Oil leaks on 1982 R65

[Sava66]

Thanks for all the advice. If I go to Siebenrock or BMW and tell them "I need some crush washers for changing the oil in my driveshaft and gearbox", i hope they know what I mean.

[nhmaf]

They've been in the airhead motorcycle parts business for over 35 years - if the people you talk to don't know, they are either too ignorant to work there, or, well, you get the picture..   when you use the term "gearbox", they (and we) assume you are talking about the transmission, not the final drive (sometime called a cardan drive by some European and Aussie types)

[Ed Miller]

The term "transmission" can get confusing, as on my Triumph that refers to the clutch and primary chain area, not the gear box.  Of course it has no final drive.

[Sava66]

Took a look at the leak again.  It looks like the oil is leaking from this number 7, that rubber grommet in the picture. I assume that it will still require dismantling the barrel. What is the point of this grommet and the "protection tube"? I don't see a gasket or o-ring in this picture that could be broken. Also, would it make sense that it would drip more when the bike isn't warmed up? sometimes it doesn't drip at all, sometimes it's a pretty wet spot.

[Bob_Roller]

The pushrod that moves the valves lives inside the tube .

Oil is returned to the oil sump after it lubricates the valve train area, via the push rod tube .

The seal at the bottom seals the oil from the push rod tube from leaking out before it gets to the engine case .

[Sava66]

bob, does that seal show up in any of the diagrams? Is there a part number that you know of?

[Bob_Roller]

Part number 7 is the seal, even though BMW calls it a grommet .

[montmil]

Should you choose to replace the push rod tube seals, suggest you first read and fully comprehend Snowbum's DIY article. Lots of transferable knowledge for those wanting to do the job properly and only once. There are small oil passages involved that feed lubricant to the valve train. Just the tiniest excess of YamaBond can seal off the oil passages creating potentially disastrous results.

You will definitely need a torque wrench for this job.

[nhmaf]

.. And, in case you are interested - Rob Valdez is just posted up a "for sale" list of these seals and all the other associated bits for replacing them and the other seals/gaskets in the cylinder assembly (not including valve cover gaskets, but chances are you won't need to replace those).   I just bought all this stuff in preparation for doing this job on one of my bikes, and it is indeed $75 worth of parts from a dealer.

[Sava66]

it's frustrating because he told me the push rods were replaced recently, so i assume that the seals were replaced too. i'll look at rob's article. thanks.

[montmil]

it's frustrating because he told me the push rods were replaced recently, so i assume that the seals were replaced too...

Push rods can be replaced easily by simply loosening the rocker arms. It's not necessary to remove the head, jug nor push rod tubes. If indeed you mean push rods and not the tubes themselves.

[nhmaf]

The PO of the R100/7 that I bought a year ago told me that MAX BMW had done a full "front to back" service on the bike the previous year.    I think that just meant that they put new tires on it, because there is NO way that MAX's service department would have replaced the seals and had them leak like they do, or put the valve covers on backward, or any of a myriad of other things (including having the valve clearance adjusted incorrectly on one side) I found wrong on the bike.

Unless you PERSONALLY know the PO, it is always best to take things with a grain of salt to start off - sometimes, alot of salt...