WARNING, Final Drive locks up

[marcopolo]

Is there anything else that can be checked besides a leaky seal or seeing obvious metal in the fluid to try and catch this before something bad does happen?

 

Yes, you can check for play in the rear wheel. Just grab the tire at the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions and give it a wiggle. Repeat this with hands at the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock positions. Not all FD failures are seal/bearing related. There have been a number, like mine, where the the splines on the axle tube and on the wheel flange (the piece that wheel bolts to) wear each other away. It's a friction fit, so if there's wear between these mating splines, you get play. When I found the problem with mine (on a long road trip), there was nothing holding the rear wheel on but a small circlip. That certainly ups the pucker factor, especially when, as I was, you're riding two-up.

[roadhome]

I'll be doing that soon. Thanks

[penquino]

I have to wonder if will take a fatality lawsuit before BMW fixes this problem. It's been at least 5 years and it seems like the problem is only getting worse.

[Anton Largiader]

... The dealer hopes to have some answers by Friday.

That was almost a week ago. Anthing?

[penquino]

The update so far is that the dealer has said "it looks like the final drive just packed it in and we have ordered the new parts". Very enlightening. They also said there was no oil to be found and no real signs of leakage. My buddy is going to the dealer tomorrow to have a look and see if they have ever changed the oil when it has been it for the services.

[roughdiamond]

For what it's worth I was talking with a BMW dealer service manager the other week about the final drive failure on my K1200rs a couple of years ago and asking him about my current 05 R1200ST with 19k. He said BMW initially went the sealed for life route but changed in 07(I think that's the year he mentioned)to incorporate a drain plug/scheduled oil change after a series of final drive failures. He recommended I have the oil changed on mine (expensive with no drain plug) and that I use a special BMW oil at £33 a litre! Makes you wonder doesn't it

[Limecreek]

If you can remove your rear wheel, you can change the final drive fluid. The Castrol oil you speak of is also available through Land Rover.

 

#LRN7591 = Castrol SAF-XO 75w-90 synthetic

[philbytx]

Hmm! Sounds like another BMW marketing boondoggle.

I checked the Shell X series and Mobil1 spec sheets.....

Mobil1 75w90 is virtually identical to SAF- XO (both GL-5, with Mobil1 suitable for GL-4 apps) except that SAF-XO has a lower temperature pour point figure of -57 to Mobil1's -46. Shell also has SAF-XJ, which is a separate product for LSD's, and coincidentally, is the "BMW recommended" lubricant for my BMW cage LSD. Interestingly, SAF-XO and SAF-XJ both have the same MIL-L-2105D spec number! SAF-XO is also touted as a "Heavy Duty" oil which is maybe why they used it in the "sealed diff" application. Changing your diff oil on a regular basis may just negate the requirement for and "HD" oil. Strange they both have GL-5 (Mobil1 with GL-4) specifications though.

 

Looking at the above, it appears that the additives package in Mobil1 75w90 gives it a dual purpose in that it can be used in both regular and limited-slip differentials and Shell has two separate GL-5 rated differential products (LSD and Non-LSD).

 

Way easier to find Mobil1 rather than grovel around tracing SAF-XO or getting bent over by the dealer.

 

 

 

[marcopolo]

For what it's worth I was talking with a BMW dealer service manager the other week about the final drive failure on my K1200rs a couple of years ago and asking him about my current 05 R1200ST with 19k. He said BMW initially went the sealed for life route but changed in 07(I think that's the year he mentioned)to incorporate a drain plug/scheduled oil change after a series of final drive failures. He recommended I have the oil changed on mine (expensive with no drain plug) and that I use a special BMW oil at £33 a litre! Makes you wonder doesn't it

 

It was in the fall of 2006, with the start of Model Year 2007 production, that BMW began to call for the FD fluid to be changed at the 1,000 km/600 mile running-in service. BTW, prior year hexhead final drives have a drain plug, it's just that it's at the 9 o'clock position and not 6 o'clock like the later model year bikes. That means you have to remove the wheel and drop the drive to allow the oil to drain. BMW specifies Castrol SAF-XO for the FD, not a BMW oil per se.

 

I also understand that for the latest model year bikes subject to the so-called dynamic maintenance schedule, BMW further calls for the FD fluid to be changed every 20,000 miles (if I recall correctly), or every two years.

[Yuro]

In spite of the bike not having a drain plug, you can change the fluid. You have to pull the rubber boot. It's a littl bit more involved than just unscrewing a plug. The wisdom on this is to change at the first service (or in my case, 1K after replacing the FD). That's supposed to get the filings out so you don't grind up your gears. After that, no maintenance. Just in case, I'm doing mine before next season. It's been about 30K since my casting broke into 3 pieces.

[JohnBeaven]

 

What's the story behind the broken casing??

[db4124]

I changed the final drive oil on 05R1200ST by suctioning it out with a vacume tank and refilling with high quality 75W90 oil.

 

Dave