R1200GSw LC Wethead Final Drive change and Spline Lube Pictorial!

While not part of the BMW Service Schedule, it is a good idea to do this at the 6 or 12 K service. This is especially true if you do a lot of deep water crossings, ride in the rain often, or just put on a lot of miles. There have been cases of corrosion in the FD on several bikes, though not a large number by percentage, and even a failure of the FD splines on one bike due to corrosion. So, with that in mind, I decided to check a 14K mile and 6K mile GSw today. Here are the results, and general how-to:

Pull the fender and wheel.



Then remove the speed sensor and the brake caliper:





Then hang the caliper out of the way:



Next remove the drain and fill plugs:

<img src="http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b238/JimVonBaden2000/JVB%20Productions/2015%20R1200GS/6K%20service/6K%20service%203-11-16%2019%20copy.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 6K service 3-11-16 19 copy.jpg"/>


Then pull the bolt holding the Paralink bolt to the final drive:



Be prepared for it to drop down as you pull the bolt. Sometimes it doesn't and you will have to pull the final drive down. Make sure you have a cookie sheet or tray below the FD. You want no more than 1" deep for a tray. No worries about the amount of fluid, it will be fine.



Now you can see the condition of the splines, and the area inside the final drive. Both bikes looked exactly like this, and the 14K mile bike had a lot of off roading, presumably with water crossings. If you find oil in the swingarm, look up inside and see if there is an oil trail. If so, it will be the transmission output seal. If not, look at the dropped final drive for wet oil indicating a leaking final drive input seal.

Time to lube the spline, even if they have lube. Use a Moly based lube like I did:





No need to go nuts, a thin layer is fine.

(continued)

Once done, the fun part begins. You need to install the gaiter and mate the final drive to the driveshaft. There are two tricks to it. First, install a soft wire into the driveshaft U-joint like this to hold it in position:



Second, leave off the gator and fit the final drive. You will see it can be tricky. Use the big final drive hole to rotate the final drive to mate the splines. I hold the FD through the hole and rotate it like to mate the. Once mated, gently drop it down allowing the final drive hole to rotate back. Install the gator on the FD side in the clips, then lift it back up. It may take a few tries.



Once you get them to mate, install the Paralever bolt to hold it in place.

Once in place, press the gator clips into the swingarm and make sure it fits correctly. It is pretty obvious:



Once that is in place, install the paralever bolt all the way, then the final drive drain, then the speed sensor and brake caliper:






Then pop in 180ml of final drive gear oil.




Reinstall the wheel:


Install the fender, if you have one (3Nm with medium strength loctite) and you are done.

Jim

Thanks again Jim

Looks like we need a DIY area here like in Hex/Camheads. I'll see if we can get that going...seems you had one or two DIY's prior as well

henzilla said:

Thanks again Jim

Looks like we need a DIY area here like in Hex/Camheads. I'll see if we can get that going...seems you had one or two DIY's prior as well

Click to expand...

+1... its been asked for earlier but seems to be some reluctance???

henzilla said:

Thanks again Jim

Looks like we need a DIY area here like in Hex/Camheads. I'll see if we can get that going...seems you had one or two DIY's prior as well

Click to expand...

My pleasure.

I have three YouTube videos for the Wethead. Bodywork removal and installation for the GS, GSA and RT.

Jim

gene36542 said:

+1... its been asked for earlier but seems to be some reluctance???

Click to expand...

I don't recall a pushback...will see what we can get done. We just don't have a lot of contributors as in years past.

henzilla said:

Thanks again Jim

Looks like we need a DIY area here like in Hex/Camheads. I'll see if we can get that going...seems you had one or two DIY's prior as well

Click to expand...

gene36542 said:

+1... its been asked for earlier but seems to be some reluctance???

Click to expand...

With going on 12K views, the The Wethead Accessories and Mods "sticky" has been pretty popular.

jimvonbaden said:

My pleasure.

