Final Drive Oil Seal Failure

glad to hear it wasn't a major problem, sailariel!

RedLdr1 said:

Just epoxy them to the NT, in a out of the way place, and then you don't have parts "left over"....:wink: I still have bags of H-D parts that I have no idea of where they came from...:rolleyes1:

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I remember when I had my Model K 61 Cubic Inch Pre-Sportster, that I lost parts all over the place. You then needed a tube of Loctite, a crescent wrench, and a screwdriver in your pocket to deal with problems on the road---the good old days.

Hey Guys,
Thanks for the support and advice. I was really quite upset and then it turned out to be a non issue. This forum is excellent in reassuring members that there is a vast knowledge base out there among the participants. Following this forum on a regular basis is almost equivalent to going to a motorcycle school. The information is out there, and it certainly helps an NT owner to become more self sufficient. At $70 an hour in most shops, that is significant. Thank you all for being out there.

Keep in mind too that despite all the experience here on other bikes, the NT is new to all of us on this side of the pond.

For real experience on maintenance issues I also go to the UK forum and see what problems they have had. There are many more sold and in use over there, and many with over 100k on the clock.

I got home from work today and saw oil splatter all over the final drive side of rim and tire! Doh, panic time! Look closer, drip on bottom of final drive...wet around axle nut...looks to be coming from vent! Hmmmm, gotta check forum. Did someone knock my bike over in the parking lot today? Ha, i hit a rough double railroad crossing pretty hard today...got some air and a good shake. Guess i will wipe it off and see...

[...There is close to a Liter in that case and I do not anticipate a catastrophic failure...]

The oil volume spec for the final drive is 4.4 oz (after draining) and 5.1 oz if the unit has been completed disassembled. I found that on my bike, if I used the old Honda rule of "to the top of the threads," it was overfilled and would sometimes force oil out of the vent. Using somewhere between 4.5 and 5.0 oz worked nicely.

I had a one time case of rear seal oil lek on my 04 Wing at maybe 10,000 miles I was a afriiend home in FL and had just stopped there after going to Key West to complete the four Corners ride. Walke out to his drive way and the culpert had oil driping onto sidewall of tire. Sarasota Honda / BMW shop tookcare of it and it never weeped again as long as i owned it.

One good thing to be said for a Honda/BMW shop they definatly know how to fix final drive oil leaks. I had forgot about it until I saw the post. AT 23,000 My NT has had no problems!

Eldon

Somewhere around 20,000 miles I had oil on my final drive. Wiped it off and have never seen it again. I was several months after I had had the bike serviced, so nothing had changed in the amount of oil in the final drive. Wasn't there one day, was the next. Probably wasn't more than a spoonful.

After I replace the oil in my rear drive I got home and noticed oil on the hub and wheel, Was kind of freaked out that I may have put too much in and somthing like a seal went out, but I wiped it off and have never seen it again, most probably the vent let some "extra" oil out.

I had this failure on my NT. It was still under warrenty and the dealer rebuilt the rear drive, replaceing other parts in addition to the seal. Has been fine since.

See my last post in the "NT Final Drive Oil Leak" thread in this section for the list of parts that the dealer replaced.

thanks guys. no naps that i know of. 10k miles, ive put on about 600 since i bought it...no signs of leakage before. so i wiped it down and it is still dry after a day, but havnt ridden her. i dont know how much leaked, but oil never passed the sidewall of the tire, so probably several drops? if the seals go, will it drip when stationary? oh yeah, when i said a good shake, i meant vertically/suspension, not steering...she flew straight as an arrow

Well, it struck here too...

noticed a dark area at the bottom of the f/drive case for some time now; wiped it away, does grow back after a few weeks...

At first I dissed it as possible too much Moly paste applied, but examined closer during today's tire change:




Traces of green substance: definitely hypoid oil...

Drained the Castrol sludge and filled 130cc of heavier BelRay GL-5 oil as first measure.

Intend to insert self tapping screws into the metal ring of the seal and pull it, once the replacement has arrived.

TBC

Boy, am I getting old....I am reading this thread and everyone is talking warrenty and I am thinking, WTH????? Then I look at the dates of the posts.....LOL!
Seals arent for ever, but they are pretty amazing in their longevity, especially if they are in service. My 2004 CRV and 2006 Matrix dont drip a drop. Older Subaru cam shaft seals are a different matter.

Coyote Chris said:

Seals arent for ever, but they are pretty amazing in their longevity, especially if they are in service. My 2004 CRV and 2006 Matrix dont drip a drop. Older Subaru cam shaft seals are a different matter.

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Agreed, it's a used bike, 58,000km on the clock, those are rather inexpensive wear parts, but having this done at a shop the labor costs would kill you...

OTOH do vehicles designed in the 80ies/90ies stand out with superior parts design, assembly quality and durability...
My ST1100 as example, designed '85 onward, released '90/'91... quality to the touch in every single part, the rig hardly fails...
My '96 Toyota Carina E, 320,000km on the clock, engine and transmission bone dry, barely any rust on the undercarriage, none on the body...

With the heavier BelRay oil the seepage got smaller, but still existing...

Hence replacement of the seal:




Pulling the old one...




New one went in smoothly with a slight smear of marine grease and gentle pressure with my thumbs...

Bear said:

German Engineering--very logical.

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Back then yes, and up to about 2006. Before they changed every little thing that worked fine just to “improve things”.
(I’ve owned approx 10 BMWs)