Oil on rear tyre and caliper - final drive?

[aestivator]

Just got in from work and having noticed some odd behaviour round the rear end, I find oil all over the tyre - caliper side and what appears to be a leak coming from the underside of the FD (the bit where the disc fits on. The seal itself seems ok. Any ideas?

 

Thanks

 

John

[dirtrider]

Hi John

 

What you working on there? We know it has a final drive but what bike is the drive on?

 

[JayW]

Welcome John. Please fill in your profile and/or tell us what kind of motorcyle you have so that we can better address your question.

 

Jay

[aestivator]

Sorry - its an 06 1200RT - about 25k on the clock

[aestivator]

Wilco

[dirtrider]

Afternoon again John

 

Well with oil all over the final drive, tire and caliper it will somewhat difficult to tell where the oil is coming from without cleaning it up then riding it a short ways.

 

If it obviously not coming from the right hand side center spool seal then maybe it’s coming from the front pinion seal of even the transmission output seal.

 

If you look on the underside of the final drive just behind and below that corrugated rubber boot you will find an open chamber. If the oil appears to be coming out of that area then possibly a pinion seal or might even be coming down from the trans end and running down inside the swing arm tube.

 

Oil leaks are difficult to guess at without some work on your end giving us an idea of EXCTLY where is seems to be coming from.

 

Clean it up best possible then ride it just far enough to see where the oil is starting to show up first.

 

If you can give us that info we can help recommend a plan of attack to repair it.

 

[Dave Grinsel]

John,

 

It may be a blown seal. That's what it was on my ST.

[Ponch]

The smell of FD fluid is unforgettable and I think that would be a clue.

[Beech]

Sorry, I can't remember if the 2006 has the new style rear end with the hollow through the drive? If so, it could be the 50mm seal, a common failure. I looked at the parts fiche at Max and they over lap years at 2006, one model being the 1200 and the other the 1150. The 12 having the seal I mention. So looking back at the posters up date, he has the 1200 and I propose it is the easy to replace 50mm seal on the outside. Remove that little black ring, remove the snap ring there is the seal. Pull it out, replace with a new one, put in the other pieces and that is it (hopefully). Happened to my bike too. So common I carry a spare on the bike for trips.

[aestivator]

Thanks for that. It's definitely not the big seal on the outside. There must be another (internal) one. I'll pull it apart tomorrow and have a look

[CoarsegoldKid]

Oil can get past the speed sensor o-ring if it is pinched upon re-installation. It is sort of dark in that area because the disc is right there next to it. No excuse for pinching the o-ring. I have seen this before on a friend's GS while on a trip a few hundred miles from a repair facility just after being serviced by a BMW shop. The local auto parts store didn't have a proper size o-ring to make the fix, but I had the tools.

[aestivator]

Thanks All, I've removed the FD unit and taken it to a specialist in Cardiff. He says its the internal shaft seal which is a common failure. About £200 to fix.

[ElevenFifty]

I had a scary moment or two with a 'final drive leak'. Turned out to be the inner o-ring for the ABS sensor. If you do your own maintenance and have recently removed/replaced the sensor, you might want to replace the o-rings.

[Beech]

Have a look at that ABS sensor when you get the wheel off. It has an O ring that is seldom changed.

[aestivator]

Will do - thanks for all the help.

 

John

[stevent]

John,

 

It may be a blown seal. That's what it was on my ST.

 

 

no, that's just frost on his chin.......