I screwed up, empty final drive!

[rakhan]

So I majorly screwed up, I am hoping I didn't do any major damage. I changed the fluid in my final drive a couple days ago, and I am assuming I did not torque down the drain bolt fully. Yesterday I went on about a 50 mile ride and at some point the drain bolt came completely out and drained all of the oil from the drive shaft. Now I have no idea if it happened early on in my trip or closer to when I stopped at the gas station where I discovered the issue.

I am thinking/hoping that it happened later in the trip since some fluid was still draining out when I parked. I was able to buy a new drain bolt and fill it back up with gear oil, my question is do you all think I did any major damage to the final drive system running it dry like that? It seems to be running fine now with it topped off.

Lesson learned for me, double check torque specs an use blue lock tight!

 

[WJBertrand]

Oooh, that doesn't sound good! Do you notice any additional whine or gear lash? There's probably a specification for the latter in the service manual. Besides the gears, the other concern would be the bearings in there,

 

[rakhan]

Everything feels and sounds normal so far, so nothing that I can perceive

 

[scott123007]

I wouldn't worry about it, especially because there was still some dripping out when you stopped. Just for shits and giggles, you can drain the new oil you put in there and see how clean it comes out. If there are not excessive metal filings, I would think all is good. There are also roller bearings in there but they can run a LONG time with minimal oil. Plain bearings, not so much, LOL.

 

[Bill_C]

If it were me, I would put some miles on it (10-20) and then drain the fluid into a clear plastic water bottle or something similar that would allow me to visually inspect the fluid. Let it sit and then hold it up and look from the bottom of the container for any shiny sediment. Then I would check the magnet on the drain plug for metal. There is always going to be a little metal "dust" in a final drive but it should be minimal. If it looks good I'd fill and keep an eye on it.

That's not going to guarantee that it IS ok, but it is a good way to quickly identify that it's NOT ok... hope make sense. Just because you don't see anything doesn't mean you are definitely ok. Hence, keep an eye in it, listen, watch your seals, etc. But if you see excess metal in your new oil then you know you should have a mechanic pull it and inspect it.

Last note: I've owned a few Yamaha shaft driven bikes over the years and I have never had a problem. They are pretty well made and can take abuse. That doesn't mean you don't have to take care if them, just that they are among the better shaft drives out there.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[rakhan]

awesome! thank you for all of your input! I will try draining into a clear container and go from there.

Thank you

 

[Squibb]

I would do as Bill says, but maybe a 100 miles or so, watch, look & listen. Let's hope you are lucky.

My wife's nearly new Mazda CX30 had a similar issue. The dealer put a full service on it, before collection, which wasn't due for 6 months - seemed a nice touch that saved us £300. The trouble was, they forgot to tighten the engine oil drain plug, with disastrous consequences, so she rejected the car & has taken up 'bangernomics' for a while - a 2006 Merc CLS emergency purchase from an old mate.

 

[eemsreno]

If you can't smell baked potato [As if it got real hot] It should be just fine.

 

[rakhan]

If you can't smell baked potato [As if it got real hot] It should be just fine.

If I can't smell baked potato? no disrespect but I cant tell if this is a joke or not?

 

[jmg343]

If I can't smell baked potato? no disrespect but I cant tell if this is a joke or not?

What he's saying is unless the final drive got hot enough to smell similar to what you'd smell when baking a potato, you'll be fine.

I think you'll be just fine. Can't hurt to check the oil in a hundred miles or so, but you'll be fine.

 

[Sierra1]

I agree with everyone else. If fluid was still coming out, it was real dry. I would change the fluid now, as suggested. And, again in say. . . . 750 miles +/-, and compare that with the fluid now. If it still clean, or cleaner, case closed. If it has a substantial amount of the metallic "dust". . . . probably need it checked. I'm in the "probably fine" camp.

 

[Davesax36]

I rode mine pretty far (like more than 100 miles) totally dry before it destroyed one of the ball bearings. If you caught it, you're probably fine. Fill, ride, change, ride, check plug... go.