Oil leaking between my rim and the final drive housing

jtascone · 09-27-2021, 06:54 PM

Hello all. I had my swingarm and final drive/u-joint service done about 4000 miles ago. My bike just turned 20,000 miles. It's an 08 Nomad 1600. I noticed while checking my tire pressure today that the left side of my rear rim is coated in oil and road grime and I have little black lines that spider from the rim onto my whitewalls. Upon inspecting everything, it appears that the final drive oil is leaking between the housing and the rim. The front and rear of the driveshaft all look good. It's only leaking around the housing. I replaced the final drive oil about 3000 miles ago and did so as per everyone's recommendations, leaving the bike on the sidestand so as to not overfill it as I have read that sometimes can cause a leak. Can anyone tell me what could be causing it to leak out around the rim where it meets the housing and what's entailed in fixing it? Thanks. By the way, there is no oil dripping on the ground so it must just be leaking only when the bike is being ridden.

redjay · 09-27-2021, 07:32 PM

There are seals in the final drive and if they fail what you are seeing would be the result.

Check out the microfiche at ronayers.com

mick56 · 09-28-2021, 04:01 AM

Take it back to whoever serviced it. They obviously didn't do it properly. . Either they never put a new seal in, or they put it in wrong.

DragonLady58 · 09-28-2021, 05:11 PM

What Redjay and Mick said....seals and O-rings inside....
You have 1 big o-ring sealing on a flat surface on the hub/final drive, thats probably the culprit....
Shop help is not what it used to be....I used to tell the service mgr that we had a moron for shop help....
He serviced a 2000's Electra Glide, changed the oil, left both the engine and trans. oil dry....he didn't stay there long....after the engine and trans seized up....

nsbugman · 09-28-2021, 07:04 PM

could also be someone used grease on the mating splines and it is separating due to the heat. It can make a big mess when it seeps out onto the surface

jtascone · 09-30-2021, 08:13 AM

Thanks all for the advice. I made an appointment with the shop that did the service to take a look at it

The Black Knight · 10-02-2021, 05:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mick56

Take it back to whoever serviced it. They obviously didn't do it properly. . Either they never put a new seal in, or they put it in wrong.

09-27-2021, 06:54 PM	#1
jtascone Member Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 282	Oil leaking between my rim and the final drive housing Hello all. I had my swingarm and final drive/u-joint service done about 4000 miles ago. My bike just turned 20,000 miles. It's an 08 Nomad 1600. I noticed while checking my tire pressure today that the left side of my rear rim is coated in oil and road grime and I have little black lines that spider from the rim onto my whitewalls. Upon inspecting everything, it appears that the final drive oil is leaking between the housing and the rim. The front and rear of the driveshaft all look good. It's only leaking around the housing. I replaced the final drive oil about 3000 miles ago and did so as per everyone's recommendations, leaving the bike on the sidestand so as to not overfill it as I have read that sometimes can cause a leak. Can anyone tell me what could be causing it to leak out around the rim where it meets the housing and what's entailed in fixing it? Thanks. By the way, there is no oil dripping on the ground so it must just be leaking only when the bike is being ridden. Login or Register to Remove Ads
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09-28-2021, 04:01 AM	#3
mick56 Sr. Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: The Newforest, England Posts: 4,664	Take it back to whoever serviced it. They obviously didn't do it properly. . Either they never put a new seal in, or they put it in wrong. __________________ when this you see, remember me, and bear me in your mind, let all the world say what they may, speak of me as you find.
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09-28-2021, 05:11 PM	#4
DragonLady58 Sr. Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Somewhere South of Alaska.... Posts: 2,373	What Redjay and Mick said....seals and O-rings inside.... You have 1 big o-ring sealing on a flat surface on the hub/final drive, thats probably the culprit.... Shop help is not what it used to be....I used to tell the service mgr that we had a moron for shop help.... He serviced a 2000's Electra Glide, changed the oil, left both the engine and trans. oil dry....he didn't stay there long....after the engine and trans seized up.... __________________ --------------------- Don't start no schit, there won't be no schit.... My Sarcasm is directly proportional to the amount of Stupidity involved --------------------- VBA#03239 VROC#37400 VRA --------------------- 2014 Vaquero 2001 Nomad FI 2003 Street Glide (sold) 1500 Meanie, fresh rebuild (sold) 90s BUBF Bobber (sold) 2001 UltraCycle FatPounder (Sold) 1975 HD ElectraGlide (Sold) 1982 Kawasaki Z1 Chopper (Sold) Suck It Up & Ride!
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09-28-2021, 07:04 PM	#5
nsbugman Jr. Member Join Date: Sep 2021 Posts: 1	could also be someone used grease on the mating splines and it is separating due to the heat. It can make a big mess when it seeps out onto the surface Login or Register to Remove Ads
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09-27-2021, 07:32 PM	#2
redjay Top Contributor Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ontario Posts: 7,017	There are seals in the final drive and if they fail what you are seeing would be the result. Check out the microfiche at ronayers.com
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09-30-2021, 08:13 AM	#6
jtascone Member Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 282	Thanks all for the advice. I made an appointment with the shop that did the service to take a look at it
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