long hugger bolt in diff?

[holla916]

Hi all, long time no posts .................... been busy though ...................... marriage separation ................. house move .................. etc etc. My problem is:

today i took my 2010 TC to Demon Tweeks to have a new Metzeler Tourance fitted and before the guy had finished he took me over to the bike on the ramp to show me something. He said when he removed the bolts that holds the hugger thing (not a proper hugger, i mean the standard black plastic thing that runs near to the tyre) there was the unmistakable smell of diff oil. on further inspection he thought that the bolt that screws into the diff was way too long and had gone into the diff casing instead of it being screwed into a blind threaded hole. What length is the bolt supposed to be? i presume its supposed to be a lot shorter than the one thats in it now which is the same length as the upper bolt that fastens the hugger close to the rear caliper. If this is the case and a longer bolt has been fitted and subsequently gone into the diff housing then there could be bits of casing inside? If this is the case then i'll have to remove the diff to remove any metal bits inside. I dont think the bolt going into the diff will be a problem as long as its sealed as its above oil level i'm just more worried about what bits of diff casing are floating around inside if too long a bolt has been fitted?

your thoughts please

 

[Timpo]

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...BMW-R_1200_GS_Adve_0A02,_0A12_&diagId=46_1486

 

[autogs]

if you had bits of casing inside the diff i expect it would have been fecked long before now

 

[Bendy toy]

Any bits of metal will almost certainly be at the bottom of the case. More likely the bottom of the bolt hole has cracked but not separated.

IMO the mudguard does nothing more that splatter mud forwards. I soon took mine off and fitted an extender to the number plate. The bike is less dirty and the offending bolt hole is plugged with a short socket screw.


Sent via iPhone so expect strange words

 

[holla916]

Thanks guys. Sorry timpo mines a 2010 air cooled but i looked on Real oem and it says the lower mounting bolt and the one that goes into the diff casing are M6 x 20. The bolts in mine are both the same length but they're both 30mm?? Is a complete strip of the diff to see if there's any pieces in there a dealer job or can i do it myself?

 

[Bendy toy]

Option 1
Strip FD and rebuild
At least £350 plus repair costs to casing.

Option 2
Used replacement FD approx £350

Option 3
Drain the oil to remove any debris refill with 75-140 and use the bike.
Any gear damage (if any) has already happened so just use it.


Sent via iPhone so expect strange words

 

[holla916]

Option 1
Strip FD and rebuild
At least £350 plus repair costs to casing.

Option 2
Used replacement FD approx £350

Option 3
Drain the oil to remove any debris refill with 75-140 and use the bike.
Any gear damage (if any) has already happened so just use it.

I was thinking along the lines of option 3 as if i get a 2nd hand diff your not sure what your getting and to strip/repair/rebuild would be very costly and now is not a good time for me with the recent house move. The damage has been done before i bought the bike and so the 4,000 miles i've done on it unaware of this issue hasn't yet caused any problems. However i would feel more at ease if i could look into the casing to make sure there's no big lumps of casting in there? They might have all gone with oil changes if it was way in the past but its the not knowing that's always in the back of your mind. How easy to strip to look inside the diff? or is it a dealer job?

 

[Bryn]

I'd be going with option 3 suggested by Bendy ... drain and have a look at the oil, that'll give you a clue.... Can't remember if the drain plug is magnetic, but get yourself one of those Neodymium magnets off eBay, attach it to the outside of the plug, and refill with fresh oil... you'll be no worse off if it packs in later , if not, win win

 

[holla916]

Can't remember if the drain plug is magnetic, but get yourself one of those Neodymium magnets off eBay, attach it to the outside of the plug, and refill with fresh oil...

Thanks Bryn, i was thinking that but isn't the casing made of alloy? if that was so then the magnetic sump plug would only pick up fragments of steel gears not FD casing. I'll drop the oil and see what comes out

 

[Greenman14]

If you take out the filler plug or drain plug you will be able to air test the FD casing to check whether the blind hole is no longer blind.

 

[autogs]

If you take out the filler plug or drain plug you will be able to air test the FD casing to check whether the blind hole is no longer blind.

dont forget to block the breather,op says 2010

 

[holla916]

If you take out the filler plug or drain plug you will be able to air test the FD casing to check whether the blind hole is no longer blind.

Trust me Greenman .................... its no longer blind!!! even to Stevie wonder. when you remove the offending bolt there's the unmistakable stench of diff oil and you can poke a cable tie straight in there

 

[comberjohn]

If you can smell that particular smell, it's probably the same as my 2010 TC. It had never been changed in its life!
Follow the path of least resistance. If the seals are ok and it's not making any noises or have any play, change the FD oil and ride away.
My main seal failed at 28k, two weeks after the outer seal for no apparent reason. Mind you, the oil I drained, looked like a cappuccino because of the water in it. Bought a low mileage FD from an R nine T for £300.
For refilling, buy a big syringe from a vet and fill it with a short length of tubing through the ABS sensor hole at the top of the back of the FD. Or, as I've just remembered, through the breather.
Fill it slowly! Don't ask how I know!

 

[holla916]

I'm going to change the FD oil anway but i dont know if there are any lumps of metal in there? small stuff will come out with the oil drain but larger stuff will stay in there thats my concern. It isnt causing any issues now but if i change the oil and theres lumps of metal in there then it will probably become an issue at some point

 

[Greenman14]

My FD oil looked like cappuccino at the 12,000 mile service. Changed and checked again at 15,000 and 18,000 miles, all good. No play in the FD and it runs quietly though I'm happy that the oil was checked and changed at 12k.

 

[Bendy toy]

The gears are hardened steel. Even if some bits of alloy got caught up (unlikely) they would be spat out or crushed. As already said if there was any damage you'd know by now.

Stripping the case is not a DIY job and a professional would still have to be repair the casing. Just use it and sort out any issues when it needs new internal bearings.

 

[holla916]

I dropped the oil this afternoon and it was a milky silver grey colour (almost looked like pearlescent silver paint) I've read that it should be 75w140 oil but then i've read 70w90 for diff and gearbox? Could you tell me what you use for:

1 FD
2 Gearbox
3 Splines on driveshaft

and i'll order some

thanks

 

[Bendy toy]

I use 75-140 Syntax or Millers in both gearboxes and CV joint moly grease on the drive shaft splines.

 

[Speedy1959]

I have the Millers 75W-140 in both the FD and the gearbox. You would have thought the gear change would be worse than standard with the heavier oil.....
But actually the gear change is better.

 

[(RIP) Arkwright]

I have the Millers 75W-140 in both the FD and the gearbox. You would have thought the gear change would be worse than standard with the heavier oil.....
But actually the gear change is better.

+1 I've been using 85/140w GL5 Rock Oil in all my Bikes for 4 years at the suggestion of Mr Scriminger, it has improved them all and no failures, my FD has now done 35k miles untouched!

Only really important thing is make sure it's GL5 spec.