Final Drive Leak?

[carolinarider09]

Was out checking the air pressure in my tires today and noted there was some final drive oil on the tire rim.

It appears to be coming from the drain plug which I will check but it also looked like there might have been some oil on the lower outside of the final drive enclosure.

Any thoughts on things to check besides the drain plug "washer" and making sure the drain plug is tightened?

[pancho]

I'd clean it up and do the drain plug, you will know soon enough if you need to go further.

[old2soon]

        When's the last time you replaced that gasket/washer thingy? RIDE SAFE.

[carolinarider09]

Thanks for the feedback gentlemen.

Don't remember the last time I changed the final drive oil but I suspect it was within the last two years and sadly to say she does not get the same miles as my goldwing (since I retired and don't get to ride 50 miles round trip to work every day ).

So.... what I will do is to drain and refill and replace the drain plug washer and see what happens. 

She only gets ridden a couple of thousand miles a year. 

[Bagger John - #3785]

What are you running for final-drive lube?

[carolinarider09]

My notes say Mobile1 75/90 full syn but will have to go out to the garage and see what I have in stock. 

I will update this thread if that is not the current oil being used.

[Peter55]

If this was my bike I would tighten the botl the specific torque first and clean very well the area, If it still leaks I would replace the washer ( meaning change the oil ).

[Warlock]

My notes say Mobile1 75/90 full syn but will have to go out to the garage and see what I have in stock. 

I will update this thread if that is not the current oil being used.

Had mine do that one time. Thought it was the drain plug gasket. Come to find I had over filled it a little and it was leaking from the inside and it will look just like the drain plug is leaking. The wind somehow draws it to that location. Once I put the correct level back in leak stopped.
JAT David

[Chrisj CMA]

My notes say Mobile1 75/90 full syn but will have to go out to the garage and see what I have in stock. 

I will update this thread if that is not the current oil being used.

Had mine do that one time. Thought it was the drain plug gasket. Come to find I had over filled it a little and it was leaking from the inside and it will look just like the drain plug is leaking. The wind somehow draws it to that location. Once I put the correct level back in leak stopped.
JAT David

For the OP and anyone else. There’s a very easy way to make sure you don’t overfill. Once it’s drained well, measure and pour in 150cc. It’s best done when the drive is removed. However, if you don’t do your own rear end maintenance then have whoever does it do it then. If you must change it on the bike. Drain it well and then put it on the side stand. Don’t fill it till it overflows. Just pour in the 150cc. None will leak out but it will be right.

[The emperor has no clothes]

My notes say Mobile1 75/90 full syn but will have to go out to the garage and see what I have in stock. 

I will update this thread if that is not the current oil being used.

Had mine do that one time. Thought it was the drain plug gasket. Come to find I had over filled it a little and it was leaking from the inside and it will look just like the drain plug is leaking. The wind somehow draws it to that location. Once I put the correct level back in leak stopped.
JAT David

If it was leaking from the inside, wouldn’t this indicate a bad seal ?

[carolinarider09]

Well.......  I should have come back here to read the posts above before I checked the final drive today.

I did not drain it, I just pulled the fill plug and put in a little to see if it would overflow and it did. 

However, now I suppose it is over filled and will continue to do what it did in the past, and a little will be forced out do to being overfilled.

Will add the 150cc to my notes on final drive oil for the bike and then, when the new washers come in, drain and refill with 150cc only. 

[Ken aka Oil Burner]

Well.......  I should have come back here to read the posts above before I checked the final drive today.

I did not drain it, I just pulled the fill plug and put in a little to see if it would overflow and it did. 

However, now I suppose it is over filled and will continue to do what it did in the past, and a little will be forced out do to being overfilled.

Will add the 150cc to my notes on final drive oil for the bike and then, when the new washers come in, drain and refill with 150cc only. 

Was that adding test while the bike was on the sidestand? If so, it's definitely overfilled. The final drive needs to be level when checking the fill level. When overfilled, most will push some oily mess out of the vent up on top. That can seep down next to or under the plastic dust guard and look like a leak from the bottom or the seal where the hub goes into the final drive.

As Chisj CMA already said, 150cc is the amount you want. If you add it while on the side stand, it will not be up to the fill plug hole due to the angle. That's OK. To repeat something else he said, make sure it's drained well before you do this. To drain it well, it needs to be upright. If drained while leaned on the stand, there will still be a pocket of gear oil still in the final drive. Adding 150cc's to that will overfill it again. Good luck, and clean it well. Being so viscous, gear oil can linger in places you can't easily see, and slowly seep dow, making you question whether it's still leaking or not.

If you don't have a bike jack or centerstand, you can pull the fill plug and put a pan under the final drive. Hop on the bike and lift it up to normal upright position and just hold it there for a minute or two. The gear oil will flow from the fill hole and bring it to the bottom of the threads in the hole.

[carolinarider09]

It was not on the bike jack but on the side stand but on a 2x6 I use to keep it sort of upright when its parked. 

I'll drain and refill on the bike jack when I get the new washers and stuff. 

[Chrisj CMA]

It was not on the bike jack but on the side stand but on a 2x6 I use to keep it sort of upright when its parked. 

I'll drain and refill on the bike jack when I get the new washers and stuff. 

Fill it on the side stand. Pour in ONLY 150 cc. None will leak out, no mess

[Jess from VA]

Like all oil, it drains better hot (or at least warm).

