Final drive stiff

[dippy]

Changed the final drive oil the other day and the part in the manual where the final drive is supported with a strap was redundant in my case, the joint was so stiff I had to force the end down.

My question is this: is this a problem or is that juntion only used for oil changes etc?

 

[Smug]

Should move freely because it is part of the rear suspension.

 

[crawling finn]

Most likely the spacer from inside one of the bearings has been omitted, or over enthusiastic jetwashing of the left hand (needle) bearing has damaged the felt seal on it and the bearing is full of water and rust.

 

[Pukmeister]

Changed the oil a few times on 1200's, the Final Drive always fell down under their own weight.

I suggest you need to check/replace the lower bearings.

 

[Spike]

Just greased my drive shaft CV joints and replaced the FD oil and the rear just felll down once the Drive shaft was released

spike

 

[dippy]

I've done the final drive oil change a few times and yes, the final drive was loose enough to fall down easily but now it's stiff as hell. I'm wondering that as Smug puts it above that if it's all part of the rear suspension that it can wait until i do the final drive oil again? i do 3 or 4 K miles a month so it wouldnt be that long to go.

I've also noticed that I'm getting vibration through my feet that has been around for a few months now. I changed the rear shock before xmas and have new front and rear tyres so i'm wondering if this final drive bearing issue could be causing the vibration?

 

[G5RJO]

strip it down.....

the bottom pivot is a very simple design. Torx on the inside, normal socket outside. Thing is it's 100nm so tight ish. There are two possibilities that I can think of..

Spacer wrong way round when inserted.. its on the inside face of the outer bearing..

Bearings seized and corroded to the pivot.

Strip it out.. probably a 15 - 20minute job, clean eerything up, re-grease and rebuild. To be honest I think it will be the spacer the wrong way round.. been there done it. Its very confusing trying to work out whats gone wrong when you do it.I wouldnt ride it like that.

Roger.

 

[dippy]

Thansk G5RJO, I havent yet removed the final drive completely and have done over 100K miles on the bike so I assume that the spacer is correctly seated and that the bearings are seized and corroded. i'll take your recomendation and wont ride it, much although it's my commute bike so dont have too much choice. i'll have to go and spend money on a bigger torq spanner!

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Nobbyspiles]

Thansk G5RJO, I havent yet removed the final drive completely and have done over 100K miles on the bike so I assume that the spacer is correctly seated and that the bearings are seized and corroded. i'll take your recomendation and wont ride it, much although it's my commute bike so dont have too much choice. i'll have to go and spend money on a bigger torq spanner!

Thanks for the advice!

Spray WD40 or similar in round the bearing area after you disconnect the top bar, then work the diff up and down for a while, keeping the area lubed with the WD. It should work in round the bearing and loosen it up in the meantime before you get time to strip it out to grease it properly.

Item 17 and 16 in the pic (236) is what you will be loosening to dismantle
Item 3 and 5 in the pic (246) are the bearings. Probably needle roller (3) is gummed up as the other one (5) is a sealed roller bearing. Needle roller on the inside is where you want to get the WD IMO

 

[Pukmeister]

My money's on corroded needle rollers. The vibration you report will be due to the UJ's whipping through the tight angle due to FD not moving and allowing self-alignment pf driveshaft. Fix needle rollers before excess strain caused through drive gear causes wear on UJ's or other problems.

 

[cookie]

i know of another 1200 that completely knackered the pivot bearings. they'll need changing.

 

[dippy]

seems a bit rusty



but anyway cleaned it all up




all back together and the final drive now moves smoothly. one question though, the washer in above picture, i think number 16, was completely shot and fell to pieces, how important is it? I didnt replace it.

 

[Nobbyspiles]

seems a bit rusty
View attachment 202329 View attachment 202330
but anyway cleaned it all up
View attachment 202331
all back together and the final drive now moves smoothly. one question though, the washer in above picture, i think number 16, was completely shot and fell to pieces, how important is it? I didnt replace it.

You need to replace it mate. Its there for a reason. Spaces the bearing correctly. It's number 19 in the first pic and 16 in the second? Parts list below corresponds to first pic.
Is this the part you mean.19 SPACER RING 1 33177672817

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=0380&mospid=51731&btnr=33_1226&hg=33&fg=15

Bearing needs replaced. If I had been seen that, automatic replacement.

 

[mcinlb]

"but anyway cleaned it all up"

May look ok to you but I'm sure some others with more experience will be along to tell you that replacement is best, and as of the washer, BMW would not have put it in if it was not required....

 

[(RIP) Johno23]

Think you really should replace that bearing when you can and also the washer thats missing now.
I and I'm sure a few more on here would love you to post up some pics of your bike, great to see a bike with that mileage.

 

[dippy]

Thanks folks, advice taken, parts ordered!

 

[Beemerman59]

Reading this thread I'm wondering if I should drop my FD and give it a once over. Apart from changing the oil every service there are no other maintenance items indicated within the service schedules for my bike which is an '08 GSA now 4 years old with 27K miles. Assuming its fairly straightforward to get at the bearings as shown in this thread to clean them up and regrease, is there a recommended grease for these roller bearings? I tend to use Hondamoly60 for splines on my K bike so would use that as well without other recommendations. Hate to find that level of rust in mine I have to say.

 

[rudiemoto]

2 hours to replace main bearing and 10 mins for the small pivot bearings
worth it in the long run

 

[dippy]

Reading this thread I'm wondering if I should drop my FD and give it a once over.

I only decided to check the pivot bearings because I did a final drive oil change and the final drive didn't drop down as normal but had to be forced down to expose the inards. I wouldn't have noticed otherwise.

 

[Beemerman59]

I only decided to check the pivot bearings because I did a final drive oil change and the final drive didn't drop down as normal but had to be forced down to expose the inards. I wouldn't have noticed otherwise.

I don't have to drop the FD to change the oil on mine so I have never been anywhere near it to check anything. I think I will though if only for peace of mind and something to do on a cold and wet Sunday afternoon.