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Gear oil leak


TimE

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Greetings all,

I'm new to the BMW community--8 days to be precise and also have a mystery leak from the gaiter of my R1100RT. In order to try to determine the source, I opened the gaiter and found a couple things:

srfB7pq

followed by

BB94dXm

 

The fluids in the FD and the gearbox are both freshly colored--and not as dark as what was in the swingarm. But this is where the sad part starts... once drained, there was obvious build-up in the swingarm. Time for a magnetic collection:

oNgS2nn

 

So my question is where did this all come from? To me, this seems like a LOT of metal that is not where it is supposed to be.

 

This bike has 65,000 miles on it and I did not get any maintenance records. Given the discoloration on the Pivot bolt, it looks like it has had work in there before, but I'm not sure.

 

The FD assembly seems intact and solid. I did note that the gearbox oil was about 200cc low once drained, so I'm suspecting it came from there...

 

Also, after a ride or during a stop, there is the distinctive scent of gear oil burning, which I've tracked to a leak onto the catalytic converter.

zR1aHIF

This was after I wiped up a bit, but I'm certain there is some coming from here. I do not find oil pooling on the ground near here when I park, but I definitely was finding oil back near the gaiter--sometimes none, sometimes a 3 x 5 inch area of fresh oil.

 

I've been riding about 80-100 miles a day weekdays. And for the most part everything else is smooth. The gearing is a little clunky, but that may just be me getting used to a shaft drive bike (this is my first.)

 

My questions:

What are peoples thoughts on going for a 600 mile trip this weekend as long as I keep an eye on things? Too risky?

 

Any predictions on the ultimate failure mode should it happen while I was riding? Wheel lock? Stripped splines? Something...else?

 

Thanks in advance for your input!

Edited by TimE
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szurszewski

I don't have the answers to your questions, but to try to be helpful I'm going to edit your post so the images show up for other folks!

 

(All you are missing is the .jpg on the end of each URL.)

 

I can say that the transmissions in BMWs, from way back in the day up through your oilhead and beyond almost up to the current models, are known to seem clunky ("agricultural" is a word I've seen used more than once) - and it's not the drive shaft.

 

What part of Oregon are you in? Maybe there is someone nearby that could lend an eye to your problems? I can't imagine that much crud is coming up the swingarm, so I'd guess it's coming down from the transmission - but I really don't know.

 

I'm sure more knowledgeable answers will follow soon - good luck!

 

 

 

 

Greetings all,

I'm new to the BMW community--8 days to be precise and also have a mystery leak from the gaiter of my R1100RT. In order to try to determine the source, I opened the gaiter and found a couple things:

srfB7pq.jpg

followed by

BB94dXm.jpg

 

The fluids in the FD and the gearbox are both freshly colored--and not as dark as what was in the swingarm. But this is where the sad part starts... once drained, there was obvious build-up in the swingarm. Time for a magnetic collection:

oNgS2nn.jpg

 

So my question is where did this all come from? To me, this seems like a LOT of metal that is not where it is supposed to be.

 

This bike has 65,000 miles on it and I did not get any maintenance records. Given the discoloration on the Pivot bolt, it looks like it has had work in there before, but I'm not sure.

 

The FD assembly seems intact and solid. I did note that the gearbox oil was about 200cc low once drained, so I'm suspecting it came from there...

 

Also, after a ride or during a stop, there is the distinctive scent of gear oil burning, which I've tracked to a leak onto the catalytic converter.

zR1aHIF.jpg

This was after I wiped up a bit, but I'm certain there is some coming from here. I do not find oil pooling on the ground near here when I park, but I definitely was finding oil back near the gaiter--sometimes none, sometimes a 3 x 5 inch area of fresh oil.

 

I've been riding about 80-100 miles a day weekdays. And for the most part everything else is smooth. The gearing is a little clunky, but that may just be me getting used to a shaft drive bike (this is my first.)

 

My questions:

What are peoples thoughts on going for a 600 mile trip this weekend as long as I keep an eye on things? Too risky?

 

Any predictions on the ultimate failure mode should it happen while I was riding? Wheel lock? Stripped splines? Something...else?

 

Thanks in advance for your input!

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