Final Drive breather cap

[mpcluever]

I have a feeling my final drive breather cap is painted shut. Before i painted, i checked the oil level and nothing registered on the dipstick so i flushed it out and filled it up. After taking it out on the road, i have oil all over my rear wheel rim sprayed out. My guess is that since the breather is shut, the only place for the pressure to go is through the seal. My question is how do i open/replace that cap. I tried prying on it before paint to no avail and now with fresh paint on it, i don't want to start hammering on it without knowing exactly what i'm doing.

[DiverRay]

I would use a dental pick to try and poke a hole up from the bottom. You do need to clear the vent, or you will have a LOT of problems wit hthe final drive.
The vent has a metal cap that is pressed over a drilled bolt. The vent allows air to go through the bolt, then down and under the cap. You should be good once you clear around the bottom of the cap.
Ray

[mpcluever]

My friend said it should spin. If so, could i grab it with a vice grip and twist it? Can i pop it off and get a new one?

[trbig]

That cap is made of pretty thin metal and crimped onto the bolt loosely so it wiggles and moves, but doesn't come off. If you grabbed it whith some vise grips hard enough to try to get it to turn, you will probably just end up crimping it solid against the bolt.
I agree with Ray... just get a little dental pick or something similar, and scrape the paint away from the bottom side of that cap. This is one of those things that needs finesse and a little time... not a bigger hammer. Good Luck.



Tod

[xschop]

clogged

From my experience with this apparatus it is clogged with gummed-up varnish like mess from old gear oil. You can do as the others here said with the pick, but i went the extra step and drained the drive and shot the orifice with carb cleaner,let dry then refilled with new 90wt. I haven't had a problem since. On my shiny xs, I tore the cap off completely and replaced with a custom stainless steele piece....Still no problems...chop

[mpcluever]

Did I just F myself? After looking closely, it did not look painted shut. I grabbed a pliars just to see if it would move. It did! So I twisted it ... right off. Seems there's a cone with holes under there instead of a bolt with a crimped cap. Any thoughts? I'm sure a bit of JB weld would hold that cap back on. What kind of aftermarket breather could i put on that? Check out the nice oil spray all over my wheel. I think it's a bit odd that it's not evenly distributed. It's like it puked it out in bursts.

[xswilly]

to me
it doesn't look like it is coming out of the vent
i would check the seal between the hub and the final drive
the plastic guard, is probley soaked in oil
because if it came out of the vent
it would run down the side of the final drive and drip on the road
or at the very least onto your tire
but not all the way up the rim

just my 2 cents worth

[mpcluever]

yes it is coming out of the seal and not the vent. There was nothing around the vent. I was assuming the vent was blocked to force oil out of the seal like that.

[xswilly]

to verify that
take an air hose and put the nozzle into the filler hole
wrap a rag around it to seal it
and pressurize it and feel around the vent to check for air coming out

[mpcluever]

i just beat you to it. after blowing in there at full pressure and getting a face full of oil, there is air coming out the vent. question now is how do i change the oil seal? strange though, there isn't oil all over the plastic guard like i thought there would be.

[prometheus578]

. question now is how do i change the oil seal?

Easy... if you don't follow the instructions.
The leaking seal should be the thick one that surrounds the splined hub. (not the "large" O-ring that seals the back plate of the final drive)
Remove the final drive unit from the bike. (might want to drain it first) Take a screwdriver and several pointy things and puncture/pry the old seal out. (don't scratch or otherwise damage the smooth surface of the splined hub) Lube the new seal and just press it back in place. (Take something soft and flat and tap around the seal to press it in flush with the housing)