2007 RT spline lube - water in swing arm

[dduelin]

I'm doing all the service items for a baseline on a new-to-me 2007 RT with 89,xxx miles. The last three years of service records are spotty though the same guy owned the bike since 2009. Previous records were in the book and inked by a BMW dealer so the last time I know the FD oil was changed was 30,000 miles ago. The seller thought the FD was done during the last two years at a BMW dealer on a cross continent road trip but no record.

 

Anyway when I swung the final drive down I found some water standing in the swing arm. Not much, maybe 1/8" deep under the U joint. I think this job was done more recently than 3 years ago based on the good condition of the grease on the u joint and splines and the oil drained honey clear. Before reassembly I cleaned up everything and I applied a waterproof boat trailer bearing grease around the rubber boot where it fits into the FD and the swing arm. Prior to this service I have ridden a 100 miles or so in the rain and washed the bike just prior to taking this apart but was careful not to spray water directly on the boot. The bellows on the transmission end appears intact and has the zip tire closure on it.

Is this water of little concern at this time, like ride on and replace the boot next time or check it again after a few thousand miles? My only comparison is on the 190,000 mile project RT I did two years ago. The project required R & R the clutch and I replaced both Paralever boots with new ones but even the new ones didn't seem super pliable and fit kind of loosely into the respective openings. This one was the same way with the existing boot so maybe this is normal?

[Hati]

Loose fit is not normal. Not sure what you have for boots but down here you can get at least two versions that I know of. Both boots on mine fit snug, to the point that it needs the grease on the rubber to slot into its place without poking it around the perimeter with something pointy. Common experience seems to be that water only gets in there due to damaged/ill fitting boots or high pressure washing.

 

I can only assume that your bike had the original boots replaced with cheaper aftermarket items that do not fit as snug as they should.

[dirtrider]

2 hours ago, dduelin said:

I'm doing all the service items for a baseline on a new-to-me 2007 RT with 89,xxx miles. The last three years of service records are spotty though the same guy owned the bike since 2009. Previous records were in the book and inked by a BMW dealer so the last time I know the FD oil was changed was 30,000 miles ago. The seller thought the FD was done during the last two years at a BMW dealer on a cross continent road trip but no record.

 

Anyway when I swung the final drive down I found some water standing in the swing arm. Not much, maybe 1/8" deep under the U joint. I think this job was done more recently than 3 years ago based on the good condition of the grease on the u joint and splines and the oil drained honey clear. Before reassembly I cleaned up everything and I applied a waterproof boat trailer bearing grease around the rubber boot where it fits into the FD and the swing arm. Prior to this service I have ridden a 100 miles or so in the rain and washed the bike just prior to taking this apart but was careful not to spray water directly on the boot. The bellows on the transmission end appears intact and has the zip tire closure on it.

Is this water of little concern at this time, like ride on and replace the boot next time or check it again after a few thousand miles? My only comparison is on the 190,000 mile project RT I did two years ago. The project required R & R the clutch and I replaced both Paralever boots with new ones but even the new ones didn't seem super pliable and fit kind of loosely into the respective openings. This one was the same way with the existing boot so maybe this is normal?

 

 

Evening dduelin

 

Sometimes the water gets in from the front if the front (transmission end) boot is not sealing correctly (take a look at that area)

 

If the rear boot wasn't fitting tight that is usually due to the inner plastic insert rings not installed in the boot correctly.