Cykel
Member
All possibilities considered, a few leaking seals due to improper installation is pretty minor...especially when Yamaha seems to be handling the issue properly.stevenson911 said:
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Glad you got it sorted!
Final Drive Oil Leak
- Thread starter stevenson911
- Start date
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Glad you got it sorted!
So the seal that was pinched was #39 on the diagram you posted earlier?
stevenson911
New Member
Yes, #39 on the exploded parts view posted earlier.
Jerry ::022::
Jerry ::022::
Nice to see Yamaha is interested. Only a few people on here getting warranty work, and it appears that yamaha is always interested. I know Torque had his rear brake cylinder start leaking and he said Yamaha had the dealer take a lot of pictures of it for them.
RED CAT
New Member
I have the same problem, that is a leak from the tranny side of engine oil to the hole in the bottom of the drive shaft housing. It only happened once but enough to splash onto the rear wheel. That was a few days ago and it has since stopped. However I have noticed a small vibration at around 3000rpm under load which I didn't have before. I also notice a burning rubber smell when I stop. Its not the tires and can't locate this smell. Its going to the dealer soon. I think my problem is more serious. For intance parts 42,43,44 etc. Hope not but the vibration is a concern. Will keep you posted. Any ideas??? 
RED CAT
New Member
Its an American bike so will go back to the American Dealer for warranty 5 hours away. Have an appointment for Thursday. Will let ya'll know the prognosis. ::024::
stevenson911
New Member
Good luck. Sorry to here you must travel for repair but if it gets taken care of then it will be worth it. Your issue sounds a little different than my seal leak, be sure to tell them you would like to see the parts before they send them off.
I like this bike more every time I ride it, which is good because my wife would have had too much fun with me selling it right away.
Keep us updated.
Jerry
I like this bike more every time I ride it, which is good because my wife would have had too much fun with me selling it right away.
Keep us updated.
Jerry
During highway riding I get the smell of rubber as well. I'm not sure if its the Tenere or other vehicles. I have not seen any evidence of engine oil near the drive shaft housing. I notice small vibrations but I don't think it related since it could be me jumping around in excitement every time I rider this bike :-\ . Please keep us updated when you have a dealer look at it..RED CAT said:I have the same problem, that is a leak from the tranny side of engine oil to the hole in the bottom of the drive shaft housing. It only happened once but enough to splash onto the rear wheel. That was a few days ago and it has since stopped. However I have noticed a small vibration at around 3000rpm under load which I didn't have before. I also notice a burning rubber smell when I stop. Its not the tires and can't locate this smell. Its going to the dealer soon. I think my problem is more serious. For intance parts 42,43,44 etc. Hope not but the vibration is a concern. Will keep you posted. Any ideas???
RED CAT
New Member
OK. Brought the bike back to the dealer in Kalispell. Are you sitting down. Man, do I feel dumb. The leaky shaft drive turned out to be........... melted grease. I guess the knuckles get grease at the factory and first time you give the bike a real hot workout it can melt, dribbling down the shaft drive housing to the drain hole at the bottom and spread onto the rim and tire looking like a real problem. Everyone I mentioned it to couldn't believe a Yamaha shaft drive could leak. Apparently they are almost indestructable. Not like some Beamers. So I'm a happy camper. As for the small vibration I thought I was feeling. I didn't notice it today after I found out my shaft drive was OK. The Tech checked for the burning rubber smell and we couldn't find anything there either. Bought 2 sets of tie downs and came home. HeeHaaaw! ::26::
Glad it worked out Okay. And I hope the dealer is right.... there have been a couple instances now where the dealer blows off something like this as "assembly lube" or the like, but it ends up being an actual leak. I think Yamaha does a good job with these final drives, but fluid control in this application is quite challenging and the occasionally one can have seal problems, no matter who makes it.RED CAT said:
- Mark
I have had some residual build up on the joint at the front and bottom rear of my shaft. Wiped it off (it was more greasy with dirt mixed in than oily if that makes any sense). I have been monitoring it closely. The vibration could be your tires wearing. I had the oem metzlers cause a vibration in the driveline when leaned over left or right. New tires added vibration went away. This shaft wears a tire square unlike a chain driven bike. The square edge causes the vibration from the tread which transfers into the driveline.
