R1200GSw LC Wethead Final Drive change and Spline Lube Pictorial!

Same thing?

Is this the same as: "Oil change in rear bevel gears", as described in the scheduled maintenance doc?

Jim,
Thanks for posting, clear, concise. Great information.

Great description!!! I do this on my GSA after any trip with water crossings. Quick and easy to make sure everything is dry and lubed.

I have sprayed a little anti-corrosion inside too.

I have also done this to my K1300 a couple of times to just make sure.

For the Purist...

Per the BMW OEM Repair Manual the bolts for the "paralever link" are noted with "Replace screws" meaning they are one time use

The replacements come with a thread locker preinstalled per RealOEM.com

The RepRom also calls for a sealant around the boot to help seal the boot. BMW calls for Staburags NBU 30 PTM.

I use a marine white grease that so far has shown to be hard to wash off and kind of sticks the boot to the mating drive/swing arm surfaces.

Deryle & Wanda Mehrten
Sierra Vista, AZ USA

jimvonbaden said:

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...

Why isn't the drive shaft pulled so the front splines can be serviced? I thought you said the front end is the end w/ most risk for retained water?

Seems to me these parts should have been made of stainless unless stainless is too soft which I guess it would be for this role.

kevinsclo said:

Is this the same as: "Oil change in rear bevel gears", as described in the scheduled maintenance doc?

View attachment 64699

Click to expand...

NOT the same thing. this just refers to changing out the oil. I specifically asked my BMW repair guy about the 12k service and he said they changed the FD oil. i asked if he dropped the FD to check the u-joint and he said no.

This past weekend I dropped my FD to check out my shaft and found more rust than I hoped to see. my bike has only 12k miles, but is almost 5 years old (early 2013 build date). Idk what the PO did, but I have ridden through some low water and dropped it mid-stream once.

One other thing i was not pleased to find was the rubber boot was incorrectly installed and the lip that went inside the swingarm was not inside the swingarm, but rather crushed against the lip, so it was not sealed. this gap was on the wheel (inboard) side, so although i had checked for gaps on the outboard side, i could not get to this part of the boot without taking off the rear wheel (which I never did).

I'll post a pic. once I figure out how (and I get my photobucket account sorted out).

Dale

ncpbmw1953 said:

Why isn't the drive shaft pulled so the front splines can be serviced? I thought you said the front end is the end w/ most risk for retained water?

Seems to me these parts should have been made of stainless unless stainless is too soft which I guess it would be for this role.

Click to expand...

The lower shaft end is the one most at risk. It can be flooded with water and sit wet for long periods if the boot is bad. The lower one (rear) is most at risk because it slides. The upper spline does not move as it is held in place by a circlip. It also will not sit in water.

SS is not a suitable metal for this application, but whatever they are using is a rust magnet.

Jim

jimvonbaden said:

The lower shaft end is the one most at risk. It can be flooded with water and sit wet for long periods if the boot is bad. The lower one (rear) is most at risk because it slides. The upper spline does not move as it is held in place by a circlip. It also will not sit in water.

SS is not a suitable metal for this application, but whatever they are using is a rust magnet.

Jim

Click to expand...

Thank you Sir!

I found the LC bikes are so easy to change the final drive oil, I’ve taken to changing at each oil change, first couple changes old oil was pretty black, this last time at 12k drained clear. I have the dimple magnetic plug at 12k it was clean