Can a novice Mechanic remove and service the Driveshaft/Gear Coupling/Final Drive? Constant puddles of drive oil under the drive shaft

[SurvivorGuy]

No, he said the leak always comes from the 'weephole', or 'the overflow at the bottom of the driveshaft'. He is talking about the weephole on the bottom of the swingarm near where the FD bolts on. As he shows in the photos above. If that is the case, that narrows down the problem root causes quite a bit. I may not be able to repair it, but I can help properly diagnose it if nothing else.

Choice of gear oil has nothing to do with it. Nor a cracked case. It is leaking past a seal. Plain and simple. And while you can remove the wheel and FD assembly on the C-Stand, let me tell you it is a hell of a lot easier on the back when on a lift!

Hey Skooter, You mention the symptoms are narrowing it down to a possible root cause, what are your thoughts? If you can't fix it, then what is next?

 

[Bounce]

It is obvious, I have an issue.
I just topped it off and it started flowing out of the overflow. Looking forward to meeting up with ScootG to pull it apart and repair whatever it is..

Look at Skooter's write-up on the final drive design and you may see something that makes sense from being there when we aren't.

https://www.fjr-tips.org/maint/spline/SkooterG/coupling101.html

 

[RossKean]

If you can't fix it, then what is next?

Used one on Ebay... (Unless someone here has a spare hanging around)
Unless something is actually cracked or broken, chances are that a seal or two will do the trick.

 

[SurvivorGuy]

I appreciate all the feedback and support.

ScooterG graciously offered his garage, time, and knowledge to take the final drive apart next week.

Any heads-up on the part numbers for the seal would be greatly appreciated.

One would think having the seals on hand whether they are needed or not would be intelligent preventive maintenance seeing the final drive would be apart..

Thanks again!

 

[RossKean]

Any heads-up on the part numbers for the seal would be greatly appreciated.

Look at the following parts fiche (for 2011 but probably all the same, check yours to make sure)
https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/yamaha/motorcycle/2011/fjr1300a-fjr13aas/drive-shaft

Parts 5, 12, 24 and 34 are identified as oil seals. 11 and 20 are o-rings.
I'm guessing part #34 but could be wrong...

 

[Quikslver]

I appreciate all the feedback and support.

ScooterG graciously offered his garage, time, and knowledge to take the final drive apart next week.

Any heads-up on the part numbers for the seal would be greatly appreciated.

One would think having the seals on hand whether they are needed or not would be intelligent preventive maintenance seeing the final drive would be apart..

Thanks again!

Who is this SkooterG you make reference to?

 

[RossKean]

Who is this SkooterG you make reference to?

look at posts #6 and #19...

 

[RossKean]

I appreciate all the feedback and support.

ScooterG graciously offered his garage, time, and knowledge to take the final drive apart next week.

Any heads-up on the part numbers for the seal would be greatly appreciated.

One would think having the seals on hand whether they are needed or not would be intelligent preventive maintenance seeing the final drive would be apart..

Thanks again!

I see you are looking for a replacement drive unit. Yours was beyond repair?

 

[SurvivorGuy]

I see you are looking for a replacement drive unit. Yours was beyond repair?

Yes, It appears the seals inside the final drive are bad. We lack the proper tools and knowledge to do the repair and are not sure what seals are bad or how long it will take to acquire them. Seems more reasonable to just buy a different final drive

found this one

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3936258061...0b&cnvId=700003&recoId=393625806197&recoPos=1
on eBay but the seller has not answered several emails of mine enquiring about its condition and whether was leaking

Big thanks to ScooterG for opening up his shop, using his lift and tools to help in getting this situation all sorted and the FJR back on the road where it belongs

 

[RossKean]

Seems more reasonable to just buy a different final drive

Agree. Try to find one with reasonably low miles and it should outlast the bike. The one you linked is pretty low cost but there were a number of others available when I looked a week or so ago. Check part numbers but I am pretty sure any Gen II and later will work. Not sure about Gen I... good luck.

 

[BigOgre]

Didn't ScooterG have a tradition of leaving hidden souvenirs after such encounters?

 

[SurvivorGuy]

Didn't ScooterG have a tradition of leaving hidden souvenirs after such encounters?

What are you implying?

 

[SurvivorGuy]

Agree. Try to find one with reasonably low miles and it should outlast the bike. The one you linked is pretty low cost but there were a number of others available when I looked a week or so ago. Check part numbers but I am pretty sure any Gen II and later will work. Not sure about Gen I... good luck.

