Transmission Shaft Seal Leak

Pakyohmeca · Nov 22, 2012

Hi
Newby here. Recently bought a 2001 BMW LT Hannigan trike. It was advertised on this site. Flew out to Texas and drove home to Florida. After sitting for about a week getting title and license stuff done we noticed a puddle coming from the drive shaft area. After some checking and more riding we have determined that the transmission output shaft seal is leaking. On the BMW this is normally an in bike repair not needing to pull the tranny. On the trike it is a different story. Any experience or suggestions is appreciated. Any one know of a BMW/Hannigan dealer?
Thanks
Paky

Tango · Nov 22, 2012

Give Hannigan a call for advice on this. Tom :Trike1:

Pakyohmeca · Nov 22, 2012

Tango said:
Give Hannigan a call for advice on this. Tom :Trike1:

Thanks for the reply.
I have talked with Hannigan several times. They have been very helpful in determining the cause of the leak but it's on the BMW side now. Our local BMW dealer has agreed to look at it but not enthused about it since the they do not a lift for a trike and the Hannigan part needs to be removed. New territory for the local shop.

Paky

Pakyohmeca · Jan 30, 2013

Sorry about being so slow to post but I did do the leaking transmission output shaft seal replacement myself and it was no big deal. The Hannigan folks gave me an idea of how to go about removing stuff and from there on it went well. The Hannigan shell took about 3 hours to remove, the Hannigan suspension took another 3-4 hours and the seal emplacement took 5 minutes. It took me about two easy days to put it back together. There are no "gotchas". Everything is straight forward. Now after about 300 miles the shaft area is dry.

Paky

rmrc51 · Jan 30, 2013

Glad to hear all went well. My hat's off to you for doing the entire job yourself! I've restore 2 antique cars in my time but for some reason, working on the trike intimidates me. :AGGHH: Go figure, lol.

bustedwing · Jan 30, 2013

Usually a seal replace is fairly easy as long as you keep centered but if you have done rebuilding it should not be a problem. Tupperware is more the problem and that is what you will paya dealer to remove and install, so since you can handle tools save yourself a lot of money, take your time and learn something about your trike on your own. I have found to take several detailed pictures beforehand helps greatly.

Goldendragon · Feb 6, 2013

I've done that seal replacement also. Not that bad but I was rebuilding the entire engine & transmission at the time. Kudos for doing it your self.

Goldendragon - It is not wise to meddle in the affairs of dragons for thou art crunchy and good with katsup!