Cykel
Member
Just out of curiosity, how frequently are you all checking your fluid level? I'm getting a better feel, but as it's my first shaft drive bike I find it moderately difficult to tell what the level is without attempting to add some. Spinning the wheel helps because I can see it ride up the gear inside.
Anyway, I did my first fluid change a bit after 450 miles and then checked the level at ~700 miles. I had to top off with about an ounce, which surprised me. Can't find a leak anywhere, but I've been measuring what I put in and at 450 I am pretty sure it was close to 2 oz if not exactly (hard to tell because I used ~4oz. total, but purged my tube with clean fluid and then did a few top-offs to get a feel for the filling method). Certainly had filled it to overflow as I made sure of that about three times, including throwing some wheel spin in.
I'm nearing 1k miles so I'll check it again soon. Maybe a top-off after actually riding is all it needs?
Anyway, I did my first fluid change a bit after 450 miles and then checked the level at ~700 miles. I had to top off with about an ounce, which surprised me. Can't find a leak anywhere, but I've been measuring what I put in and at 450 I am pretty sure it was close to 2 oz if not exactly (hard to tell because I used ~4oz. total, but purged my tube with clean fluid and then did a few top-offs to get a feel for the filling method). Certainly had filled it to overflow as I made sure of that about three times, including throwing some wheel spin in.
I'm nearing 1k miles so I'll check it again soon. Maybe a top-off after actually riding is all it needs?
RED CAT
New Member
As for the Dealer blowing it off. I was there and we did all the checking together. Engine oil and Shaft oil were all full and were changed 2000 miles ago. This bike does not burn a drop of oil. If you see oil and arn't sure what it is, smell it. Diff oil smells like rotten eggs. Engine oil doesn't smell much. My leak didn't smell so I assumed it was engine oil. Live and learn. ::001::
Cykel, Most generally, unless you do have a leak, there isn't really a need to check the level between changes. For filling, with bike on center stand, I fill it until it starts to overfill out of the fill hole. If I am wrong on this, it hasn't proven bad in 6000 miles. I did it this same way on my Honda ST's with no issues. I would soemtimes go 20k between checking and or changing with no issues. You can check and change as often as you wish though since it is your bike to service. Go ride!!!Cykel said:
I fill mine until it runs out then I take a big syringe suck it out until I can look in the hole with a flashlight and tell it's exactly level with the hole. Remember they came low. So far that method has worked just fine. I have not had a shaft since '95. All my bikes since have had chains so this is new to me. My worst feat is if this thing becomes a BMW with leaks, failures and what not. Bye bye if so but for now it appears to be a solid design. I'll test it in CO, UT and AZ in 5 short weeks.
tomatocity
Active Member
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My guess why they come filled low or less than full is... at the factory they are probably filled with the wheels on the deck. Just a guess.roy said:
Sounds about right. My first change was done on my bike lift with the tire on the lift no centerstand. I didn't really notice a difference. Or they are putting in the "exact" amount in a dry system.tomatocity said:
Same here, changed on a lift off the center stand, and filled until it ran out. Checked with flashlight to confirm it was at the level of the threads then sealed her up, then rode 1200 miles home the next day. Switching to synthetic gear oil really smoothed it out.roy said:
I am changing the final drive at each oil change and had good changes until my next to last change. The oil was very black with a lot of silver in it. When I left it sit in a jar, a little less than half was metal. I then changed it after my trip to CO (3k) and got almost the same.
This is really strange, because the drained fluid before this all took place, came out almost like new with just a hint of silver. Bike has 11k.
Is anyone else having this happen? I was gonna start a new thread, but thought I would through it out here.
This is really strange, because the drained fluid before this all took place, came out almost like new with just a hint of silver. Bike has 11k.
Is anyone else having this happen? I was gonna start a new thread, but thought I would through it out here.
Can't say I have that problem, but it might be time to show that to your dealer if the bike's still under warranty.japako said: