Shaft Drive Shafted!!

[Drbarson]

hi peoples,
just bought myself a immuaculate 83 gs1100g ... into my second week of ownership and it has gone a bit pear shaped. During its maiden voyage somewhere along the way its rear end cried enough...
I have oil ( lots ) splated all over rear tire / rim /hud that appears to be comming from where the rim joins the hub. Plus, at the front where the shaft joins into the gearbox? the remainig oil seams to have exploded out from somewhere behind that rubber boot. It was a steady ride no big revs or high speeds, I just pulled over after doing about 200 kays to stop for lunch and noticed pools of oil comming from that rubber seal and the rim and tire completely covered.
any help, suggestions and diagnostics would be appreciated

[tkent02]

Did you recently change the gear oil? If they are overfilled, oil comes out those two places.

[Richsuz]

Is it gear oil leaking or engine oil. I had the same while traveling in Mex. Turned out to be engine oil. There is a seal where the transmission meets the shaft that went bad on mine.

[Dogma]

First, that sucks.

Second, it sounds like the output shaft from the secondary gearbox failed pretty catastrophically. I've never heard of one going like that, but they do fail. Someone here with more experience can tell you about that and what it takes for fix it. What worries me is that the PO probably knew about it, and nobody knows for sure for how long those gears and bearings have been under-lubed. When they fail, the rear end can lock up. Disassembly and inspection might be in order. Something to consider. Edit: They post faster than me too.

Third, the '82-83 shafties have a well documented weakness elsewhere. The final drive spline wears out somewhere before about 40,000 miles. The new parts are a permanent replacement. Please look into this too while dealing with the leak.

Get these things sorted out, and all you should ever have to do the the shaft drive is change the oil.

[Drbarson]

Thanks guys..
the oil thats sprayed out towards the end of the hub has some red in it....??
and the oil comming from beneath the rubber boot is alot darker ( grey black).
bike did not lock up... though after initial flow of oil comming from boot it did stop.. i presumed at this stage it ran out of oil...

[tkent02]

though after initial flow of oil comming from boot it did stop.. i presumed at this stage it ran out of oil...

Don't presume anything, check the oil quantity. Like I said earlier, if it's too full oil will come out, in the locations you mentioned, all over the wheel, and under the transmission. When enough comes out, it stops overflowing. This is normal, and is how they work when they are overfilled, oil is coming out the vent... I got an 850 damn near free because it had a lot of "oil leaks", the guy couldn't afford to have it fixed so he sold it to me for a song. The gear oil was overfilled in both places. I put the correct amount of oil in, it has not leaked a drop since.

[Drbarson]

Alrighty..will check the level tomorow, keep you ...posted
Thankyou peoples

[tom203]

Thanks guys..
the oil thats sprayed out towards the end of the hub has some red in it....??
and the oil comming from beneath the rubber boot is alot darker ( grey black).
bike did not lock up... though after initial flow of oil comming from boot it did stop.. i presumed at this stage it ran out of oil...

Red could mean someone put ATF in it- too thin and would leak easily especially if overfilled!

[Drbarson]

ok... drained the oil from the hub, approx 1/4 of a cup of oil came out!.. this sounds like bugger all...how much oil is meant to be in the shaft set up... remember 83 gs1100g...???????????

[Graham]

ok... drained the oil from the hub, approx 1/4 of a cup of oil came out!.. this sounds like bugger all...how much oil is meant to be in the shaft set up... remember 83 gs1100g...???????????

9.5 to 11.2 US oz (SAE90)

[Drbarson]

ok... changed oil in hub and topped up engine oil and taken for a 15 min ride.
no more oil is spitting out from the hub, though large amounts of oil is still comming out from beneath that rubber boot. at a stop at traffic lights i get a pool (yes) of oil beneath my bike...it drips pretty constant when running.
????
And thanks again for all the advice and suggestions

[kochic]

check the seal on the output shaft on the engine.
Maybe the guy put the same oil in the secondary drive that he put in the final drive.I bought a 1000gl this spring and the motor was leaking oil in that area, it was overfilled and no crush washer on the fill and level bolt.
Marc

[LarryA_Texas]

A service manual would be in order. There is a specific process to fill the secondary drive and the final drive with 90 wt gear oil. This is not the same as engine oil. The secondary drive is where the drive shaft connects to the engine. When servicing you remove a small bolt on the side of the engine. When it's properly filled the oil will leak out of that bolt hole. Since you have similar leaks in both places I'd guess Tom is right and it's been overfilled at both the secondary drive and the final drive. This could be a very easy fix. Try to drain and service it properly and see what happens.

[Richsuz]

I am curious. I see no specs for secondary drive oil on the GS650GLD. Is my bike different to the 1000GL in this respect? When I was loosing oil out of the Secondary drive seal, It was engine oil coming out of the transmission. Or, am I wrong and I should be looking for an independent secondary drive oil deposit? I looked all over the service manual already. thanks

[Drbarson]

ok.. previous owner says at no stage has he topped up the oil.
looking underneath with head light shows a inch long crack through the drive shaft boot, this is where the oil is comming from, (large amounts)
question is,does the oil that i put into the final gear case/hub, lubricate up near the drive shaft boot area..?
this is starting to sound like what dogma was saying.....??????