Oil on the rear wheel

[zoom45]

Got 52,000 on the Nomad and now it slings oil on the rear wheel. It will also drip a few spots sitting still. What seals would I need to replace? It's about time to change the tire so need I to do it all at the same time. I know theres a big o-ring on the wheel but is there a regular oil seal on the shaft assembly that should also be changed?
Thanks,
Zoom45

[rlfaubion]

I wonder if it could be coming from the front of your engine. There's an oil hose runing from just below the front head to the top of the crank case (just behind the radiator, inside the frame). The clamp at the crank case is weak. If it is leaking from here it would transfer to your rear wheel.

[zoom45]

No, it's definetely coming from where the rear wheel goes on to the drive shaft assembly. It will drip out of the little slot cut in the bottom of the hub right next to the rear wheel. Over a long ride it slings enough out to coat the left side of the wheel.

It's easy to tell too. Engine oil smells completely different from gear oil.

At this point you need to tear down the gear box so just get both seals and the 4 o-rings and do it all at once.

However, there are some shims involved which set the alignment (often called the "lash" or sometimes the "mesh") of the gear teeth, and at this mileage you would probably benefit from a change in those shims. If you've ever set up the differential gears in a car, this procedure will be no big mystery to you, but if you haven't all I will say is that the procedure is rather involved and I can't describe it all here. If you get it wrong the gears will howl and whine and have short noisy lives, so if you have any doubts do not guess at this business in order to try and save money. Just a set of 2 gears is $1000 and a complete new final drive unit is over $2000.

BTW, if my final drive gear ever fails I'm going to convert the bike to belt drive, get a 300mm rear tire, widen the swingarm, and then we'll see who has the fattest nads.


(Kidding! I'm just kidding! I'll never part with my shaft!)

[Cajunrider]

Good advise Cadd. I would never tackle the gearbox without experienced help.

[ringadingh]

The gearbox is easy to remove from the bike, and thats all you would need to take in to the shop to get seals replaced. You'd probably save some labour time doing this.