Final drive oil seal gone at 17k - what are the chances?

[muppix]

Hey All,

Went to get the 1200 out of the garage the other day, and noticed a small puddle (2ml approx?) of oil on the rear wheel rim, directly below the final drive assembly. There were also a few splatters of oil around the rim, bit like having a chain again.

The bike's done about 17,000 and the warranty ends this summer - what would you do? (18k service already booked for 2 weeks time)

Cheers,
Mup.

 

[Tim Cullis]

Get it repaired under warranty?

 

[Pukmeister]

Or spend about £800 on a new FD and fit it yourself.

 

[Andrew Lodge]

I'd see that as a result, it could have failed just after the warranty ran out.

 

[MattW]

Or spend about £800 on a new FD and fit it yourself.

Can't you just change the seal or perhaps the seal and bearing if its the bearing that's caused seal failure?

Seems a bit over the top to change the complete final drive for a duff seal. Like changing the engine for a head gasket failure....

Having said this, as its under warranty its no problem.

 

[muppix]

Get it repaired under warranty?

Well, yeah, but I was rather thinking about the long-run of owning this bike. Look at extended warranty or save the pennies for the inevitable servicing costs?

I'm fairly good with mechanical things and have a good workshop, but lack the time and inclination to use it.

Mup.

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

Well, yeah, but I was rather thinking about the long-run of owning this bike. Look at extended warranty or save the pennies for the inevitable servicing costs?

I'm fairly good with mechanical things and have a good workshop, but lack the time and inclination to use it.

Mup.

I had mine replaced under warranty at 20 odd thousand miles and bought a 2nd hand one off ebay for £150 - if anything goes wappy now I've always got a spare whilst I fix t'other

Andres

 

[Mav]

I had mine replaced under warranty at 20 odd thousand miles and bought a 2nd hand one off ebay for £150 - if anything goes wappy now I've always got a spare whilst I fix t'other

Andres

Likewise, me too

 

[Rong]

Mine goes in tomorrow to have seals replaced. According to warranty all seals and bearings in FD are covered. 1200GS 20K miles.

 

[muppix]

Mine goes in tomorrow to have seals replaced. According to warranty all seals and bearings in FD are covered. 1200GS 20K miles.

What's the mileage on yours?

Mup.

edit: sorry - just re-read your post. I gather yours has 20k miles, and not that the warranty is until 20k miles. d'Oh!

 

[macca]

Muppix,
I've had fds go on 12gs in and out of warrantee, ( not same bike ) and never had a problem getting BMW to sort it. Similar sort of mileage to yourself.
Dealers just claim it as warrantee work anyway, service staff probably know the codes by heart............
good luck!

 

[muppix]

Thanks Macca, reassuring words.

 

[2pwrr]

I came to a grinding halt taking mine for a service at 42,000 Klm about 26,000 miles, Of course the warranty was up oh well (they all do that sir).
From noticing a problem to not being rideable was less than 200 Ks ! But on the bright side the snow has gone at last !!

Cheers

 

[Pukmeister]

Can't you just change the seal or perhaps the seal and bearing if its the bearing that's caused seal failure?

Seems a bit over the top to change the complete final drive for a duff seal. Like changing the engine for a head gasket failure....

I was being sarcastic, but there is a hint of truth there too. My bike has had 3 final drives, the final one out of warranty as a goodwill gesture because SPC couldn't repair the leaking input pinion seal due to a lack of tooling and facilities. I wanted to make my own tooling and do it myself but no longer had access to a lathe and milling machine, so was glad when the dealer replaced it free of charge.

If you do a search for the thread which I think Patzx12 started of his own final drive repair in his workshop in Ireland, you'll see the special tooling and machine shop facilities he needed to get the job done.

EDIT: Here it is

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166875

 

[spock]

Hey All,

Went to get the 1200 out of the garage the other day, and noticed a small puddle (2ml approx?) of oil on the rear wheel rim, directly below the final drive assembly. There were also a few splatters of oil around the rim, bit like having a chain again.

The bike's done about 17,000 and the warranty ends this summer - what would you do? (18k service already booked for 2 weeks time)

Cheers,
Mup.

sounds a bit like what I had,but mine was the outer seal,road the bike home from Wales,didn't notice I had a problem till I got there,so I road about 2 or 300 mile or so, and all was ok to get me home,had the bike sorted when I got back home,cost me £50.
The bike was just under 28k on a 05gs,
good luck m8,troubleis, a little oil can look like a lot...

 

[Bear]

I'm currently waiting for the new seal to arrive. It's an easy job to change even if it shouldnt fail at only 18000 miles.

 

[Optimus_1200]

Hijack

Gents (& Ladies) many apologies for the hijack , interesting thread. I lurk quite a bit in a bid to improve my rubbish knowledge base but why do you all deliberately mispell stuff? eg "BuMW", "warrantee". Bad language I get, normal words I don't. Tried to search t'interweb & the Forum but can't work out an answer. Apologies again, PS pls don't flame...

 

[muppix]

I'm currently waiting for the new seal to arrive. It's an easy job to change even if it shouldnt fail at only 18000 miles.

This is for the outer seal, right? I didn't see any traces of oil from the outer (R/H) side when mine leaked, reckon it must have come from the seal that's on the other (L/H) side. Is that one also an easy job to replace? I guess with the brake and everything else in the way it could well be more difficult ...

Mup.

 

[Bear]

It is indeed the outer seal on the right hand side.

 

[MattW]

I was being sarcastic, but there is a hint of truth there too. My bike has had 3 final drives, the final one out of warranty as a goodwill gesture because SPC couldn't repair the leaking input pinion seal due to a lack of tooling and facilities. I wanted to make my own tooling and do it myself but no longer had access to a lathe and milling machine, so was glad when the dealer replaced it free of charge.

If you do a search for the thread which I think Patzx12 started of his own final drive repair in his workshop in Ireland, you'll see the special tooling and machine shop facilities he needed to get the job done.

EDIT: Here it is

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166875

Yeah - I followed that thread when Pat originally posted.

If I interpret it right, it's the input bearing / seal that's the pig to change (much the same as with 11xx's) - needs a special tool and a 200ftlb impact wrench to remove the castle nut. However from the OP's description it sounds unlikely that its this seal which has gone?

If it's just the 'big' wheel side seal (which is usually the one to go on 11xx's due to the bearing cage disintegrating and taking the seal with it) , it looks to be a much more straightforward job (with 11xx's - Steptoe can do these at the road side with minimal tools). However, I'm not sure if the 1200's FD has 'design features' which make this a harder job?...