my gear shifter oil seal is leaking.
have seen a couple of write ups on the net that make it sound really easy to change.
remove shifter.
remove old sealwith hook.
clean surfaces.
oil new seal.
drive new seal into place with socket and hand pressure only.
refit shifter.
job done have a brew.....
+1 on wrapping the splines. I do that with any seal that has stuff that could tear the lip. Takes 30 seconds longer to use a few inches of tape to help eliminate a possibility of getting another seal. The job is super easy to do though. Done yet?
If you're having trouble or it takes longer than 5 minutes stop and regroup. The hardest part is getting the screwdriver or what ever you use to remove the seal into the right spot and get it moving.
Thanks to Jarad who I met at Tucson Vintage MC show for the tip on site. He had a beautiful 82 GL500. I had mentioned that my seal was leaking and thought had to remove rear cover to access seal. TY...
I punch the seal with a centrepunch in 2 opposed spots and pull it out with 2 self tapping screws. Blunt the ends and screw them in. They will hit the alloy casing and jack out the seal.
All the oilseals on the motor are standard seals with the exception of the flanged output shaft seal which is still a standard size without the flange.
I won't pay $10 for a seal and wait for it to arrive when I can buy the same seal for a couple of dollars or so locally.
This is a luxury. The seals in my CB450s are not standard sizes.
This info was very helpful and the procedure seems pretty easy - thx
On Moto Faction, it was mentioned that there is no need to drain the oil from the bike before this procedure. But on this forum it is mentioned somewhere that you should drain the oil first. So perhaps replace the seal during a service then?
Q1: Or no need to drain oil? Yes / NO
My gear shifter had some oil or oily residue at the mount, where the bolt is.
Q2: Is this an indication that the shaft seal needs replacement? Yes / No
Lastly...when I fiddle with the shifter, I can see its not tightened on the shaft properly, but the concern is that the shaft also moves in and out slightly.. Just a few mm I guess...but enough for me to be slightly concerned...hence the question here..
Q3: Is this movement of the shaft normal, ...yes / No
Q4: Or perhaps an indication that the seal needs replacement? Yes / No
1 - If done on the centre stand I would think you would only lose a small amount of oil if any. Not certain though as I always tack jobs like this onto a service and do it with the oil drained as a matter of course.
2 - Yes, with the caveat that at the bottom back of the motor the source of the oil could be anywhere. If in doubt, clean and observe.
3 - The lever shouldn't move on the shaft and if it won't tighten you can run a fine cutting wheel on an angle grinder through the gap to allow it to tighten properly. The in/out movement of the shaft itself is normal and wouldn't be related to a problem with the seal anyway. The seal does not retain the shaft.
I bought my GL-500i from a dealer that had it marked down because it was "Leaking Oil" and he assumed it was a crankcase seal issue. I looked and determined it was just the shifter seal, so I jumped at the bike. Such an easy fix.
The only trick to me was getting the old seal out. Looked like the original. Took a while with a small screwdriver to carefully manipulate the old seal out. It's not like there is oil pressure behind the seal, so you won't lose any oil when removed. Maybe a few drops.
Another trick, the set screw (for tightening the shifter on the shaft) had to be removed (not just loosened) on mine to get the shifter off the shaft. Some say to mark the locatio of the shifter with tape for a felt pen so you can put it back on in the same orientation when you get the new seal on.
I'm guessing it took me 20 minutes start to finish? 10 minutes was futzing with the old seal trying to get it out.
That's a great idea. Took me 10 minutes or so with a small screwdriver to carefully get mine out.
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