Oil coming out the shaft drives breather/seal area - a problem?

[Don T]

I stumbled upon a few stories about differential oil leaking from the shaft under certain conditions.
An example is this from an RR on ADVrider:

Is it something I should worry about :-\

 

[tomatocity]

Yes. Contact your dealership. This will most likely be covered by your warranty.

 

[Checkswrecks]

This was just brought up and got a fast bunch of replies on ADV.

It's not a new photo, the bike had done hours of Australian outback washboard and the oil had worked up through the vent. This was one of a set of photos, after this bike was seriously put to test and pumping oil through a vent was not a huge surprise. Note that this was NOT a failure of the rear drive that left the rider stranded, either!

So, if after you beat your bike like this, wash it, and then STILL see leakage, absolutely it'd be worth going to the dealer to talk about a new seal. Under warranty. After you ride it there.

But not something I'm concerned about.

 

[HoebSTer]

the same sort of thing would hold true if after lubing your rear drive splines, then drove the bike a few hundred miles, you may notice wetness where the wheel meets the hub. I have had this happen on many miles after lubing the splines. Just wipe dry, and proceed down the road, just like a breather wetness. It is a breather after all.

 

[Don T]

This was just brought up and got a fast bunch of replies on ADV.

It's not a new photo, the bike had done hours of Australian outback washboard and the oil had worked up through the vent. This was one of a set of photos, after this bike was seriously put to test and pumping oil through a vent was not a huge surprise. Note that this was NOT a failure of the rear drive that left the rider stranded, either!

So, if after you beat your bike like this, wash it, and then STILL see leakage, absolutely it'd be worth going to the dealer to talk about a new seal. Under warranty. After you ride it there.

But not something I'm concerned about.

I know - I'm the one who brought it up

I've contacted the guy behind the photo and awaits his replay.
I posted here to get a second opinion and to hear if other S10 riders have experienced the same.

Regards
Don T

 

[Firefight911]

I know - I'm the one who brought it up

I've contacted the guy behind the photo and awaits his replay.
I posted here to get a second opinion and to hear if other S10 riders have experienced the same.

Regards
Don T

And they are all opinions until we have the whole story from the horse's mouth.

 

[dcstrom]

I know - I'm the one who brought it up

I posted here to get a second opinion and to hear if other S10 riders have experienced the same.

I have yet to do much riding out West, but in my 120,000 miles in the US I've never seen roads with corrugations like the ones you find in Australia. These roads go on for hundreds of miles and are really hard on the driveline, wheels and shocks. Not to mention rattling your teeth. I found the best way to approach them is at speed - minimum of about 50mph - otherwise you feel every single corrugation. At higher speeds the bike tends to "float" a bit. This is all cool until you hit a patch of bulldust, or mud. Then it gets interesting, as these guys found... Anyway, not surprising the final drive was showing some signs of stress under those conditions. Not a showstopper, however.

 

[HoebSTer]

you can surely find sections of wash-board like that here on some of the Forest Service Roads after a good rain, or heavy traffic. I wouldn't say it goes on for hundreds of miles in any way like it may in Ozzy-Land!!!

 

[GrahamD]

Here are the comments from the ride report on that photo.

There were two S10's riding together by the way.

After a few hundred k's of corrugations both developed the same outcome.

Checked the levels and not much missing. A little bit of oil goes a long way.
After Warburton the road and weather was excellent

The other guy (John) hit a big rock on the 25th Aug. He rode a couple hundred Km to get a bent rim and a few spokes fixed up because his tire was not holding air.

Once we had got our fuel we had a better look at John's rear wheel.
Results of contact with huge rocks at Lake Eyre showed 1 spoke missing and a few loose ones as well.
Decision was made for John to head towards Adelaide to get some repairs done and grab some parts. While we were working out where to go from here Broken Hill was mentioned....

About 12,000Km this trip.

He finished the trip on the 7th September.

 

[tomatocity]

Don T, all of these responses are good but none of them are going to pay for your repair if needed. If you are close to the dealership take the time to stop by and show them. Make sure it is documented. If you are not close to the dealership then contact them and send photos with information about maintenace and useage.

 

[GrahamD]

Don T, all of these responses are good but none of them are going to pay for your repair if needed. If you are close to the dealership take the time to stop by and show them. Make sure it is documented. If you are not close to the dealership then contact them and send photos with information about maintenace and useage.