I never use the 150ml.  I get it drained hot, then refill (level) till it comes back out, and done.

Level, you can't really overfill as it is coming back out (slowly).

Even if you were to overfill only one or two ounces, that small amount would present no issue of over-pressure of the unit, or upchuck through the vent.

I always thought that with the mysterious hole in the pinion cup area that supposedly lets rear end dope spew up into the final drive (during the rear tire/10K mi intervals between service), that an ounce or two overfill might be a good thing.  But not more.  

[carolinarider09]

Not totally relevant but....

When I first did a final drive oil change (say 2004 - 2005) I did not look at any manuals, just looked at the bike's final drive.  After all I worked three summers at a full service gas station in Myrtle Beach and did lots of oil changes and we sometimes (don't remember if ever time) added oil to the final drives

Anyway so, looking at the bike I saw the obvious fill hole on the top (I mean were else would they have put it).  But it seemed like it was not really designed to take a wrench.  I forget how I hooked up to it but I did and it snapped off.

It was then I realized it as the "breather".  So, I epoxied it back on, found the right location and carried on.  Don't remember when I finally replaced the breather, maybe 50,000 miles later.  Sometime after 2007 probably. 

[RonW]

absolutely relevant! How else do you instill in others not to remove the breather cap.

[yrunvs]

It was not on the bike jack but on the side stand but on a 2x6 I use to keep it sort of upright when its parked. 

I'll drain and refill on the bike jack when I get the new washers and stuff. 

Be careful about putting blocks of wood under the side stand when parked and left because there is a possibility of tip over if the rear tire goes flat.

[RonW]

avoid straddling the upright bike too. Was working on my handlebars with it off the risers sitting on the bike when I put some weight on the right-side foot pedal and the bike went over with me holding the unattached handlebars, fortunatelly a wall was a foot away. Still, a huge impact.

[Jess from VA]

I once pulled my breather cap off too.  

Like many men, I don't always read the directions (manual).    

Just tapped it back in and been good ever since.

I spent age 15-17 working in a Mobil station.  

Did not learn any significant mechanics, but learned many basics (tires, oil, lube, plugs, filters, and dealing with the public, which is an art form in itself).   Mini skirts were in, and the highlight of many days.     Let me get that windshield for you miss.  I see Paris, I see France...

And I learned I didn't care to be sprayed with the high pressure grease hose either.

On the night of the moon walk, we loaded out the entire three bay garage and scrubbed and painted the whole thing inside.  Boss provided all us underage pump jockeys with cases of Budweiser (in the ice machine) and we were all blasted.  $1.25 an hour.  Took all night.

[carolinarider09]

absolutely relevant! How else do you instill in others not to remove the breather cap.

[carolinarider09]

Jess,,, That sounds just like my experience and about the same wage. I got a raise from $1.25 to $1.50 my last summer.  The Manager called me over and whispered in my ear and told me not to tell anyone. 

[Jess from VA]

Jess,,, That sounds just like my experience and about the same wage. I got a raise from $1.25 to $1.50 my last summer.  The Manager called me over and whispered in my ear and told me not to tell anyone.  

Yes Bill, you've got me by a few years, but we seem to have followed similar paths.  

My boss promised me $1.50 once I could do oil changes.  I was doing them for almost a year before I got the raise.

He was a prick.  But his management technique was bulletproof, he'd call you in and show you a big stack of job applications.... I can replace you by this afternoon mister.   He needed a couple good mechanics, but us pump jockeys were fungible goods. 

[Chrisj CMA]

So many ways to hold the bike upright so you can make the job more difficult. The hardest part should be getting a good drain with the drive on the bike. Once you have the oil out put the drain plug in. Wipe everything off really good. Any oil left hanging around will find its way to the drain plug and trick you into thinking you have a leak. Then use a fill tube to pour in 150cc while on the side stand with no overflow no mess.

[Jess from VA]

Jeff, my fill till it runs out method has always been with it sitting on a bench at wheel changes.

Doing it on the bike with the pipes right in front of the pumpkin plugs, I absolutely agree with your method of 150cc on the side stand with a tube.   

I just never wanted to have to clean up the nice measuring cup of the nasty 75-90 goop after the job. 

[Chrisj CMA]

Jeff, my fill till it runs out method has always been with it sitting on a bench at wheel changes.

Doing it on the bike with the pipes right in front of the pumpkin plugs, I absolutely agree with your method of 150cc on the side stand with a tube.   

I just never wanted to have to clean up the nice measuring cup of the nasty 75-90 goop after the job. 

Jess. If it’s on the bench. Leave it flat and measure. Why make the effort to balance it upright so you can make a mess. I don’t get it. In my slide show on shop talk it shows how neat the fill job can be.

[John Schmidt]

Hmm..when I first looked at the final drive, I saw two similar "bolt/plug heads"....one at the bottom and one higher up but not at the top. To me it was obvious that one was for draining(bottom plug) and one was for filling. The breather didn't have flat sides on it like a bolt/plug head to accommodate using a wrench so again...it was obvious to me it had nothing to do with drain & refill. Sorry if that sounds kinda "stuffy" but all one has to do is stop and LOOK at the fool thing. As for the drain plug washer, I've never changed it on my old bike and it has never leaked, nor have I ever replaced it on the engine drain plug...again, no leaks. Those areas aren't under extreme internal pressure so it's not necessary to invite Magilla Gorilla over to tighten them.