Leak at u joint boot?

[Justin B.]

No, mileage was quite low at about 50k miles.  It seems these transmissions can barf bearings at will.  Some go well over 100k without any issues and some croak well before mine.  

When I bought the bike the lube was nice and clean on the first change and I ran it exclusively with synthetic lube.  The plug always had just the normal "fuzz" on it and there was no water leakage into the trans.  You know the old saying, "$hit happens"...  

I might add that I did not have a complete bearing failure but the rear (output) bearing was getting very stiff and "notchy" and I could hear it clunk when I pushed the bike into the garage.  I had first suspected the U-joint...

[weasel01]

Bob, no luck the breather was free and open....still waiting on the boot.

[weasel01]

Justin does the bearing failure ruin the tranny or were you able to repair?

[Justin B.]

If you catch it early enough there is no damage, just put new bearings in.  If you push your luck sometimes bad things happen...

[weasel01]

I'll tell ya man, it has crossed my mind more than once that I'm riding a 26 year old machine that has not been treated right for the bulk of it's life
and how likely is the dreaded lockup?
Then I start having fun again and just ride on...

[Justin B.]

I believe they normally give you plenty of advanced warning before puking bits...  Mine started getting a progressively louder whine in all gears, including 5th, and I could hear a rythmic clunk when pushing it around.

[weasel01]

Well the clouds have parted and appearently my boot is due to arrive today so last night I tore down the rear end which was easier than I had imagined.
Tonight I hope to pull the tranny and service the spline.
I have grease for the spline but I am now wondering about the grease/oil
for the clutch bearing assembly.
Is it the same grease the spline gets?

[weasel01]

This lubricant choice stuff is driving me crazy.

Do the swing arm bearings get hi temp wheel bearing grease?

Can you guys recommend a good grease for the wheel bearings?

[Justin B.]

I have used Valvoline Dura-Blend semi-synthetic with good results over the past 10 years or so.  I use it on the steering head and wheel bearings and I suppose it would be fine for swingarm as well but my grease-gun has something else in it.

About t he only "special" requirement concerning the various greases used are those used on splines.  The rear wheel splines and transmission input shaft splines should use a moly fortified grease due to the sliding/rubbing action going on between mating parts.

Oh, the clutch throwout bearing assembly gets a few drops of the same gear lube you put in the tranny.

[nhmaf]

And, thanks to help from Justin, I have a "clutch repair and spline lube" article in the wiki (under repair section) which will also give you info and pics on how to take out the transmission and lube the splines and replace the clutch (which you don't need to do).   It isn't finished (I'm up to the point of putting the transmission back in, and decided to not just cop out and say "Re-assembly is simple the reverse of the disassembly process"..  though we'll see how it goes.

Comments/feedback invited to improve the quality of the article.

As to grease/lubricants, I do use hi temp wheel bearing grease on the wheel bearings.  Regular general purpose quality grease for swingarm and steering head bearings.   Put gearbox oil on the throwout bearing/piston in the clutch actuator/throwout assembly, and use noly-based, sticky grease on the transmission input splines, the very tip of the pushrod (see the article), and also on the final drive splines that fit into the rear wheel hub.    I still use dino-oil in my engine (10W-40) and gearbox/driveshaft/final drive (Hypoid 80W-90) cause I'm on a budget, and it works fine if you change it once a year or so.

[weasel01]

Thanks Gents, the wiki article really helped me out!

I got it all torn down and feel like I have about a ten thousand degree increase in understanding this machine.

having said that now that I have it apart I dont really know what I'm looking for?

The inside where the clutch is has a thin layer of thick almost dry black greasy road grime likestuff but I dont see any fresh oil trail or anything?


Is this normal or bad seals?

[nhmaf]

The clutch bell housing can be rather a "catchall" for rust, dust, grime, grease, clutch particles, etc.    Just clean it out carefully, paying attention to the bottom "shelf" and see if you notice any "trails" of engine oil from from  "up and behind" the flywheel - maybe let the cleaned out area sit for a day or so to see if anything decides to "creep out" from behind there and show itself.   You may not have an oil leak from the front, or perhaps only a very slow/slight one - but usually these things either leak noticeable or not at all - in my limited experience.  Also examine the front of the transmission to see if there is evidence of of gearbox oil leaking from the seal around the input shaft - this is also sometimes a source of oil in the bell housing area, though more often it is the rear main seal or oil pump cover.  

Take some pics of before and after your cleaning and post here if you want an opinion - when I first took my transmission off, the entire inside of the bell housing was coated in grime and teeny tiney metal shavings from the damaged splines.   A bit of flung off grease from the shaft splines makes a good "adhesive" for what is normally a very dusty/grimey area.

[weasel01]

Thanks for the guidance Nhmaf, I cleaned it up somewhat last night to check for fresh oil today.
My plan was to do the most needed repairs now ride it for the summer and then do a big tear down as a winter project.....
But maybe I'm doing it now?
Oh well off to the garage for a leak check.
I'll report back later.

[weasel01]

OK, I went out to the garage for a look and dont see any fresh oil trails.
The I cleaned off the shelf area last night and the front of the tranny and I see no evidence of any oil at all they are both dry.

I think I will let it sit there all day and if it's still dry when I get home I think I'll go ahead with the spline lube process re assemble and keep an eye on it while collecting up the tools that I dont have and the parts that will be .

Maybe tear it back down in a month or 2 if there is a noticable leak.

The good news is the splines look good and I dont see any shiney bits
in the housing.

Is this a reasonable aproach or should I just bight the bullet and tear it on down?

[Justin B.]

If it's not broke don't fix it...