finel drive failure

[Pukmeister]

C'mon BMW have been using shaft drives for years there shouldn't be any problems provided maintained correctly.

It's meant to be maintenance free and filled for life, which is why they put a drain plug on later models.

Don't overfill the FD even slightly if changing your oil (like I did)

220ml Of Castrol SAF-XO is all you need.

The small airspace becomes pressurised (no breather) and blows oil past the seals, especially in a hot climate (in my case Western Australia at 45 degrees).

 

[Bear]

At the April meeting of the BMW club section of which I'm a member I spoke with a gentleman whose R1200RT FD oil; seal had failed after two years and 6000 miles. At the May meeting last Sunday he told me that the second replacement seal was holding its oil. Apparently the technician who fitted the first one reckoned that it went on too easily. I was also told that the recommended oil level is now 200ml instead of the commonly accepted 220 ml (and the orininal repROM says 250ml) so is there a problem with the seals or is an unvented chamber subject to heat build-up a very silly idea?

 

[Pukmeister]

At the April meeting of the BMW club section of which I'm a member I spoke with a gentleman whose R1200RT FD oil; seal had failed after two years and 6000 miles. At the May meeting last Sunday he told me that the second replacement seal was holding its oil. Apparently the technician who fitted the first one reckoned that it went on too easily. I was also told that the recommended oil level is now 200ml instead of the commonly accepted 220 ml (and the orininal repROM says 250ml) so is there a problem with the seals or is an unvented chamber subject to heat build-up a very silly idea?

The loose seal could be a tolerance problem with the moulded component, I have seen this once or twice over the years with supplied seals in the marine industry.

As for the recommended oil level, my current RepROM (Version 5, dated 02/2007) which I thought was the latest version states 220ml. It was using RepROM V1 and adding 250ml that caused my second FD to leak through overpressure (first was due to the loose flange/spline recall - early bike).

Where exactly did you get the 200ml figure from ??

Agreed that an unvented housing isn't the best engineering solution on a geared component that generates internal casing pressure at speed.

 

[st247]

Where exactly did you get the 200ml figure from ??

Agreed that an unvented housing isn't the best engineering solution on a geared component that generates internal casing pressure at speed.

The new fill figure seems to be doing the rounds over the pond aswell - 200ml for the first fill and 180ml for a change.

I did read somewhere that the flat on the speed sensor is effectivley the final drives breather

 

[ultrasound]

I have been reading this thread with interest. My FD began leaking oil, enough to cause a low speed spill. When the bike was in for replacement seal I was told the oil "smelt funny". hey presto new final drive at 23K under warranty.

 

[ERNEMAN]

ok guys thats me sorted. motor works sent me a 06 final drive and speedo/abs sensor . the abs ring was not the same on the back of the bevel gear(the wee slots were closer on 06 one) and the sensor was square not round,also the plug was diff. but me been me not fully under standing computers on bikes i built it up and made it all fit,and wasted approx 1 hour. so now i have a 06 finel drive with a 04 bevel gear my old one looks good and rides good now. as for putting in the right amount of gear oil, tonight was the first time i measured it and 220 was too much.normally i leave the drain plug out and when f/d is back up in position i fill it through the abs sensor hole. when it runs out the drain plug/oil level hole its good. it was prob 10ml or 20 ml to much . i had no leakes to last sat night.from now on i will change the oil with every oil change 4000mls instead of every tyre change 10000mls.

 

[ERNEMAN]

just seen other reply 200ml is prob what it held before it run out the drain hole