@002 Crown Bearing

[Hoop]

I have a 2002 LT and have been told that the rear wheel bearing is suspect and should be changed. The new replacement bearing is supposed to have 17 ball bearings versus the original with 19. I went to the local dealer and found he only had rear crown bearings with 19 balls. Anyone familiar with this problem and has BMW come up with a solution?

[murray]

Hoop,, Do a search, read and then fire away with questions.

[mtrevelino]

Basically:
19 was the original in all bikes
17 was a temporary replacement due to bmw supplier issues.
19 is the available replacement.

As others may chime in, I would replace the complete final drive, you will be less likely to have to replace your new bearing in the near future. There is nothing like a factory installed assembly!

[hoog62]

There is nothing like a factory installed assembly!

Ain't that what it came with?




Hoop-
The sky IS falling, they will all blow up eventually. This is a fact and if you don't believe it you're a fool. Don't stray too far away from the house or your dealer unless you are in pretty good walking shape. BMW doesn't care about your bad luck.

<Truth lies here, your guess is as good as mine>

There is NO final drive problem, just a bunch of overreacting internet geeks. I know this because it hasn't happened to me. BMW makes the finest bikes on the planet, and any failures must be the fault of the unworthy posers looking for status above their station in life.

[cccpastorjack]

Hoop,

Welcome to the group. As an LT owner (2001 model) who experienced a final drive failure, here is my 2 cents for dealing with your dilemna:

If I were going to keep the LT and the drive was in process of failing, I would certainly replace the entire drive. I found a used one in great shape for $375. and it worked fine until I traded the bike. (cyclesrecycled.com) An entirely new one is around $800. By the way, the one that failed on me was a 17 BALL bearing :eek: So much for it being a better design. :(

Now, (and I'm preparing for an all "stoning" here), all the problems with my particular LT was the reason I traded to a K1200GT. As per my personal experience, numerous failures caused me to have a lack of confidence in the bike's dependability on long trips, hence I traded. Still LOVED the LT, but dependability was definately lacking. Greatest thing about the bike was that it introduced me to the people on this site and the bigger world of BMW. :D

Many others have ridden over 100k and more on LT's with no major problems. They have a different story to tell. After trading, I simply LOVE having a bike I can just go get on and RIDE without having to constantly repair something (or worry about it breaking). After all, that's what I bought a bike for in the first place -- to RIDE!

Replace that drive and ride like the wind!

[Hoop]

Thanks to all of you for your input. If the current replacement is a 19 bearing model I will get that. I was just worried that they might be offering me old stock with the same potential problems of my current bearing. I was told to look for a 17 ball bearing.
Thanks again

[info]

How many miles hoop? :mad:

[JPSpen]

Don't worry about it untill / unless it actually fails. There are many of us who have never experienced drive failure.


I'm starting to believe like many others that it's an assembly problem. So if your drive wasn't made on a Monday or a Friday it'll probably last a long time.:rolleyes:

Just ride it till it breaks then fix it.


Good Luck

John

[petepeterson]

I have a 2002 LT and have been told that the rear wheel bearing is suspect and should be changed. The new replacement bearing is supposed to have 17 ball bearings versus the original with 19. I went to the local dealer and found he only had rear crown bearings with 19 balls. Anyone familiar with this problem and has BMW come up with a solution?


Okay, who told you your rear drive bearing is suspect?? And what does suspect mean??
Is it making noise like growling or is it loosing oil, or maybe you have some lateral movement when on the center stand??

If you are not having any problems with it, just keep the fluid clean and ride the bike!!!!!!!!!

There is WAY to much paranoia on this forum about FD failing, in reality there are not that many.... You have an 8 model year old bike that is bound to break sometime........ There is very little you can do to prevent the slight chance your FD will fail.....
Just ride the bike and you will survive.....................Pete

[wilbar00c]

By the way, the one that failed on me was a 17 BALL bearing. So much for it being a better design.

!

Jack

Did you ever photograph the failed 17 ball SKF( made if France) bearing. Your gear oil leak photos (Jul 14th post) indicated a retainer failure had wiped out the seal. Also when was the 17 ball installed. You looked at a 39K 03 LT in Jul 06, but must have bought the 01 instead. But, whatever, the bearing failed at 47K, installed by the factory when the bike was built in 01 or 03?

Thanks for your many detailed photos in past posts. I'm sure many of us have learned a lot from them.

I'm interested as I installed a 17 ball SKF with the stronger retainer, myself, 16K miles ago, and your failure is the first, that some one on this site saw with their own eyes!!

Thanks, Barnett