Final Drive Seal Frustration

[sail2xxs]

I've been averaging a final drive oil seal replacement (under warranty) roughly every 20k miles. Just passed the "magic" 20k mark again, and am now waiting for another one with 87k miles on the bike. Parts won't be in until July 11, which totally kills the plan to ride to AK next week. :'( :'(

Anyone else experiencing a similar issue?

Better yet, anyone have a final drive oil seal or know where to get one? Yamaha is apparently out of stock... looking for the following:

p/n# 93211-54698-00 : 1 o-ring
p/n# 93102-70004-00 : 1 oil seal

Thanks,

Chris

 

[tomatocity]

I've been averaging a final drive oil seal replacement (under warranty) roughly every 20k miles. Just passed the "magic" 20k mark again, and am now waiting for another one with 87k miles on the bike. Parts won't be in until July 11, which totally kills the plan to ride to AK next week. :'( :'(

Anyone else experiencing a similar issue?

Better yet, anyone have a final drive oil seal or know where to get one? Yamaha is apparently out of stock... looking for the following:

p/n# 93211-54698-00 : 1 o-ring
p/n# 93102-70004-00 : 1 oil seal

Thanks,

Chris

Bummer!

You would have thought your dealership would stock a seal just for you.

Have your dealership call around to see if there is one somewhere else. Show them your trip route and maybe you can get one installed while on your trip.

 

[avc8130]

What is the symptom of failure? Does the fluid gush out or is it just a seep?

ac

 

[sail2xxs]

Bummer!

You would have thought your dealership would stock a seal just for you.

Have your dealership call around to see if there is one somewhere else. Show them your trip route and maybe you can get one installed while on your trip.

They were stocking a seal... but it got used.

 

[sail2xxs]

What is the symptom of failure? Does the fluid gush out or is it just a seep?

ac

Wet look around the final drive - either on the wheel or the drive side, sometimes both. 200 ish miles later, fingernail sized drop of FD oil will be visible after parking for an hour or so, with more of the wet look followed by splatters of FD oil on the rim. Weeping/seepage gets progressively worse. I've run up to 1k miles waiting for parts, and while the seepage was definitely worse, there was no gushing. My concern is starting a 14k+ mile trip with a known issue, uncertainty about how long the existing seal would last, and uncertainty about getting the part on the road.

Chris

 

[immigrant]

I've been averaging a final drive oil seal replacement (under warranty) roughly every 20k miles. Just passed the "magic" 20k mark again, and am now waiting for another one with 87k miles on the bike.....

Thats a lot of miles!!!! ::001::

 

[avc8130]

Wet look around the final drive - either on the wheel or the drive side, sometimes both. 200 ish miles later, fingernail sized drop of FD oil will be visible after parking for an hour or so, with more of the wet look followed by splatters of FD oil on the rim. Weeping/seepage gets progressively worse. I've run up to 1k miles waiting for parts, and while the seepage was definitely worse, there was no gushing. My concern is starting a 14k+ mile trip with a known issue, uncertainty about how long the existing seal would last, and uncertainty about getting the part on the road.

Chris

Chris,

I agree with your hesitation. Sure, you could carry a quart of FD lube and probably sustain your ride as long as the failure remains and "seep" and doesn't progress to a "leak". Any chance you could get the seals from a dealer along the route and have the service done on the way?

ac

 

[ADVFireFighter]

I'd want the root of the issue fixed...
good luck !
Ask em to make a gasket, see if that works?
Had better luck with the "form your own" gasket stuff then OEM stuff on previous vehicles...

 

[jajpko]

You might want to ask the service mgr., and see if they are willing to take it apart and pull the seal, or get the measurements. Take that to a bearing store and see if they can match it. I have done this before on other projects and have had good results.
You could also try to source the o-ring.

If you are loosing the parts every 20k then something if not right and the techs need to look for the problem. Have them check the vent, that could cause a problem with pressure.

Without looking at it, it is hard to say for sure what the problem is, but it is not right.
Sorry about your trip to AK

 

[avc8130]

I'd want the root of the issue fixed...
good luck !
Ask em to make a gasket, see if that works?
Had better luck with the "form your own" gasket stuff then OEM stuff on previous vehicles...

They call it an "oil seal". I have a feeling it is a spring/rubber seal...a bit more complicated than a sheet gasket.

The "o" ring could probably be matched up by size to a common commercial equivalent.

ac

 

[GSteve]

I'm sure that you've already considered this option for the future, but just in case, I usually carry some parts with me on long trips to less developed areas. Those parts would include an oil filter, fork seals, complete set of brake pads, an 18 inch tube. From your experience, I'll now add the final drive seal. I don't carry all of the tools required to complete a replacement of a final drive seal or fork seals, but I hate being delayed for a week or more waiting for parts. Unfortunately, waiting for S10 parts (including tires) at a Yamaha dealer seems to be a common occurrence.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Sorry to hear that, Chris. Hope someone can help you out with that so you can make the trip. Both my bikes are +/- 500 miles of the 20K mark, so I'll start looking for the signs. I remember Trevor had a similar issue somewhere between 20 and 30K. I thought his stopped leaking on it's own. I know when Romney looked at mine I was told it had been leaking at some point, and then stopped. That was last year and about 10K miles on that bike and I still haven't seen any visible signs of it yet.

