[2whlrider]

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A couple weeks ago I purchased a 86 Interstate and since then have stumbled onto this site and have been impressed with the wealth of knowledge and the scope of the discussions...I have surfed thru dozens(probably more like hundreds!) of messages to learn more about the 1200! I'm not well-versed as a motorcycle mechanic, but been a ASE certified auto tech for 35 years, so I am anxious to get my new bike in tip-top shape! :jumper:

My bike has 36K on her and for the most part, has been well maintained it appears. I am in process of changing all fluids, filters, plugs and I'm installing new Gates timing belts this afternoon. Additionally, the infamous "yellow wire plug" looks as good on mine as it likely did on day one...not a hint of discoloration or heat damage. However, as many others here have said, I will go ahead and do the solder/shrink wrap routine on mine as a preventive measure. I do have a slightly high charge rate across the batt terminals of 15.25 volts which kinda concerns me that perhaps it's close to an overcharge although I've had no battery trouble yet(and I'm knocking on wood here!). Otherwise, outside of a seat which is showing more than it's age, my main concern is a gear oil leak. It appears just aft of the rubber boot at the forward part of the driveshaft area, just off the trans case. It appears the shaft goes thru the swingarm assy? Am I correct on this? If so, I'm afraid one of you will now tell me that swingarm removal will be necessary to facilitate the replacement of a seal or whatever is causing this leak. That's a task I hoped could have been delayed untilI was a bit more seasoned on maintenance on this bike!At any rate, I have about a silver dollar sized oil spot on the floor each morning and I've driven it about 300 miles now. The previous owner must have known of this as I'm seeing a good bit of oil spray around the overflow cap on the rear diff as if it's been overfilled to compensate for the leak which was wiped well clean upon my arrival to first inspect the bike prior to purchase. I'm very concerned about this as it appears this bike doesn't have a particularly large rear diff fluid capacity so a small leak is actually a considerable leak. Any ideas most appreciated. Once again, I love this site and look forward learning more about my wing from the collective knowledge posted here! Almost as much as I look forward to riding this thing of beauty sitting in my garage!! :waving:

JC

 

[Eamonn1200]

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Hi JC and welcome to the forum. If the leak is coming from the gearbox end of the boot, then its the seal on the output shaft that is leaking. Why not put some "Stop Leak" or similar into the engine oil? A small leak like you describe might just dissapear when you add some into the oil.

If you do decide to replace the output shaft seal, its not as hard as you might think. You will need to pull the universal joint, but the seal itself has a steel lip and is easy to tap out.

 

[mjohnson]

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Welcome to the best forum! I can't believe I beat Red Wing :clapper:

These guys (gurus) have helped me hundreds of times over the last year. I rebuilt an 1982 1100 interstate and she runs great.

Mike

 

[mjohnson]

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Welcome to the best forum! I can't believe I beat Red Wing :clapper:

These guys (gurus) have helped me hundreds of times ovder the last year. I rebuilt an 1982 1100 interstate and she runs great Thanks to these guys!

Mike

 

[exavid]

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2whlrider wrote:

It appears the shaft goes thru the swingarm assy? Am I correct on this? If so, I'm afraid one of you will now tell me that swingarm removal will be necessary to facilitate the replacement of a seal or whatever is causing this leak. :waving:
JC

:waving::waving:Welcome to the Best Goldwing Site on the Internet 2whlrider!:waving::waving:

It's not a thing, it's a Wing! I'll forgive you for the slight this time.:goofygrin:Not too sure exactly why they guy would overfill the final drive (no differential) to compensate for a leake further upstream. Dropping the rear wheel, pulling the final drive (not a diff) and removing the shaft and boot should give access to the seal which is pretty much like any transmission seal as Eamonn1200 said.

I'd strongly recommend getting either a Honda service manual or a Clymer manual, these are the best two in my NSHO. You can get a copy of the Honda manual from Helm Inc. Clymer manuals are available from several sources including Amazon, eBay and others, a Google search will help find them.

http://www.helminc.com/helm/homepage.asp?r=

 

[twisty]

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2whlrider wrote:

A couple weeks ago I purchased a 86 Interstate and since then have stumbled onto this site and have been impressed with the wealth of knowledge and the scope of the discussions...I have surfed thru dozens(probably more like hundreds!) of messages to learn more about the 1200! I'm not well-versed as a motorcycle mechanic, but been a ASE certified auto tech for 35 years, so I am anxious to get my new bike in tip-top shape! :jumper:

