Last season I started noticing my final drive was moist with a coating of oil on the bottom half of it. I cleaned it off, but I continue to get a thin coating of oil on the housing. I've NEVER noticed a drop of oil on the ground. I did drain and refill the final drive (on center stand, filling only until the level came up to the bottom of the filler hole, so this is not an overfill issue) last season (the coating issue pre-dated the fluid change event).
It's not apparent (to me) what the source of the oil is. I'm guessing the leak is so small that the oil dispersion pattern is created from airflow (it seems to go UP, against gravity, toward the back of the housing). Has anyone encountered leaking filler plugs? Is that a possibility? Since this isn't a pressurized system, I wouldn't think it would take much to prevent oil from leaking from the filler or the drain plugs.
Here's a quick pic I snapped yesterday.
I'm in northern MI, and the bike's been sitting since mid-November waiting for the snow to disappear. No drops on the ground at all after sitting in that same spot for several months. Also, it runs/rides great, so no apparent performance issues or noises. Just over 90k miles on the odometer, too.
It's almost time to start riding again, so I figured I might get this issue eliminated before it becomes a problem. Any thoughts?
Thanks! --Chad
It's not apparent (to me) what the source of the oil is. I'm guessing the leak is so small that the oil dispersion pattern is created from airflow (it seems to go UP, against gravity, toward the back of the housing). Has anyone encountered leaking filler plugs? Is that a possibility? Since this isn't a pressurized system, I wouldn't think it would take much to prevent oil from leaking from the filler or the drain plugs.
Here's a quick pic I snapped yesterday.
I'm in northern MI, and the bike's been sitting since mid-November waiting for the snow to disappear. No drops on the ground at all after sitting in that same spot for several months. Also, it runs/rides great, so no apparent performance issues or noises. Just over 90k miles on the odometer, too.
It's almost time to start riding again, so I figured I might get this issue eliminated before it becomes a problem. Any thoughts?
Thanks! --Chad