2004 FJR Final Drive Failure

[Bustanut joker]

I don't understand why you'd let the overheating issue go if it was new... Granted some dealers are clueless, but a new bike with that problem would have had me living there if need be.

 

[Canadian FJR]

" The drive has not been torn down yet and not sure I want to bother doing a bunch of forensics on it as I just ride the thing to work every day"

Is anyone else willing to do a teardown and send pics of the old one after the replacement is insatlled? Just a thought.

Canadian FJR

 

[SkooterG]

I don't understand why you'd let the overheating issue go if it was new... Granted some dealers are clueless, but a new bike with that problem would have had me living there if need be.

+1

The cooling issue is NOT normal and should have been addressed as soon as it started happening.

 

[GPRIDER]

These bikes run hot. That has been documented quite a bit on this forum. However spewing coolant is rare.

GP

 

[NightShine]

...in slow traffic on hot days this baby spews out coolant.

The radiator fan does kick on, yes?

Oh, and remind me to not ride next to or behind you on hot days...

 

[08FJR4ME]

The drive had oil in it and was not even low. Had been properly serviced so I must have had a drive which did not meet specs is my guess. Maybe heat treat issue with the ring & pinion gears? Who knows, but at least the used units are much cheaper than the approximately $1000 for a new one. I have ordered an ebay replacement and hope it lasts the rest of my term with the FJR. I bought the bike new in Aug 2003 and this is the first problem I have had other than the constant overheating issue which existed from brand new. Not sure if there is an easy fix for the overheating, but in slow traffic on hot days this baby spews out coolant. To my knowledge I never had the final drive under water. I will admit, I have not been easy on this machine and would be considered an aggressive rider, but never did do any track days like some I have seen at tracks. The drive has not been torn down yet and not sure I want to bother doing a bunch of forensics on it as I just ride the thing to work every day. Thanks for all the comments....sounds like this is an unusual situation...maybe I need to be the Reliability and Safety guy for Yamaha as I found a week spot with their hardware.

I have changed my rear drive oil every oil change except once. "was out of FD oil at the time" A little over kill but it is cheap insurance. It was recommended by the dealer I purchased the bike from. Just because it had oil in it doesn't mean it wasn't in need of a change. Don't take this negative but if you have been living with coolant spewing out of your bike it seems maintenance isn't your forte. I wouldn't rely on the steelier (Dealer) to change my final drive oil. Who knows if it was ever done and he just charged you for it. It's a ten minute job to do yourself. Without the forensics we will never know and you will have the collective in a quandary.

Is there an FJR doctor willing to step up to the plate? "Pro Bo-no"

Dave

 

[S76]

Catiadan,

I love forensics! I'll share the shipping costs to my house in CT so I can do a photo tear down with fault analysis and post it up to the forum. You in?

Bob

 

[Donal]

Was this ever resolved? It would be interesting to find out what actually happened to the final drive

Don