My bike has 36K on her and for the most part, has been well maintained it appears. I am in process of changing all fluids, filters, plugs and I'm installing new Gates timing belts this afternoon. Additionally, the infamous "yellow wire plug" looks as good on mine as it likely did on day one...not a hint of discoloration or heat damage. However, as many others here have said, I will go ahead and do the solder/shrink wrap routine on mine as a preventive measure. I do have a slightly high charge rate across the batt terminals of 15.25 volts which kinda concerns me that perhaps it's close to an overcharge although I've had no battery trouble yet(and I'm knocking on wood here!). Otherwise, outside of a seat which is showing more than it's age, my main concern is a gear oil leak. It appears just aft of the rubber boot at the forward part of the driveshaft area, just off the trans case. It appears the shaft goes thru the swingarm assy? Am I correct on this? If so, I'm afraid one of you will now tell me that swingarm removal will be necessary to facilitate the replacement of a seal or whatever is causing this leak. That's a task I hoped could have been delayed untilI was a bit more seasoned on maintenance on this bike!At any rate, I have about a silver dollar sized oil spot on the floor each morning and I've driven it about 300 miles now. The previous owner must have known of this as I'm seeing a good bit of oil spray around the overflow cap on the rear diff as if it's been overfilled to compensate for the leak which was wiped well clean upon my arrival to first inspect the bike prior to purchase. I'm very concerned about this as it appears this bike doesn't have a particularly large rear diff fluid capacity so a small leak is actually a considerable leak. Any ideas most appreciated. Once again, I love this site and look forward learning more about my wing from the collective knowledge posted here! Almost as much as I look forward to riding this thing of beauty sitting in my garage!! :waving:

JC

JC, most of the time those leaks from the front boot areaisthe rear final drive seal leaking & the fluid migrating to the front boot where it can get out.. Does it smell like gear oil ? (sulfur smell).. If it's gear oil then just pulling the final drive (the rear wheel , rear brake, & 4 bolts into the torque tube will get you there..

Twisty

 

[Redwing]

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Hey 2whlrider :waving: Welcome to the best Goldwing Forum on the net. :clapper:

Gosh whatever you do or say never refer to your wing as a thing. :whip:

I ride an old Honda 50 and i would never call her a thing. :crying: :crying: :crying:

:leprechaun::18red::leprechaun:

 

[2whlrider]

imported post

exavid wrote:

2whlrider wrote:

It appears the shaft goes thru the swingarm assy? Am I correct on this? If so, I'm afraid one of you will now tell me that swingarm removal will be necessary to facilitate the replacement of a seal or whatever is causing this leak. :waving:
JC

:waving::waving:Welcome to the Best Goldwing Site on the Internet 2whlrider!:waving::waving:

It's not a thing, it's a Wing! I'll forgive you for the slight this time.:goofygrin:Not too sure exactly why they guy would overfill the final drive (no differential) to compensate for a leake further upstream. Dropping the rear wheel, pulling the final drive (not a diff) and removing the shaft and boot should give access to the seal which is pretty much like any transmission seal as Eamonn1200 said.

I'd strongly recommend getting either a Honda service manual or a Clymer manual, these are the best two in my NSHO. You can get a copy of the Honda manual from Helm Inc. Clymer manuals are available from several sources including Amazon, eBay and others, a Google search will help find them.

http://www.helminc.com/helm/homepage.asp?r=

Wow, I guess I got off to a bad start here with my terminology, I assure you no slight was intended as I guess after all these years, I simply was unaware of this faux pas! Some of my auto background rearing it's ugly head as well(diff vs final drive, etc)!! I do want to clarify that there is no doubt the leaking fluid is gear oil, not engine oil...that I'm sure of. I assume the stop-leak idea Eamonn1200 suggests wouldn't apply in this case due to the leak being on rear side of the boot not the gearbox side?? I have already purchased a Clymer service manual and also a CD manual off ebay. Thanks for the source for the Honda manual because I would like to have it as well as it probably contains some stuff the Clymer doesn't address. I completed the timing belt job this evening and replaced radiator hoses and new antifreeze...everything went pretty well thanks to the reading ahead I had done on this site of those who've gone there before. The old belt appeared in pretty good condition and the tensioners(I guess that's what they're called) appeared fine as well. With a age of 20 years on the bike, i was more concerned with that actually than the miles which has been relatively light.