I have three YouTube videos for the Wethead. Bodywork removal and installation for the GS, GSA and RT.

Jim

Click to expand...

As always, Thanks Jim

This will be added to the sticky as well.

your garage is still too clean

Gary

Great clear instructions. BUT - at the risk of raining on your parade - you've performed some work which was evidently unnecessary and has the potential to cause problems. Anytime you disturb seals there's a risk of causing leaks that weren't there before. Obviously your choice, but it's something to consider.

jamesevans said:

Great clear instructions. BUT - at the risk of raining on your parade - you've performed some work which was evidently unnecessary and has the potential to cause problems. Anytime you disturb seals there's a risk of causing leaks that weren't there before. Obviously your choice, but it's something to consider.

Click to expand...

Sooner or later maintenance will be needed- This DIY from Jim is a great resource for those who like to do maintenance on their own.
ASCycles is a great resource for maintenance intervals- https://www.ascycles.com/pdf/ServiceSchedules/R1200GS K50 12000 Mile Service.pdf

OM

Omega Man said:

Sooner or later maintenance will be needed- This DIY from Jim is a great resource for those who like to do maintenance on their own.
ASCycles is a great resource for maintenance intervals- https://www.ascycles.com/pdf/ServiceSchedules/R1200GS K50 12000 Mile Service.pdf

OM

Click to expand...

Link no longer opens??

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garesnare said:

Link no longer opens??

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Service schedules are also available on my web site.

Jim

garesnare said:

Link no longer opens??

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Link opens off your quote
Have a try on another computer and see watcha get.
Jim's link- http://jimvonbaden.com
OM

Sorry, here is a more direct link to the service schedule, tool lists, torque values for all modern R-series bikes.

http://www.jvbproductions.com/Links.html

Jim

jimvonbaden said:

While not part of the BMW Service Schedule. There have been cases of corrosion in the FD on several bikes, though not a large number by percentage, and even a failure of the FD splines on one bike due to corrosion.

Click to expand...

That is nice of you to supply this for DIYers. I ride in rain rarely, as in about 4x in 25K miles, don't ride thru water, and have a '16 RTLC. I'm very curious about two things in your comment above: when you mention failure of splines due to corrosion, was that an LC model? Why do you think BMW does not include this as part of scheduled service? I'm guessing prevalence must be exceedingly low percentage-wise else it seems they would add this service as something to help them undo the 'BMW's still have FD issues!' notoriety, plus they could then charge another $100 as a service item every 12K miles or what have you. Also, what exactly 'seals' the boot so water cannot leak inside? I think it would only be worth doing if at the same time you could also check the front u-joint that way you could checking arguably the most vulnerable two components, both u-joints and both splines. What extra steps to pull the shaft out?

Ahh, one last question: did you find once you cracked the bevel gear drain bolt it was fairly hard to twist out, i.e., unlike the crankcase drain bolt which you can easily twist out with fingers alone?

ncpbmw1953 said:

That is nice of you to supply this for DIYers. I ride in rain rarely, as in about 4x in 25K miles, don't ride thru water, and have a '16 RTLC. I'm very curious about two things in your comment above: when you mention failure of splines due to corrosion, was that an LC model? Why do you think BMW does not include this as part of scheduled service? I'm guessing prevalence must be exceedingly low percentage-wise else it seems they would add this service as something to help them undo the 'BMW's still have FD issues!' notoriety, plus they could then charge another $100 as a service item every 12K miles or what have you. Also, what exactly 'seals' the boot so water cannot leak inside? I think it would only be worth doing if at the same time you could also check the front u-joint that way you could checking arguably the most vulnerable two components, both u-joints and both splines. What extra steps to pull the shaft out?

Ahh, one last question: did you find once you cracked the bevel gear drain bolt it was fairly hard to twist out, i.e., unlike the crankcase drain bolt which you can easily twist out with fingers alone?

Click to expand...

In my experience, the RT doesn't generally has as much of an issue, probably due to a less extreme angel of the swingarm.

