Changed The Pinion Seal Today

[lgjhn]

As I stated in other posts, I've had a slight diff pinion leak on my RS for awhile now and decided last night that today I was going to fix it. I let the diff drain overnight. I had bought a new seal awhile back (National 8181NA) and waited till the winter rainy season to do this. Got it up on the lift, jacked up the back, pulled the left side tire off, and got a light up in there and went to work. I counted the threads showing on the nut, marked everything so I could get back to the exact same point before starting. I come to the conclusion that my leak was coming from the splines, nut, washer area in the yoke, but I went ahead and changed the seal anyway. I probably could have gotten away with just re-RTVing the nut/washer.

Just an FYI: IF you have an actual seal leak, it's most likely going to run down along the bottom of the diff and then back towards the drain plug area. IF you have a spline/nut/washer leak, it's most likely gonna be a very slight leak over time like mine was and will drip off the u-bolt nuts given the way this diff is designed. I got it all back together, dumped 3/4s of a quart of 80W90 gear oil back in her and now waiting for a dry day so I can test ride it. Spinning the wheels while it was jacked up, it felt smooth and, so far, no leaks. But until I get some miles on her, I won't know for sure.

[bikerbillone]

What year RS build was it? I've not read about this problem before, probably out there, just no report here.

[lgjhn]

What year RS build was it? I've not read about this problem before, probably out there, just no report here.

Bill,

It's a 2013 RS on an '06 Wing. There have been a few...but not very many. 2 of my friends have GW trikes with well over 100,000 miles and neither one has had any pinion seal issues. IMHO, I think mine can probably be traced back to the way the builder originally installed the driveshaft of the kit. One of the u-bolt nuts on the pinion was installed cross threaded along with no lock washer. It finally came loose on me last year causing some driveline vibration. Upon investigation, I found the loose, cross-threaded u-bolt and replaced it. Vibration went away, but shortly thereafter, the pinion seal developed a slight leak. I've been just living with it for awhile now, and decided to fix it over the winter months.

[bikerbillone]

Morning Larry, well that clarifies the situation, glad ya put it out there.

[Burnerboy]

Thanks for that information.......... I'm going on a 7 hours ride this week (one way) and want to be sure, everythings perfect.. so this morning I'm taking off my wheels just to check out..... I want everything perfect.... (I'm on a Goldwing/ and the other two guys are on Harleys) if yea get my drift here....

Yea can't let a Honda break down in front of a Harley

Ronnie

[bikerbillone]

Yes, be sure and do a close inspection of that drive line, I had a U joint fail on me quite suddenly.

[Burnerboy]

Ok I found two grease zirks up on the shaft, so I gave each one a shot of grease.... Hopefully all is well for my trip..

Ronnie

[Road Rider]

Ok I found two grease zirks up on the shaft, so I gave each one a shot of grease.... Hopefully all is well for my trip..

Ronnie

I just had the seal replaced last year before I went to the NE trike rally. But the shop is out of business now. I guess if you want it done right you have to do it yourself.

[Burnerboy]

I just had the seal replaced last year before I went to the NE trike rally. But the shop is out of business now. I guess if you want it done right you have to do it yourself.

Don,

Where/when is this NE trike rally held??

Ronnie

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Yea can't let a Honda break down in front of a Harley

Ronnie

You can ... but it's probably gonna cause ya some small, amount of embarrassing rhetoric ... ... all kidding aside ... any bike at any time can fail ... doing your due diligence is always a good idea.

As with anything mechanical, without Maintenance it will fail (sometimes even with it) ... last year I was taking a short cut across town on I70 ... there was a red Ferrari on the side of the road. I pulled over and apparently he had stopped to take a picture of the Colorado Monument (we have truck pull outs where the drivers can take a nap). When he tried to start it, he had a dead battery ... talk about embarrassment ... having a 2014 Toyota Tacoma jump start his Ferrari ... LOL. I cut him some slack, poor guy, never had his ride checked out before he left LA and I had just had to get a jump on my Toyota a couple weeks before that cause my battery died .

Moral of the story ... get your vehicle checked out well before any ride out of town ... really important around here ... when you leave town there's 100 miles of nada in any direction.