FD bearing, again?

[Slipperyeel]

Some of you may remember i replaced the FD bearing early August, just ahead of my summer outing to Italy. Well, this evening i noticed just a tiny drop of oil on the bottom of the FD casing. About the size of my little finger nail. Hmmm

My first thought was maybe the seal needs some attention, but i am fresh from the earlier symptoms, one of which was the handling went off, a little like the tyre pressures are too low. Well, i have noticed a similar symptom, but actually i haven't even looked at the tyre pressures since i got back from italy (i know i know). So i now suspect the bearing

So, tomorrow i will get the rear wheel off and change the FD oil to see if anything obvious rears its head. In the meantime, what could i have done wrong? I did 3.5k miles loaded with a lot of luggage and all was fine... Could the new bearing have been of such a tolerance the shimming was way out?

Interested in comments. Thankfully i know what i'm in for if it has to come off, but obliviously i don't want a repeat

 

[MikeO]

I had a seal fail on the way to Alaska - and it turned out that's all it was. Some grit had got under it and caused it to leak. I had the seal changed and it went on for another 30-40k - well, until the bike caught fire...

 

[warmshed]

It would not be the bearing out of tolerance to "make the shimming way out" It would be that the original shimming was wrong and you just replaced the bearing without checking the shimming was correct and this could well have been why the original bearing failed. too.

 

[kennyc]

It would not be the bearing out of tolerance to "make the shimming way out" It would be that the original shimming was wrong and you just replaced the bearing without checking the shimming was correct and this could well have been why the original bearing failed. too.

surely in that case the bearing would have lasted a similar distance to the original? my money is on a sealing fault.

 

[Slipperyeel]

Thanks for the comments. Warmshed and Kenny. I've had both your thoughts. Right now I'm not sure. But tomorrow when I get the wheel off and change the oil (and see if they's any play) I might see more. I happen to have a spare seal so depending on what I see, I might just fit it...

I'm gonna check the tyre pressures too, just to, ahem, get that off the list!



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[MIKE R]

My rear wheel bearing went at 36K. Replaced by a highly regarded independent, then went again at 43k. Independent diagnosed faulty bearing and replaced it again. Failed again at 53k. On each occasion the bearing was drifted out and replaced. The total job took about 2 hours

This time I sent my rear drive down to Steve Scriminger (scriminger.co.uk) who is an engineer rather than a mechanic. He replaced the bearing and re-shimmed everything. He needed the rear drive for 2 days!

Since then.....no problem

Steve's repair was more expensive than the first bearing replacement but a lot cheaper than having the bearing replaced twice. Craftsmanship is worth paying that little extra for

Mie

 

[beemer pimp]

Could be similar story
http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=406885

 

[Slipperyeel]

Could be similar story
http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=406885

Agreed. I think the oil will give away a lot when I see it. Then a peek at the seal... The hub on mine had the usual rusty surface of the exposed face but I was conscious of other stories where the seal leaked because of contact with that surface. But it's quite possibly the issue...

News later. Woken with a stinking cold, so I'll get out when the magic potions start to work!


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[beemer pimp]

I'm really doubted anything wrong with bearing if recently replaced unless there is no oil or its full of sand , I didn't discover problem till done long drive ( bevel heat up ) .
What is magic potion? I need some

 

[Slipperyeel]

I think I've sorted it. Looking at the evidence, the seal failing looked most probable as there's no play anywhere, bearings look good and rotation is smooth. So new seal fitted (had a spare),new fluid and the only difference this time is I've pushed the seal further in, roughly 2mm. Pics below. Might be useful for someone...at some point.

Drain plug didn't look good. But no metal present and a doddle to clean (not the same when there's metal in the sludge).


Then took of the wheel and the FD looked like this.


But notice the seal is pretty much flush with the back plate.


When I got the seal out and cleaned things up, they're was a clear score line, set back in a little into the polished zone. So Mike, grit getting in looks most likely






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[Slipperyeel]

Pushed in the new seal (by hand, some strong fingers needed!). But made sure it was pushed in to clear the new score line but not so far in to touch the bearing.


So my fingers are crossed that this is all it was. Thanks for all the comments, gave me some things to look out for, namely evidence of grit getting in.


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