The corrosion issue comes when water pools in the boot, which seals well on the final drive end, but not well on the swingarm end. The water gets in, but cant get out. The rust grows and causes the splines to grind against each other until they fail. This is not a common issue, but common enough to be worth checking periodically. I recommend the 6K service, then every 12-24K depending on the amount of riding in rain, water crossings, and exposure to water. High pressur washing can cause water to get in as well.

Here are a couple of examples of rust on the splines.







Typically the FD drain bolt will be firm until the O-ring is exposed, then it will turn out easily.

Thanks,

Jim

jimvonbaden said:

In my experience, the RT doesn't generally has as much of an issue, probably due to a less extreme angel of the swingarm.

The corrosion issue comes when water pools in the boot, which seals well on the final drive end, but not well on the swingarm end. The water gets in, but cant get out.

Typically the FS drain bolt will be firm until the O-ring is exposed, then it will turn out easily.

Thanks,

Jim

Click to expand...

Interesting. Are any/all of those images from LC models? If water can't get out is there a prevention fix by putting a one-way port on the most dependent part of the housing so that water could drip out?

It appears something happened to my drain bolt or more like the female threads in the housing because it's surprising tight on the way out and on the way back in again. The local shop did the 12K service and the first time I did it myself was at 24K, and it was tight but consistently tight except for the first turn or so on the way out which once cracked was real easy to turn then suddenly became harder to turn. No way I could do it without a short handled ratchet. I tend to think it was over torqued either at the factory or by the shop causing all threads to move every so slightly but not shear them outright. This could explain two things: that it's uniformly hard to turn, i.e., unlike a cross-thread where you might have some variation in friction as you turn the bolt. And also that it's the same from both directions, both turning out then reinserting and turning back in.

All of them are of the R1200GS/A LC models.

There will be some friction both going in and coming out, but it should not be too much. It is just the O-ring stiction. A ratchet should not be needed, I can do it with just a socket and an extension once broken loose.

Jim

Omega Man said:

Link opens off your quote
Have a try on another computer and see watcha get.
Jim's link- http://jimvonbaden.com
OM

Click to expand...

Much better link thx[emoji3]


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

jimvonbaden said:

Once done, the fun part begins. You need to install the gaiter and mate the final drive to the driveshaft. There are two tricks to it. First, install a soft wire into the driveshaft U-joint like this to hold it in position:

Second, leave off the gator and fit the final drive. You will see it can be tricky. Use the big final drive hole to rotate the final drive to mate the splines. I hold the FD through the hole and rotate it like to mate the. Once mated, gently drop it down allowing the final drive hole to rotate back. Install the gator on the FD side in the clips, then lift it back up. It may take a few tries.

Once you get them to mate, install the Paralever bolt to hold it in place.

Once in place, press the gator clips into the swingarm and make sure it fits correctly. It is pretty obvious:

Once that is in place, install the paralever bolt all the way, then the final drive drain, then the speed sensor and brake caliper:

Then pop in 180ml of final drive gear oil.

Reinstall the wheel:

Install the fender, if you have one (3Nm with medium strength loctite) and you are done.

Jim

Click to expand...

Excellent post thanks so much.

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

jimvonbaden said:

In my experience, the RT doesn't generally has as much of an issue, probably due to a less extreme angel of the swingarm.

The corrosion issue comes when water pools in the boot, which seals well on the final drive end, but not well on the swingarm end. The water gets in, but cant get out. The rust grows and causes the splines to grind against each other until they fail. This is not a common issue, but common enough to be worth checking periodically. I recommend the 6K service, then every 12-24K depending on the amount of riding in rain, water crossings, and exposure to water. High pressur washing can cause water to get in as well.

Here are a couple of examples of rust on the splines.

Typically the FD drain bolt will be firm until the O-ring is exposed, then it will turn out easily.

Thanks,

Jim

Click to expand...

Man that's hideous.