Final Drive fekked
- Thread starter WindyChuffer
- Start date
If water gets past the boot doesn't it just run out of a hole somewhere? The boot doesn't look like a hermetic seal to me so water getting in is always going to be an issue even when washing the bike?
My 07 was rusty as hell after one year and i didn't find a drain hole. I also didn't see any sign of lubrication grease. It too had been in water:
Windy's does look chewed up, especially of the rear wheel isn't moving?
Windy's does look chewed up, especially of the rear wheel isn't moving?
Sooty09
Registered user
All my old air cooled pre paralever shaft drives had oil lubricated shafts with drain plugs, filler holes and a method of checking the level. All 65000 miles + with no failures. I cannot recall a problem with torque reaction or harsh drives. The last newish bike, an R650 had a built in shock absorber and had a superb gear change, it felt it could go on for ever. I swapped it for a later 800 with monolever, that's when I started to think shafts were not really as cost effective as a good chain drive. Wobbly rear wheel at 25000 miles by 45000 I was glad to be rid of it. Same worries on the R1150, R1200GS and now the LC.
Please Please be a nice bike to ride Africa Twin.
Please Please be a nice bike to ride Africa Twin.
Windychupper hasn't clarified the failure. Marketing for the WC GSA states 'Increased flywheel mass in the engine and additional vibration damper for even smoother running and superior rideability.' So does anybody know what or where the 'additional vibration damper' is , ii.e. in the engine or in the transmission ?
The HP2 (that you'd expect to get wet) has a drain hole in the swing arm.
Someone at BM has asked the question "what if water does get in there?"
I've had a shaft joint failure - but I put this down to me not regularly checking the drain hole for blockage.
WindyChuffer
Registered user
Update:
All cleared for repair under warranty no problem. Parts to be replaced include Needs:
- Drive Shaft
- Complete Final Drive assembly. Bevel gears stripped.
- Rubber boot.
All in stock except for the rubber boot! So will be off the road for couple of weeks.
Damage was caused by water ingress, displacing the oil and corresponding corrosion. What is worrying is that according to the service adviser at the dealer, the rubber seal has not been updated since the LC was introduced.
All cleared for repair under warranty no problem. Parts to be replaced include Needs:
- Drive Shaft
- Complete Final Drive assembly. Bevel gears stripped.
- Rubber boot.
All in stock except for the rubber boot! So will be off the road for couple of weeks.
Damage was caused by water ingress, displacing the oil and corresponding corrosion. What is worrying is that according to the service adviser at the dealer, the rubber seal has not been updated since the LC was introduced.
Good result Windychuffer... but... and please do correct me if I'm wrong;
Firstly the shaft:
According to This UKGSer thread, quoting Beemerman, "Greasing of the FD splines isn't included in the service bulletin's - they are supposed to run dry."
(Last strip I did was to grease with Moly Grease cos don't like the thought of dry at all)
Secondly the Final drive:
That SHOULD be sealed,albeit with the mysterious abilities of a breather and has nothing to do with the rubber boot leak, so how can oil be washed away? If your bevel gears are stripped , then something catastrophic has gone wrong with lubrication deep inside the SEALED drive (Stating the obvious). Is there any oil in your FD?
EDIT: see you can see that on your new thread
Firstly the shaft:
According to This UKGSer thread, quoting Beemerman, "Greasing of the FD splines isn't included in the service bulletin's - they are supposed to run dry."
(Last strip I did was to grease with Moly Grease cos don't like the thought of dry at all)
Secondly the Final drive:
That SHOULD be sealed,albeit with the mysterious abilities of a breather and has nothing to do with the rubber boot leak, so how can oil be washed away? If your bevel gears are stripped , then something catastrophic has gone wrong with lubrication deep inside the SEALED drive (Stating the obvious). Is there any oil in your FD?
EDIT: see you can see that on your new thread
WindyChuffer
Registered user
Right time for an update. Got my bike back today; 22 days later. All fixed under warranty. In addition to new drive shaft and final drive, it looks to me like the final drive casing and rubber gaiters at both ends have also been replaced.
In response to GrinningGSer: As far as I can make out, a splined shaft exits the sealed final drive. The prop shaft mates with this with a female splined orifice. This splined set up was stripped on both components. As I have found out since my original post, the drive shaft casing runs dry, hence the rubber seals at both ends to keep water out. It was water ingress which caused the corrosion.
I suspect my drive shaft had quite a bit of water in it, and as there are no drain holes, it had nowhere to go and caused material corrosion which in turn caused the mechanical failure.
A rear wheel drive car has a prop shaft, which mates to the differential via a similar splined arrangement. This is exposed to the elements and should be greased. When it gets wet, the water drains off / dries off as it is not encased. A far better solution.
So to me the GS drive shaft casing has a fatal design problem as
a) there are no water drain holes
b) there is no grease point
In response to GrinningGSer: As far as I can make out, a splined shaft exits the sealed final drive. The prop shaft mates with this with a female splined orifice. This splined set up was stripped on both components. As I have found out since my original post, the drive shaft casing runs dry, hence the rubber seals at both ends to keep water out. It was water ingress which caused the corrosion.
I suspect my drive shaft had quite a bit of water in it, and as there are no drain holes, it had nowhere to go and caused material corrosion which in turn caused the mechanical failure.
A rear wheel drive car has a prop shaft, which mates to the differential via a similar splined arrangement. This is exposed to the elements and should be greased. When it gets wet, the water drains off / dries off as it is not encased. A far better solution.
So to me the GS drive shaft casing has a fatal design problem as
a) there are no water drain holes
b) there is no grease point
Mine went in to have the gaiter replaced yesterday, bear in mind that I spotted it had split whilst away (when doing my morning walk around and check on the bike so it had happened in the previous 24 hours) . I sprayed inside the gaiter and over the joint with a water repellent spray and the split was first glued and then later properly sealed with silicon.
It has lasted fine since then but there was already surface rust starting to form on the joint when the boot was replaced, so obviously something to be aware of
It has lasted fine since then but there was already surface rust starting to form on the joint when the boot was replaced, so obviously something to be aware of
Do you clean your bike with a pressure washer?
yes but not on critical areas and seals
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