1 Spline Lube & Leaking Seal Sun Apr 08 2012, 00:53
Two Wheels Better
Moderator
I started to tear into my K100RS at seven AM this morning to get to a chronic 'weepy' seal between the engine and the gearbox and to check the condition of the splines and whether they needed lube.
It doesn't take long to get it down to the essentials. I had it to where I wanted it within two hours with stops for two cups of strong tea. I've propped up the back
end under the subframe rails with a sturdy sawhorse and a scissor jack
under the motor to fine tune the height. It is stable and all bits are easily accessible. Removing the entire exhaust made it easier to access.
The clutch splines and front driveshaft splines were still slightly 'wet'
with lube, and look very good, they'd been done two years ago (a
negligent-of-me 50,000 kms ago). There is some very minor 'mountain-ing'
occurring on the tips of the rear end splines which I'd noticed then
but attended to last tyre change at 16,500 kms ago. The driveshaft is in
good nick overall and I'll just keep lubing them at each tyre change
until it's no longer useable. I realise they can disappear fast once
wear has set in.
The rear main seal is the leaker, the others all
dry and tight, though I failed to procure a friction disc beforehand as
I reckoned (wrongly) it was in good enough nick and can see now that
it's nearly down to the rivets. I don't have an o-ring for the gland
nut. I also don't have access to a 30mm socket at the mo' to remove the
gland nut. The gear position sensor's hard sealant went brittle and
flaked off around where the multiple wires enter the back of the switch.
I'll have to seal it up with Drei Bond or the like before re-assembly.
They're a bit too spendy to replace just because of that and it works as
intended.
The gearbox had been dripping a small amount of gear
oil to the ground whenever I parked it. The culprit is the 'new' clutch
boot at the rear lever, that I fitted a coupla months ago when I
replaced the bearings in the lever, which now has a small tear in it.
It'd been raining pretty hard the last week or so before I went away to
Victoria. The gearbox had water in it once again. The gravelly feel I'd
noted the past few days when I pulled in the clutch lever is because of
sand and grit entering the 'box in the area of the clutch pushrod. I will be fabricating a splash shield at the leading edge of the rear mudguard like the K1100 models have.
The gearbox sounds smooth and quiet when I spin the splines by hand so I'm hoping the bearings didn't take a big hit when the small amount of grit and water entered through the torn clutch lever boot. I'll fill the box to the correct level with Castrol EPX 80W90 and give it a day or two of hot running then drain and fill the 'box again to remove any debris that might be floating about.
This has all gone pear-shaped in a hurry. Never mind, it's a beaut Sunday in paradise. I can see a hire car to get to work on Tuesday as this bike is my sole
transport and my other two bikes are in storage or unregistered. From
there a bike borrowed from work will get me back and forth until the
spares arrive. My hands are tied, so I'll just sit back and enjoy the
four day weekend and wait for MotoGP to come on. Time for a coldie.
It's good to get to the heart of things and be able to have a good look at it all. Cheers.
It doesn't take long to get it down to the essentials. I had it to where I wanted it within two hours with stops for two cups of strong tea. I've propped up the back
end under the subframe rails with a sturdy sawhorse and a scissor jack
under the motor to fine tune the height. It is stable and all bits are easily accessible. Removing the entire exhaust made it easier to access.
The clutch splines and front driveshaft splines were still slightly 'wet'
with lube, and look very good, they'd been done two years ago (a
negligent-of-me 50,000 kms ago). There is some very minor 'mountain-ing'
occurring on the tips of the rear end splines which I'd noticed then
but attended to last tyre change at 16,500 kms ago. The driveshaft is in
good nick overall and I'll just keep lubing them at each tyre change
until it's no longer useable. I realise they can disappear fast once
wear has set in.
The rear main seal is the leaker, the others all
dry and tight, though I failed to procure a friction disc beforehand as
I reckoned (wrongly) it was in good enough nick and can see now that
it's nearly down to the rivets. I don't have an o-ring for the gland
nut. I also don't have access to a 30mm socket at the mo' to remove the
gland nut. The gear position sensor's hard sealant went brittle and
flaked off around where the multiple wires enter the back of the switch.
I'll have to seal it up with Drei Bond or the like before re-assembly.
They're a bit too spendy to replace just because of that and it works as
intended.
The gearbox had been dripping a small amount of gear
oil to the ground whenever I parked it. The culprit is the 'new' clutch
boot at the rear lever, that I fitted a coupla months ago when I
replaced the bearings in the lever, which now has a small tear in it.
It'd been raining pretty hard the last week or so before I went away to
Victoria. The gearbox had water in it once again. The gravelly feel I'd
noted the past few days when I pulled in the clutch lever is because of
sand and grit entering the 'box in the area of the clutch pushrod. I will be fabricating a splash shield at the leading edge of the rear mudguard like the K1100 models have.
The gearbox sounds smooth and quiet when I spin the splines by hand so I'm hoping the bearings didn't take a big hit when the small amount of grit and water entered through the torn clutch lever boot. I'll fill the box to the correct level with Castrol EPX 80W90 and give it a day or two of hot running then drain and fill the 'box again to remove any debris that might be floating about.
This has all gone pear-shaped in a hurry. Never mind, it's a beaut Sunday in paradise. I can see a hire car to get to work on Tuesday as this bike is my sole
transport and my other two bikes are in storage or unregistered. From
there a bike borrowed from work will get me back and forth until the
spares arrive. My hands are tied, so I'll just sit back and enjoy the
four day weekend and wait for MotoGP to come on. Time for a coldie.
It's good to get to the heart of things and be able to have a good look at it all. Cheers.
__________________________________________________
"A long ride is the answer to a question you will soon forget!" ~ Anonymous
1977 R75/7-100, '93 K11/K12 Big Block, '93 K1100RS, '95 R100 Mystic, '96 K1100RS, 2 x '98 K1200RS, '06 K1200R & '09 K1300GT