Pssssssssttt.

It's not his bike, he is just trying to decide whether the S10 has BMW disease. He doesn't own one yet.

It's drive shaft paranoia time. (Thanks BMW)

Anyway Don T.

For what it is worth, this is my take on it.

All shaft drives have seals, those seals are made of soft rubber stuff contacting metal stuff to try and keep oil in.

Bot this guys bike and The others bike and Nick Sanders Bike had oil weeping from the vent after doing 100's or thousands of Km.

They all kept going (in Nicks case from South America to Alaska0 In Cul8rr case, from half way across Australia and back again.
The seals may or may not have been damaged from the dust. The oil was from the vent mostly.

The problem with the shaft seal is when you have effectively grinding paste working between the seal and the spacer.

I can guarantee that the dust and water grinding paste mix will eventually win.
It has beat my Strom rear bearing and seal and at 27,000km they were a bit dodgy, because there are a lot of crap roads where I like to ride. The crap is just hours and hours of fine dust that gets into everything.

Best business in the Outback is seal, shock and spring repair.

These were both big rides in crappy conditions and no one was stranded by the shaft drive.

You would have to go for a holiday out that way to appreciate it. It's really BIG out there.

 

[tomatocity]

Sorry, my bad.

The only other one I remember reading about was before the North American model was released.

Pssssssssttt.

It's not his bike, he is just trying to decide whether the S10 has BMW disease. He doesn't own one yet.

It's drive shaft paranoia time. (Thanks BMW)

Anyway Don T.

For what it is worth, this is my take on it.

All shaft drives have seals, those seals are made of soft rubber stuff contacting metal stuff to try and keep oil in.

Bot this guys bike and The others bike and Nick Sanders Bike had oil weeping from the vent after doing 100's or thousands of Km.

They all kept going (in Nicks case from South America to Alaska0 In Cul8rr case, from half way across Australia and back again.
The seals may or may not have been damaged from the dust. The oil was from the vent mostly.

The problem with the shaft seal is when you have effectively grinding paste working between the seal and the spacer.

I can guarantee that the dust and water grinding paste mix will eventually win.
It has beat my Strom rear bearing and seal and at 27,000km they were a bit dodgy, because there are a lot of crap roads where I like to ride. The crap is just hours and hours of fine dust that gets into everything.

Best business in the Outback is seal, shock and spring repair.

These were both big rides in crappy conditions and no one was stranded by the shaft drive.

You would have to go for a holiday out that way to appreciate it. It's really BIG out there.

 

[Tremor38]

I know - I'm the one who brought it up

I've contacted the guy behind the photo and awaits his replay.
I posted here to get a second opinion and to hear if other S10 riders have experienced the same.

Regards
Don T

I don't think many of us do hundreds of miles over wash board..hopefully somebody who's ridden in those conditions can help you. I don't blame ANY final drive for just weeping a bit after that type of abuse though.

 

[Don T]

Thanks for the feed back guys.

Pssssssssttt.

It's not his bike, he is just trying to decide whether the S10 has BMW disease. He doesn't own one yet.

It's drive shaft paranoia time. (Thanks BMW)

Spot on GrahamD

I'm left with the impression, that it's not an issue with the S10.

 

[specter]

9000 miles on my Tenere and I now have an oil leak just like in the photo. Checked the levels and they are still good. My bike has done almost 90% street and no mud. I just found it yesterday and haven't had a chance to take it apart to see what is going on. I will post updates as I work on it.

 

[yz454]

Don,t think it,s a problem .

 

[_AF]

Don,t think it,s a problem .

It's really a problem in Russia. I suppose your roads are much better
50% of S10 have this leaking drive shafts.

I changed by warranty few times sealing, once drive shaft and than the whole bike. So you really lucky dry guys ;D

One of the problems is a spring on a seal, it's rather long.

 

[Don in Lodi]

To many miles on washboard, foamed up gear oil. Vent is a non-issue, axle shaft seal may very well be the same non-issue. Clean and retest.

::26::

 

[Koinz]

I over filled my final drive. Easy to do when it's cold out. Had a stain around the breather. Let some oil out from the fill hole and no more issues. Bike on center stand when I did it.