Does anyone thinkthere is any concern over the high charging rate(15+ volts)? Thanks again for the help on the oil leak...I'l let you know how that comes out.

JC

 

[exavid]

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Like I said we'll forgive referring to a Goldwing or more familiarly Wing as a thing. Determining it's gear oil does pretty locate the source of the leak. Overhauling the rear drive isn't all that difficult, it comes out fairly easily.

 

[Redwing]

imported post

2whlrider wrote:

Wow, I guess I got off to a bad start here with my terminology, I assure you no slight was intended

Ok 2whlrider :waving:We will forgive you this time, but no more mistakes. :clapper:

:leprechaun::18red::leprechaun:

 

[Patch]

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Hey 2whlrider,


[align=center]:waving: :waving: WELCOME :waving: :waving:[/align]

[align=center]to the [/align]

[align=center]:clapper:FINEST GOLDWING FORUM :clapper:[/align]

[align=center]on the[/align]

[align=center]:jumper:WORLD WIDE WEB :jumper:
[/align]

 

[jmd102]

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Hello there and welcome!! I had the exact same problem you have and the seal on the end of the driveshaft was shot. You've gotta pull the final drive out and the driveshaft. it will slide out of the front yoke. Also you may wanna slide off the driveshaft boot at the front, remove the circular spring and slide off the boot. It's probably loaded full of gear oil.
It will migrate up there quickly as I've found. Get some brake clean and clean all the garbage out of there. It'll run out of the driveshaft tube. Try to avoid soaking the Ujoint though. Might be a bad thing. Total time is around 3-4 hours at least for me for the 1st time. Getting the driveshaft to slide back in to the front Ujoint was my grief! Took many tries and four letter words before in popped in to place. Goodluck and most of all have fun!!
Mark

 

[2whlrider]

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Thanks Mark(and to others who have responded on this issue). Even though this is still a pretty good little task to perform, it's much better than whatI had earlier feared may have been necessary.

JC

 

[2whlrider]

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Twisty,

When I went to the Honda dealer this morning to pick up my seal(part # 91262-MG9-003)for my final drive leak, the guy selling me the seal was quite adamant that I would need a Honda special tool in order to change this seal. Is this true? When I mentioned that I could remove the final drive unit and bring it in for them to change it out, they didn't seem too excited about that scenario...so I don't know if they are just trying to drum up more service business or what. I surely wanted to know this prior to disassembly though, thanks,

JC

 

[exavid]

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I don't see why you couldn't get it out, mind you I haven't pulled that seal but most seals can be pried and picked out fairly easily. You have to pull the unit anyway, if you can't get it out take it to them, but I'll bet you can. Honda has a lot of special tools for different jobs, in a lot of cases it's to save time where we backyard mechs don't have the time pressure so we can improvise a tool or two to get a job done. Looking at the 1500 parts manual there doesn't seem to be anything very tricky about it.

You'll probably hear soon from some of the 1200 guys who've done the job already.

 

[Patch]

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I have never pulled a seal on a bike before but have done so several times on autos. I have always been able to get them out by prying with a screwdriver or using a hook tool. I always seem to tear the seal all to pieces trying to get it out, but then again, youre replacing it with a new one so who cares?

I am 100% confident that you can get it out and install a new one yourself. Save that money that you would have paid the dealer to do it and buy yourself some new accessories.:clapper:

 

[2whlrider]

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1984GL1200A wrote:

I have never pulled a seal on a bike before but have done so several times on autos. I have always been able to get them out by prying with a screwdriver or using a hook tool. I always seem to tear the seal all to pieces trying to get it out, but then again, youre replacing it with a new one so who cares?

I am 100% confident that you can get it out and install a new one yourself. Save that money that you would have paid the dealer to do it and buy yourself some new accessories.:clapper:

1984GL1200A,

I should have been a bit more specific about the necessity of special tools needed as told by the Honda dealer. He explained to me that getting ACCESS to the seal once the final drive was removed would require special tools. He said the seal won't just be right there in front of you and fully accessable once the rear drive is removed. Is there a pinion nut or some kind of collar or retainer to remove prior to getting to the seal? He seemed to indicate this job was well beyond the scope of a DIY'er, but again, they want to sell work, right? I have a large Snap-on tool set with several different type seal pullers and I know full well I can change it out ifI can get to it!! Thanks again to you or any others who can shed a little light on this.