Worst case you can always buy a bottle or two of the juice and replace it as needed. Hate to see you miss the trip.

 

[dcstrom]

Sorry to hear that, Chris. Hope someone can help you out with that so you can make the trip. Both my bikes are +/- 500 miles of the 20K mark, so I'll start looking for the signs. I remember Trevor had a similar issue somewhere between 20 and 30K. I thought his stopped leaking on it's own. I know when Romney looked at mine I was told it had been leaking at some point, and then stopped. That was last year and about 10K miles on that bike and I still haven't seen any visible signs of it yet.

Worst case you can always buy a bottle or two of the juice and replace it as needed. Hate to see you miss the trip.

Dirt_Dad - I had a pinion seal that leaked, then stopped after I changed oil, then 6k later leaked again a little bit, then stopped again when I changed oil...

I have the BIG seal that Chris is looking for... but sorry mate, you can´t have it... in Ecuador, and coming up to 20k since the last one was replaced in San Diego. Good Luck! There´s gotta be one around somewhere...

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Dirt_Dad - I had a pinion seal that leaked, then stopped after I changed oil, then 6k later leaked again a little bit, then stopped again when I changed oil...

I thought I remembered some seal doing that to you. Sounds like a pretty good reason to keep the oil changed.

I remember TJ telling me the big seal in the rear was a different part number than the one that originally came on our bikes. Based on Chris' experience I guess the new one is not expected to go much more than 20K miles. My black bike just passed the blue one in mileage a less than 2 weeks ago. It's sitting at 20,300 ish. I'll be watching very closely now.

Chris, I know most normal people leaving for AK next week would still be on the road far after July 11th. So you could get Romney to overnight it to you somewhere. But knowing you, I'm guessing you planned to be back home for 4 or 5 days by July 11th, so that's probably not a workable solution.

 

[BaldKnob]

Dirt_Dad - I had a pinion seal that leaked, then stopped after I changed oil, then 6k later leaked again a little bit, then stopped again when I changed oil...

I have the BIG seal that Chris is looking for... but sorry mate, you can´t have it... in Ecuador, and coming up to 20k since the last one was replaced in San Diego. Good Luck! There´s gotta be one around somewhere...

DC, any chance you can get the measuments on that seal? It could be sitting on the shelves in a hydraulic supply warehouse right this very moment, at half the price! Worth a shot. Note to self... get backup seal.

 

[dcstrom]

DC, any chance you can get the measuments on that seal? It could be sitting on the shelves in a hydraulic supply warehouse right this very moment, at half the price! Worth a shot. Note to self... get backup seal.

I don't have a way to get accurate measurements, and I'm not sure anyone in this little town does either. Maybe.

Another thought Chris - if you're really desperate, I could probably UPS it to you, then you could send me a replacement via USPS sometime later.

Like you, I'd be wary about starting a big trip with a known problem. On the other hand, I doubt it's going to turn into a gusher? Just thinking about my leaky pinion seals, and how they seem to stop leaking when I put fresh oil in. My theory is that the fresh seal-swelling agent in the new oil helps stop the leak. I wonder if, in your case, you could get some seal-swell additive, and what it would do? My theory could well be BS, but might be worth a try.

The other thing I would do would be to call every Yam dealer of any size that's somewhere near your route. Maybe Larry has a way of finding out which dealers sold a bunch of S10's - they would be the ones to call first, they might be stocking those seals. I bet Corporate might be reluctant give out that information though.

Let me know if I can do anything anyway...

Trevor

 

[tomatocity]

Chris, you might try PCP Motorsports in Sacramento CA.

Last year I had a service scare when the K60's were being installed. PCP Motorsports, 916 428-4040, submitted as a warranty item. They never could find the leak but did replace one of the smaller seals. They told me they were keeping all the other parts that were sent by Yamaha Warranty. They might have what you are looking for.

 

[Mzee]

Interesting reading.

 

[snakebitten]

I got this today.

Keep in mind it was 6 hours of continuous bashing over rocks.
It did drip a very small spot, less than a dime, while it was still hot. But I put a towel under it to see what happens overnight. After about 4 hours, nothing. Not a drop after being cool, I suppose.

It seeped out the underside of the mated surfaces that has no gasket.

I'm not gonna end my trip over it if it doesn't get a lot worse.
Will change fluid in the morning to get an idea of how much I lost.
As bad as it looks, I suspect I lost very little in volume.

Does this look similar to yours Sail2xxs?

 

[Checkswrecks]

Chris & all:


The Super Tenere rear drive is a variation on what is in the FJR and you are seeing the exact same that the FJR community has experienced for years. What follows are a couple of threads to see a little of the FJR history and discussions. There are certainly more.


http://www.fjrforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=141463


http://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=23238