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Oil Leak from Kickstarter Shaft (R51/3)
- Micha
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Oil Leak from Kickstarter Shaft (R51/3)
1. Do I have to take the engine/gearbox out of the motorcycle to replace the oil seal there? Or can the oil seal be replaced by disassembling the kickstarter lever, the battery, the horn and all the other items that are in the way there?
2. Why did a leak even start there? Could it be that I have a problem with the engine breather? Then replacing that seal ring won't help at all here.
3. The entire engine was assembled with new gaskets and oil returners about 500 miles ago. Is this the lifespan of oil returners in these engines?
Any help and ideas would be greatly appreciated.
R51/3 1952
Engine Nr. 529466
- schrader7032
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Re: Oil Leak from Kickstarter Shaft (R51/3)
'78 R100/7 '69 R69S '52 R25/2
Fast. Neat. Average. Friendly. Good. Good.
- Micha
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Re: Oil Leak from Kickstarter Shaft (R51/3)
Thanks, I'll check the speedo cable connector.
R51/3 1952
Engine Nr. 529466
- Micha
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Re: Oil Leak from Kickstarter Shaft (R51/3)
I think that if there is wear on the kickstarter shaft itself, then the oil would start sweating and slowly come out. My case really looks like the tranny can't breathe but I checked that drilled bolt that holds the speedometer drive assembly, and it is new, wide open and easily passes the air I blow through it.
Any ideas?
R51/3 1952
Engine Nr. 529466
- schrader7032
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Re: Oil Leak from Kickstarter Shaft (R51/3)
That's pretty drastic to have all the oil come out of the gear box. On my R69S, the kick start seal is above the fill level of the transmission. How can that much oil get so high?
'78 R100/7 '69 R69S '52 R25/2
Fast. Neat. Average. Friendly. Good. Good.
- Micha
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Re: Oil Leak from Kickstarter Shaft (R51/3)
AFAK - these are also the instructions that appear in the workshop manual.
R51/3 1952
Engine Nr. 529466
- cbclemmens
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Re: Oil Leak from Kickstarter Shaft (R51/3)
I am going to have to disagree with you on viscosity. Viscosity is a scientific measurement of a fluid's resistance to flow.
The viscosity of water is 1.0. Fluids thinner than water, like alcohols and air, have viscosities in decimal points. Thicker fluids have larger numbers. Double numbers, like 20W50 or 75W90, indicate that the fluid contains a stabilizer that prevents the fluid from "thinning out" under the heat of operation. BUT there are NOT different numbers for different fluids. If a gearbox spec calls for a 40 weight oil lubricant then use a 40 weight oil. Running a thicker oil risks damaging the unit. The clearances may be too tight for the thicker oil to penetrate and properly lubricate the moving parts.
Craig
- schrader7032
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Re: Oil Leak from Kickstarter Shaft (R51/3)
I'm not sure but we may be talking past each other. I never mentioned a multi-vis oil. I was comparing something like a 40w engine oil viscosity to that of a 90w gear oil. They must have relatively the same viscosity. I suggest that because BMW went from specing 40w engine oil in transmissions to later calling for 90w gear oil. What changed?? Only the style of seals were changed, seals that worked well with gear oils. So it seems to me that a 40w engine oil has to be in the ball park of a typical gear in terms of viscosity.
General concept was mentioned at the bottom of this post:
viewtopic.php?p=85592#p85592
Nice chart on this page:
https://blog.amsoil.com/gear-oil-vs-engine-oil/
'78 R100/7 '69 R69S '52 R25/2
Fast. Neat. Average. Friendly. Good. Good.