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Clutch Replacement Experience/Advise

bicyclenut

bicyclenut

Member
Pretty deep into replacing the clutch on my 2010 R1200RT with 95K miles. Need to remove swingarm, rear frame and trans to get to the clutch assembly. Now that I am into it this far I am questioning why I didn't go ahead and order a rear main seal and compensating shaft seal since I will be in this far and has 95K miles. Some suggest just go ahead and replace it and others say if no signs of leaking or damage, just leave it alone. At this point it may have an answer if I get in there and see leaking, but if not, trying to decide if I try and complete this weekend as planned or wait for parts and finish next week or weekend. Anyone have any experience or personal recommendations? I'd prefer not to take all this apart again, but in my background of auto repairs we don't always proactively replace parts if not needed or no signs of failure, except for some parts or at customer's option.

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Well, if you find either seal leaking once you’re in there your decision will be made. I will only comment on the rear seal, and note that a lot of the reputation on rear main seals stemmed from two series of bikes: the airheads and the brick-k bikes. BMW went through several iterations of rear main seal before settling on the Teflon-lipped seals that have proven quite reliable.

But along the way, some iterations were better than others and all of them were subject to incorrect or sloppy installation work (improper seating depths, unnecessary soaking of seals in oil, crooked installations, etc. etc.). And, sometimes people replaced the rear main without replacing the o-ring that seals the rear spool to the crank.

On the k-bikes, oil leakage in the rear main area was all too common at 65k-75k, sometimes earlier. But the issue usually wasn’t the seal itself, it was the buna-n rubber o-ring that sealed the clutch hub from the crank. Installing a new seal and a Viton o-ring that could better withstand the heat in that area resulted in many, many trouble-free miles before needing attention.

But in both cases, the work of getting in far enough to expose the seal and surrounding area was enough work that it justified prophylactic replacement of a couple of relatively inexpensive bits. Outside of the rear main on my R1100RSL that was replaced while in warranty (and was still good at 120k when I sold the bike) I’ve not personally heard of seal failures on the newer bikes being an issue. And, I don’t think your bike uses an o-ring in that area so no worries there.

But the question remains; how much work to get in there and what’s the cost of those two seals??

Best,
DeVern
 
GTRider said:
Well, if you find either seal leaking once you’re in there your decision will be made. I will only comment on the rear seal, and note that a lot of the reputation on rear main seals stemmed from two series of bikes: the airheads and the brick-k bikes. BMW went through several iterations of rear main seal before settling on the Teflon-lipped seals that have proven quite reliable.

But along the way, some iterations were better than others and all of them were subject to incorrect or sloppy installation work (improper seating depths, unnecessary soaking of seals in oil, crooked installations, etc. etc.). And, sometimes people replaced the rear main without replacing the o-ring that seals the rear spool to the crank.

On the k-bikes, oil leakage in the rear main area was all too common at 65k-75k, sometimes earlier. But the issue usually wasn’t the seal itself, it was the buna-n rubber o-ring that sealed the clutch hub from the crank. Installing a new seal and a Viton o-ring that could better withstand the heat in that area resulted in many, many trouble-free miles before needing attention.

But in both cases, the work of getting in far enough to expose the seal and surrounding area was enough work that it justified prophylactic replacement of a couple of relatively inexpensive bits. Outside of the rear main on my R1100RSL that was replaced while in warranty (and was still good at 120k when I sold the bike) I’ve not personally heard of seal failures on the newer bikes being an issue. And, I don’t think your bike uses an o-ring in that area so no worries there.

But the question remains; how much work to get in there and what’s the cost of those two seals??

Best,
DeVern
Click to expand...

DeVern/GTRider,

Thanks for the input. I appreciate it. I think I am leaning your way in my plan. If I see signs of leakage I’ll obviously replace. If not I’m considering if it’s working and good, leave it be. Adds a bit of complexity to the job and doesn’t guarantee I’ll make it better if it’s worked for 95K. The output seal at the driveshaft looked perfect and like new and the trans side of the driveshaft was free of rust and shaft u-joints appear good. I’ve been pretty methodical with maintenance since I bought bike used and serviced splines at rear end regularly and they have been rust free and like new but I never did trans end and was glad to see that side was as good as other. Seen and heard of others with damage and rise much newer and lower miles. So far besides an cam tensioner leak everything has been reliable and problem free with engine, and drivetrain. I did fix the cam leak with an updated cam tensioner today since I had bike apart. Will get into clutch tomorrow I hope and see how things look. It’s been slightly more work with all the little things to remove and disassemble to do this job. I know it is a big one but the Haynes manual doesn’t seem to have a great check list of what to do but rather skip around book doing a lot of sub jobs to get to next and it doesn’t seem to address what and how to remove airbox. Will see how it goes from here. About 9.5 hours of work with a few issues causing problems and about an hour and half of that doing the cam tensioner.
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Recommend checking for flatness across the friction surfaces of the steel plate and housing. They sometimes wear unevenly and “dish” toward the center.
 
I would replace all rubber/soft parts/wearable items if you got that far. Its not only the milage but also the age - 12 years. It should not take much extra time to replace the rear seal. I did my 3 series rear seal 3 years ago at the time of the clutch replacement at 260k km at 13 years . It was still working alright at the time. But I spent an extra half an hour to do the seal. I am glad I did because the front one started leaking this year after another 30k. So most likely the rear would have leaked as well.
 
JamesInCA said:
Recommend checking for flatness across the friction surfaces of the steel plate and housing. They sometimes wear unevenly and “dish” toward the center.
Click to expand...

I replaced the friction disc, and the front and rear housing, purchased as a clutch kit, so I should be good.
 
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