JC

 

[Lone Star]

imported post

2whlrider:

So far I have been quiet and this is my first post on this board. But I figured i would stick my head out and help a fellow ASE tech. I think I can help you with your overcharging problem. I will assume that since you are a technician of 35 years you know basic electrical troubleshooting so this should be a breeze.

First of all, open the false tank and find the voltage regulator and the fuse block. Remove the fuse block from its mount and turn it over and remove the back plastic piece to expose the main bus of the fuse block. Locate the black and light green wire coming out of the regulator. Do a voltage drop test with the ignition switch on between this wire and the main bus of the fuse block. This is where the regulator monitors system voltage. If there is a voltage drop here remove the false tank and locate the plugs for the fuse block just about 4" forward of the fuse block. Diconnect your battery, remove this connection and thoroughly clean all terminals. While you're at it make sure all regulator connections are clean. Also, up by the triple tree mounted to the right side of the fairing is a rubber cover that has the plug for the ignition switch. This connection is also a spot for trouble and should be cleaned as well. I also recommend the stator/coil harness as descirbed many places in this forum. It does wonders for your charging system. If it still overcharges I would suspect a faulty voltage regulator. Hope this helps.

Keith

 

[exavid]

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2whlrider wrote:

1984GL1200A,

I should have been a bit more specific about the necessity of special tools needed as told by the Honda dealer. He explained to me that getting ACCESS to the seal once the final drive was removed would require special tools. He said the seal won't just be right there in front of you and fully accessable once the rear drive is removed. Is there a pinion nut or some kind of collar or retainer to remove prior to getting to the seal? He seemed to indicate this job was well beyond the scope of a DIY'er, but again, they want to sell work, right? I have a large Snap-on tool set with several different type seal pullers and I know full well I can change it out ifI can get to it!! Thanks again to you or any others who can shed a little light on this.

JC

There's a hex nut inside a splined cup the drive shaft engages. Under that there's a bearing retainer then the seal. I would expect that a little judicious grinding on a deep well socket could get at it. As I said I'm only looking at an exploded drawing for the GL1500 but it should be pretty much the same. I figure that if you have a grinder, and a gas torch or buzz box and maybe a drillpress or at least a good vise and electric drill a fellow can jury rig whatever's needed. Take on the challenge, at worst you can take the final drive to Honda and have the nut and shaft coupler removed. But I'll bet you'll be able to do it okay.

 

[2whlrider]

imported post

Thanks Keith and exavid for your input. I went ahead and pulled the rear wheel and final drive this evening figuring either I'm going to fix it or worst case...take it to the Honda shop for breakdown of the final drive. However, now I'm wondering about something else as possibly the source of the leak. When I removed the final drive from the swingarm torque tube, I discovered a dislodged oil seal at the final drive end of the driveshaft. The seal goes just inside the splined cup of the final drive. I would expect that just the slight effort it took to remove the final drive from the torque tube normally should not pop this seal out. I'm thinking this seal was already out of the cup before I tore it down and therefore would be the source of the leak?? Of course, if it is somewhat normal for this seal to do this upon disassembly, then I would think the seal below the hex nut and bearing retainer should be replaced. Clymers states that this oil seal should be replaced each and every time the driveshaft is removed and that is not the sealI ordered from Honda, they got me the seal which goes inside the cup and bearing retainer and it is easily a quarter inch larger in OD than the oil seal on the shaft. I would really like to know if it is typical for this oil seal to pop out on disassembly because if not, it makes me wonder why this happened...like maybe the vent valve is clogged, rear drive overfilled, etc.

Concerning the removal of the hex nut, it is 7/8 in size and a Snap-on 1/2 dr deep well 6pt chrome socket fits on it perfectly w/o grinding! The challenge will be how to hold the pinion gear from turning while trying to remove the nut. I suspect that is where the special tool comes in that the Honda guy talked about. I'm thinking that in theabsence of the Honda special tool, one couldplace the final drive back onto the splines of the rear wheel to hold the gear, and then likely zip the nut off with a 1/2 impact wrench and deep well socket. Going back on is what concerns me, however, as with a automotive rear end, there is bearing pre-load to deal with or risk premature failure...I don't know if a cycle rear drive has similar concerns about removing the nut which secures the pinion gear?

Keith, I'll do the tests you recommended for the overcharging problem when I get the rear drive fixed and back together...I appreciate the advice on that! Thanks again to each who has responded, it's been a big help and proves that this is clearly the best Goldwing site out there!

JC