Hey Ross, From what I hear, the final drives never fail, so go figure mine does. The eBay seller finally responded and said he will have his shop look it over on Monday.
The low cost with free shipping seems to me a better way to go than trying to repair the seals in mine,
would you agree?

 

[RossKean]

The low cost with free shipping seems to me a better way to go than trying to repair the seals in mine,
would you agree?

For sure - assuming it is not damaged/leaking and doesn't have too many miles on it.
If the only issue is the shaft seal, that is relatively easy to handle but if you have to get into major disassembly and haven't messed with that before, I would look for a simpler fix by replacement of the entire unit with a good used part.
Personally, I would tackle the shaft seal but if one of the other seals or o-rings might be the problem, I would replace the whole thing because of my lack of knowledge about servicing these. Especially given the cost and availability of used units.

 

[SkooterG]

Yes, the shaft seal is fine. The leak is coming from the coupler. I believe that has one oil seal and one O-ring in there. My limited knowledge tells me that is much bigger deal to R&R. Requiring a very special tool, or socket. And knowledge how to put it all back again properly (adjusting gear lash?). So, you would have cost of parts (not too bad), time to get them (?), but most importantly finding a shop that would have the proper tools and do the work. These things almost never leak so finding a shop that has ever had one apart would not be likely.

As for boogers...... No. At least, not yet.........

 

[Rocnsanman]

SurvivorGuy,
I'm in agreement with you on this. I had a final drive fail on me (2012 Super Tenere) and I picked up another one on Ebay for $90.00 shipped. Kinda had to do something quick as I had a trip to Alaska planned and the bike was going to be shipped to Spokane. Best decision for me

 

[SurvivorGuy]

For sure - assuming it is not damaged/leaking and doesn't have too many miles on it.
If the only issue is the shaft seal, that is relatively easy to handle but if you have to get into major disassembly and haven't messed with that before, I would look for a simpler fix by replacement of the entire unit with a good used part.
Personally, I would tackle the shaft seal but if one of the other seals or o-rings might be the problem, I would replace the whole thing because of my lack of knowledge about servicing these. Especially given the cost and availability of used uni

 

[SurvivorGuy]

A big shout out and a huge thanks to ScooterG for opening his shop and stepping up to help me repair the final drive.

I'm still in the process of tracking down a final drive. Having the use of Scooters lift definitely made working on the machine easier. A few months back, I did remove the front and rear wheels to have new rubber put on them.

Thesaurus​

Meaning of novice​

a person who is new to the circumstances, work, etc., in which he or she is placed; beginner;

In retrospect, I should have given myself more credit than calling myself a novice mechanic. After working with ScooterG I can now say, I did have the skills to remove the final drive however, I do not have the tools or knowledge to repair the seals and from the feedback on this forum, there are not many who have restored the seals inside the final drive.

A few years back the shift forks in the gearbox in my 2015 Can-Am Commander went bad so, I had to nearly dismantle the machine to pull the gearbox. I had to remove the motor and gearbox together as it was easier than trying to get the gearbox off the motor. Wish I would have not let it go, It was one tough, go-anywhere, fast badass machine

That being said, I would still not attempt changing a water pump and timing belt on a car.

I would say, if you can remove your wheels, you can remove the drive shaft.

In my opinion, a novice mechanic can pull the final drive

 

[SurvivorGuy]

Hello Fellow FJR Enthusiasts,

This shout-out to ScoortG is a bit late in coming. but better late than never. ScooteG opened his shop, tore down my bike's rear end, and removed the final drive. Sure enough, it was leaking from the seals inside the drive, not the outer shaft seal. I ended up buying a rear differential on eBay and it solved the problem. ScooterG checked my valves, replaced the sparkplugs, and the coolant, and put his magic dust on my bike because it runs like new.

Thanks, ScooterG for being a solid guy and a real-life participant on this forum!

 

[Bounce]

Not tough. Just takes patience.

Final Drive 101

https://www.fjr-tips.org/maint/spline/SkooterG/coupling101.html
Spline maint

https://www.fjr-tips.org/maint/spline/spline.html
Swing Arm

https://www.fjr-tips.org/maint/sa/sa.html
U-Joint Maint

https://www.fjr-tips.org/maint/ujoint/uj.html