Final drive issue?

DirtFlier

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The spacer is only kept in alignment by the axle, plus it's in a dry area away from the gear oil. Without the axle it can actually fall out of the final drive so appearing a little crooked in the photo is not a problem.
 
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Kneebyter

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I did not check the consistency of the black stuff, but it does appear to be at least a little bit thicker than the oil that was leaking from the area that started this whole thing. So, on the one hand I had oil coming out of the plastic ring that sits against the wheel, and the level was low in the shaft housing. On the other hand, it appears that there was too much grease used on the splines. Bicyclist said he would clean it up and ride it for a while, but that bothers me since I'm pretty sure it was oil that was coming out originally. If it is leaking oil, do I run the risk of causing a catastrophic failure that will make me have to buy a whole new drive (not to mention the potentially dire consequences if it were to run dry while I was riding it)? I will check the consistency of the black stuff tonight, as well as look at the inside of the plastic ring to see if i can detect oil on it.

Also, I have a couple of questions about when I go to put it back together. Only one of the collars at the exhaust pipe joint was damaged when I took them apart. Should I replace them both anyway, or is it OK to reuse one? Do I use the same Moly 60 grease on the axle, or does that need a different kind? Do you you some kind of solvent to clean up the old grease on the splines?
 
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First, don't put any grease on the axle. Nothing should spin on it when assembled properly (ie, with all the spacers in place and the axle nut tightened properly). If you want you could put something like a rust preventative, but, I'd just wipe it clean and reinstall it.

Cleaning the old grease. I just kinda brush and wipe off all the old stuff as best I can. A popsicle stick and rag or paper towels will work. I usually scrape what I can with the sticks, then use paper towels for the rest. No solvent. You do not want ANY solvent getting to that bearing.

Exhaust collars. If you think you might damage one the next time then buy a spare. But, no need to change them each time. If you can use a lift for changing the tire then don't mess with the exhaust at all.

Some do remove the muffler anyway in order to use a torque wrench on the axle nut. I went by my Guzzi technique, explained by a good mechanic in Australia. Tighten it until red in the face, then add a bit more (his language was much more colorful). I use std length wrenches, not breaker bars. Just so you know, the axle nut is compressing the bearing spacers and the bearing inner races together on the axle. You want them very tight so nothing moves. Too tight won't hurt anything. Too loose might let things 'wiggle' in there, not good. About the only thing you could break would be to strip the threads on the axle nut. Don't think you can do that with 1ft long wrench and your arms :) Oh, and make sure your bike is secure when tightening that nut :)
 
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It might be possible that there was an excess of moly 60 on the spines AND a seal leak.
The leaking final drive oil would mix with the moly and dilute it enough to run downhill and turn very dark. This seems possible to me since you reported the final drive to be low on oil.
I would clean it up to get a better and closer look at it.

Brad
 
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If it is leaking oil, do I run the risk of causing a catastrophic failure that will make me have to buy a whole new drive (not to mention the potentially dire consequences if it were to run dry while I was riding it)?
The short answer is: don't let it run dry. Just ride it a bit, check the level in the final drive and look for leakage where you saw it before. Keep an eye on the level in the final drive. If it's leaking, it should be plainly obvious before you run the thing dry.

And I agree with Brad. You could have an excess of Moly 60 and an oil leak. The only way to find out is to clean things up and then look for a leak.

Re: torquing the axle. Use a torque wrench. The spec is there for a reason. I can never understand why someone would not use a torque wrench if one is available. If you're stuck someplace and don't have one, fine, but use a torque wrench when you get home. There's plenty of reasons to use one and no reason not to.
 
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Kneebyter

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Hello all! I just got back from an extended vacation courtesy of my Uncle Sam and I'm able to get back to this. I have a couple of things to run by you.

I did as Bicyclist suggested and changed out the oil and rode it a bit, making sure to monitor the level in the final drive unit. There was over 4oz of oil when I drained it, so it couldn't have leaked much. I did this in November and drove about 200 miles. It was definitely leaking oil, albeit only a few drops. The really interesting part is that it appears there is Moly getting into the oil *inside the final drive.* If I spin the rear wheel while looking in the filler hole, I can see faint streaks of gray in the brand new oil. It looks like the moly grease, but I can't say for sure. Does this seem possible?

I put about 50 miles on it last weekend and did not having any oil dripping. I am going to try riding it some more this weekend (if the weather cooperates), and will monitor the level of the oil. I may try to get the time to take the rear wheel off to see if there is any evidence of shaft oil in that area. We'll see what else I find as well. The last time I took the rear wheel off I discovered that the rear axle pinch bolt was missing, and probably has been since the tire was changed 7,000 miles ago.

Any other suggestions? Should I just have someone switch out the seals to be safe?

Thanks for everyone's help, suggestions and diagnoses so far. Also a big thanks for SoundTechGuy for the great videos that even I could follow!
 
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I would think it very difficult to tell if the gray streaking is moly 60. Since it is not leaking much I would give it a little more time before having the seals changed. You may end up there but I would want a little more info on what is going on before having the seals replaced.
Pulling the rear wheel wouldn't hurt except for a little time involved.

Brad
 
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The grey streaks in the oil are probably remnants of moly from the factory.

Honda is known to add Molly to the oil of final drives at the factory even though they do not specify it as being required at ongoing final drive oil changes.

The problem with Molly is that it does its job really really well and therefore it is hard to get it all out when changing the oil. You can try flushing the final drive with something like kerosene BUT this may cause it's own problems so this may not be a wise choice.

If it was my bike I would keep an eye on how the leak progresses and change the seal when the leak is consistent.

Seagrass
 
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Woodaddict

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if any moly 60 could make it into the final drive, you would have lost all the gear oil from inside! if you look on bottom of final drive( on center stand, then head right on ground) there is a rectangle opening in the plastic spacer, that is where gear oil can drain and moly 60. the moly and gear oil can run in same area to drip, but where the gear oil would drip is the seal and would not let any in or what's in would already be out.

you just need to take off wheel to get to be informed of what stuff looks like in there.
 
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Woodaddict sorry I did not make myself very clear about the Molly.

Honda quite often, but not always, add Molly to the oil of final drives for the initial fill. I have seen this on various models over the years.

I have updated my post to make this clearer.

Seagrass
 
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