Leak Question

[mastan]

Hi All:
Lately I've noticed grease/oil accumulating on the left side of my rear wheel. I checked the middle and rear drive levels and they are fine. The bottom of the drive shaft cover where it joins the final drive is covered in grease. Is there some kind of gasket at this union that could be defective? Clymers says to take the unit to your favorite dealer should there be any sign of a leak. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Mark Stanton
78xs11e

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there Mark,

You're large O-ring inside the rear drive unit may be starting to loose it's seal, allowing a bit of the heavy oil out, to get sprayed onto your wheel. I've got some evidence of oil at that same driveshaft to swingarm junction, but it's extremely very little! It's a bit of a job to replace that 0-ring, so some folks just wipe the wheel clean, and monitor their rear drive levels, as long as you're not loosing much at all, and the spray on your wheel is minimal, not enough to start getting onto the actual rubber and causing handling problems, then you might just want to "monitor" it, like a car with a minor oil leak, easier to add a little oil vs. tearing down the whole motor!
T.C.

[ratbyk]

Grease on Wheel

Mark, get a little of the grease from the rear wheel on your finger and smell it. If it smells like hypoid gear oil than it is coming from the rear end. Keep an eye on the fluid level in the rear end.
If it smells like grease, it will be coming from the drive from the rear end to rear wheel hub. This is not critical unless things run dry. Have you had the rear tire replaced at a shop? The mechanic may have given this area a good smear of grease while re-installing the wheel.
I replaced the rear tire on the Ratbyk last week. I gave this area a smear of grease. I also dropped the rear end down from the drive shaft and greased the drive-shaft splines with moly grease. I do this ever time I replace the rear tire. (once a year for the last three) Usually get about 17-18,000 km out of a rear tire.
Ken/Sooke
78E Ratbyk
82 FT500 "lilRat"