Final drive survives for another day

[b_wdogs]

Thanks to all on this forum concerning K1200LT final drive issues. Because of my heightened awareness I asked my local dealer to change the final drive oil while my bike was in for repair of my PIAA lights. When I picked up my bike they said that the oil was milky white and contaminated with water. I asked the service rep did you explore the reason??? Their response was that I must have caused it by pressure washing...which I don't. Took the bike home but had to bring it back for a replacement of the PIAA switch. On the second trip I asked that they check the gear oil again...milky white. I had only been to home and back to the shop. Further inspection by the shop indicated that the seal had failed. My 2005 is still under warranty so the contaminated fail drive was thoroughly cleaned out and the seal replaced. One day later I rode the Colorado Freewheelers 1000-in-24 and the final drive survived to ride again.

[bibleman]

Time for a new dealer?

[messenger13]

Time for a new dealer?My! ... That seems a bit harsh to me. As long as he has good documentation, he should be well-covered should future issues occur.

[bibleman]

My! ... That seems a bit harsh to me. As long as he has good documentation, he should be well-covered should future issues occur.

My reply wasn't due to concerns about Warranty Claim, but based on the seemingly shoddy troubleshooting skills the service department showed.

Final Drive issues are certainly not unusual with these bikes, and the milky white oil should have been a big red flag.

"Their response was that I must have caused it by pressure washing..." Pathetic reasoning. A presumption of that on their part should have prompted a question to the customer, not a declaration that they knew the solution.

Should have been caught on the first go round.

[messenger13]

Should have been caught on the first go round.Yes, it "should" have. But I guess I have more than a "One strike and you're OUT" rule. I sure hope people don't hold you to that standard. It's a tough one to uphold. Although I try to perfect, I've been known to screw up once or twice a year. :rolleyes:

[cfell]

There was one perfect man... we nailed Him to a tree.

[was]

Thanks to all on this forum concerning K1200LT final drive issues. Because of my heightened awareness I asked my local dealer to change the final drive oil while my bike was in for repair of my PIAA lights. When I picked up my bike they said that the oil was milky white and contaminated with water. I asked the service rep did you explore the reason??? Their response was that I must have caused it by pressure washing...which I don't. Took the bike home but had to bring it back for a replacement of the PIAA switch. On the second trip I asked that they check the gear oil again...milky white. I had only been to home and back to the shop. Further inspection by the shop indicated that the seal had failed. My 2005 is still under warranty so the contaminated fail drive was thoroughly cleaned out and the seal replaced. One day later I rode the Colorado Freewheelers 1000-in-24 and the final drive survived to ride again.

Whatever people want to think about the dealer, kudos to you for making the initial inspection of the fluid happen, for not accepting the diagnosis, for following up a second time, and for getting the problem diagnosed properly and fixed the right way. And for riding the 1000/24. Well done.

[cccpastorjack]

What I don't understand is...if you just rode it home and back to the shop, AND it didn't get wet at all during that time...why did it turn milky white the second time? I'm just asking, because that means that contamination had to be coming from somewhere....WHERE? WHY??? Maybe not just because of a failed seal.... :confused:

I would be VERY suspect of that rear drive... Would have been nice to have an analysis of the "milky" gear oil to see if there was any metal in it. My belief is that some of these drives can run quite a while in fairly poor shape, then when the race becomes too scored...the drive fails. I would certainly check it for any "milkiness" and have an analysis done AFTER that 1000 miles.

[JPSpen]

Posted by Channing.

There was one perfect man... we nailed Him to a tree.

Too funny. Took me a minute to get that one.. Wasn't it a cross ? At first I thought you were talking about Joe.:histerica

Since Joe won't be at CCR. We need one of those lifesize cardboard cutout pictures of him.:rotf: Oh the pictures... Oh the shame....Reminds me of a Joe Diffey song, "Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox When I Die" We'll prop him up beside the bandstand and everyone can have their picture made with him.


Second time the drive was still contaminated with the bad oil.. They probably didn't flush it out..Hence the new oil was emulsified

The seal replacement probably got the drive flushed as well.

I'd be checking it out again to be sure.. Just cause i'm paranoid about that kind of stuff.

A couple ounces of gear oil is little price to pay for peace of mind.

Good Luck

John

[PhantomK12LT]

The milky white oil could be a result of foaming or frothing of the oil, caused by some kind of internal defect of some sort. Just my opinion.

[bigbear]

Once water has entered the final drive it will take at least one or two changes to completely remove ALL of the residual moisture. Had this problem on my 85 K and it took three changes. In my case it was a bad seal on the speedo pick-up.

Roy