Another pinion seal victim

[gascan]

So I was returning from a rally in the PNW when I started noticing a little gear lube dripping from the boot at the front of the drive shaft. By the time I got home it turned into a couple tablespoons worth in the driveway. After much research on this forum, turns out it was the pinion seal. I used the DIY instructions here and removed the drive unit, but I couldn't crack the retaining nut so I had to take it in to a shop to get it fixed. 2 weeks and $300 later, I got it back and re-installed it today.

While I had the rear-end taken apart, I took off the swing arm and lubed up everything properly including the bearings and the drive shaft. I went for a ride tonight and everything rides like a champ. Just wanted to say thanks for the Tech section and all the DIY info available on this site. I've only owned my Nomad for a year, but I've already saved myself several hundred dollars and a lot of stress by reading through the forum and knowing what the problem was before I went to a "stealership". I hope to get the chance to pay it forward.

cheers,
gascan

[cactusjack]

Good for you, it always feels good to know you're saving money and doing the work right. Nobody cares about your motorcycle more than you do.

[ringadingh]

Good to hear its fixed, but $300.00 seems pretty steep to replace that pinion seal. Ive changed mine in about 45 minutes once I have the final drive on the bench.
When you tried to loosen the collar did you loosen the small setscrew in the side first? and the collar has a LH thread as well.

[gascan]

Originally Posted by ringadingh

Good to hear its fixed, but $300.00 seems pretty steep to replace that pinion seal. Ive changed mine in about 45 minutes once I have the final drive on the bench.
When you tried to loosen the collar did you loosen the small setscrew in the side first? and the collar has a LH thread as well.

Yup, removed the set screw and turned her clockwise to try and crack the "nut", just woudn't budge. I even used one members idea and tried whacking it a bit with a rubber mallet and a punch to loosen it, but it just wouldn't get the hint. I didn't want to damage anything, so I sprung for a professional fix. Parts were $80 (EVERYTHING is more expensive here in Canada), and labour was a full 2 hours including shimming and bench testing to ensure it was balanced. Damn thing should be bullet-proof for another 100,000 miles now (I hope)!

[redjay]

I took off my final drive and took the unit to the local Kawasaki dealer.
They charged me $180 to replace the oil seal including parts, labour and taxes.
That was about 4 years ago.

[hammer]

I know mine might be leaking a bit but I have never found more than a little bit in the drive shaft tube.

[Cajunrider]

My '07 Nomad pinion seal failed twice in 37,000 miles. Both were covered by warranty.