the symptoms by the way- then definitely start monitoring the level of gear oil in the FD and be certain to get the dealer to inspect, renew, replace if needed at the next service.

That said, many Airheads with the older, yet mechanically similar FD unit were run dry and suffered no ill effects. Not recommended for the more modern metals of our Oilheads, but still not a cause of panic, just concern.

Blaster229 · Post by **Blaster229** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 5:47 am

Thanks........ If we could keep the descriptions simple with terms such as * seepy Weepy * * Thing-a-MaJigg * and * Whatcha-ma-call-its *, I will be just *peachy*

Mike

Post by **RonBomb** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 7:27 am

See postings under "Warranty Work"

RonBomb

towerworker · Post by **towerworker** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 12:21 pm

Mine is doing the same thing--noticed it yesterday while replacing rear tire for the 3rd time (16000 mi)
Made appt with dealer and gives me an excuse to take a long ride.

Wayne
03 r

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