Devil Duc Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Afternoon all, Had my '07 R1200RT in for a 48k service and got a call back today saying that they noticed the transmission rear output shaft seal was leaking. I have never noticed any drips, drops, dampness, or any other signs of leaking since ownership. I told them to hold off since I had not budgeted this and they quoted me $260 for the repair. The reason for me bringing it in for service was time budget related (full time student plus work) and it really frickin cold: high of 3F today, plus I understand that there are some specialty tools involved for throttle body sync and alt belt replacement. Otherwise I am not afread to get in and do work with the tools I already have. So the questions I have for the crowd are as follows... Are there certain things I need to ask the dealer when I go pick it up? Ie; how did they know it was leaking, are they sure, is this final drive related, etc. Also, is this a repair that I might be able to tackle later when it warms up as far as having a modest collection of tools? Is there an online tutorial for this repair that I am not able to find to guide me along if there are no special tools? Any other thoughts on this topic that I may need to know? Semper Fidelis, Aaron Link to comment
Kathy R Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 THIS THREAD might be of interest to you. Best of luck getting it sorted out. Link to comment
Dave_in_TX Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 If it is really leaking then no, this is not something you want to leave for later. That leak could potentially contaminate the clutch with oil and then you be looking at an extremely expensive repair. Link to comment
dirtrider Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Evening Aaron If it isn't dripping on the floor or blowing back & leaving a mess out back then it doesn't really sound like you have much of a leak, maybe more like a light seep. As long as the trans gear oil level is not dropping then there is no reason you need to hurry in the repair. Personally I would want to look the bike over myself & verify that there really is a leak at rear of trans. If you do find that your trans rear output seal is leaking-- then before tearing it apart & replacing the seal (fair amount of work)-- I would try changing the trans gear oil to the BMW recommended 90 weight GL-5 gear oil (that would be non synthetic). If your trans is currently running a 75w90 or 75w140 synthetic that could be the cause of a seep that conventional gear oil might very well stop. (worth a try anyhow) Link to comment
Devil Duc Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 DR, Thanks again for the advice! I have not seen and drips or mess that would have alarmed me to the leak/seep. Is this something that would only seep under operating conditions? I will have some time before it warms up enough to ride so I can wait a few weeks to see if it is actually dropping oil. It is definite that I will be looking the bike over myself to verify. Re: changing the gear oil, should that be something that goes with the 48k service done at a BMW service shop? I will check the invoice tomorrow when I go pay them for the service already done and if not done will follow this advice. Semper Fidelis, Aaron Link to comment
Devil Duc Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 Dave, Thanks for the tip, and I will keep it in mind. This will become a priority for me but I have a few weeks before the weather gets above 30F. Do you believe this will damage the clutch if it were to just sit? Semper Fidelis, Aaron Link to comment
Devil Duc Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 Reading through the thread Kathy suggested (THANKS!) it seems this is a thing that can come and go... and got me wondering if it is simply due to the super cold and dry conditions the last several weeks. Annoying when it turns out to be a 'wait and see' thing. The other item mentioned in that thread was that it could be a FD input seal?? Guess I need to ask the techs and/or see it myself. Link to comment
roundy Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 When it leaks bad, it leaks bad - I had a pool of oil in my FD!! I would pop to the dealer and take a look, get them to prise the boot back so you can look and see the severity of the leak. Its and easy repair and if its not leaking bad you can hold off and do it yourself and spend the 260 bucks on beer B-) Link to comment
dirtrider Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Do you believe this will damage the clutch if it were to just sit? Morning Devil Duc The trans output shaft seal leaking will not damage your clutch. The output seal is on rear of the trans (where the drive shaft connects) the clutch is at the front of trans. My guess is that Dave misread your original posting & assumed you had an input shaft seal leaking (that can damage the clutch) Link to comment
Devil Duc Posted February 20, 2015 Author Share Posted February 20, 2015 Stopped by the shop today and talked with service manager and tech. It is indeed the trans output shaft seal and it is leaking into the boot. I will be getting the bike back sometime next week and it will sit in the garage until I can get to the repair when the weather warms up some; so I will continue searching for a tutorial on this. It doesn't look to be too difficult, just will take some time and care as to not cause any more damage while I am doing it. Thanks for the replies, assistance and tips!! Semper Fidelis, Aaron Link to comment
andym Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 The output shaft seal on my 09 GSA started leaking and I replaced it. I replaced it but got hurried and a little careless and it failed again a month later, a few hundred miles from home, leaked about half the oil in the trans. Coated the back tire and ruined a new set of brake pads. A friend machined a seal driver for me and I replaced it, more carefully this time, and I've been leak free for 20k-30k miles now. Not particularly hard to do. Pull the wheel, final drive, swing arm, and drive shaft. Couple of wood screws screwed into the seal and popped it out with a slide hammer. Taped the splines to protect the inside of the seal,(important). Used the driver to tap the seal in flush and level with the ledge (also important). Removed the tape and put everything back together. The first time took me an afternoon, the second time a couple hours. Link to comment
Guest Kakugo Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 The output shaft seal on my 09 GSA started leaking and I replaced it. I replaced it but got hurried and a little careless and it failed again a month later, a few hundred miles from home, leaked about half the oil in the trans. Coated the back tire and ruined a new set of brake pads. A friend machined a seal driver for me and I replaced it, more carefully this time, and I've been leak free for 20k-30k miles now. Not particularly hard to do. Pull the wheel, final drive, swing arm, and drive shaft. Couple of wood screws screwed into the seal and popped it out with a slide hammer. Taped the splines to protect the inside of the seal,(important). Used the driver to tap the seal in flush and level with the ledge (also important). Removed the tape and put everything back together. The first time took me an afternoon, the second time a couple hours. I strongly suspect if I attempted doing this it would take me a whole day to get nowhere and then I'd end up setting fire to the whole thing out of frustration... highly impressive! Link to comment
enfoman Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 The output shaft seal on my 09 GSA started leaking and I replaced it. I replaced it but got hurried and a little careless and it failed again a month later, a few hundred miles from home, leaked about half the oil in the trans. Coated the back tire and ruined a new set of brake pads. A friend machined a seal driver for me and I replaced it, more carefully this time, and I've been leak free for 20k-30k miles now. Not particularly hard to do. Pull the wheel, final drive, swing arm, and drive shaft. Couple of wood screws screwed into the seal and popped it out with a slide hammer. Taped the splines to protect the inside of the seal,(important). Used the driver to tap the seal in flush and level with the ledge (also important). Removed the tape and put everything back together. The first time took me an afternoon, the second time a couple hours. I strongly suspect if I attempted doing this it would take me a whole day to get nowhere and then I'd end up setting fire to the whole thing out of frustration... highly impressive! You may feel that way and I was really bummed out about it. I kept a watchful eye on it and never had the tires or brakes covered. The second time was the charm though and no leaks since. You really get to know the bike when you get into it a few times. Putting a fire to it would not be the answer. You must persevere. Link to comment
Guest Kakugo Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 You may feel that way and I was really bummed out about it. I kept a watchful eye on it and never had the tires or brakes covered. The second time was the charm though and no leaks since. You really get to know the bike when you get into it a few times. Putting a fire to it would not be the answer. You must persevere. You don't know me. I am absolutely worthless. Better not take any chances. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.