• Welcome to the BMW R18 Forums. Member registration disables ads and allows you to post and share. Register Here.

Poll about Final Drive (Bevel Gear) Oil Spillage on the rim and tyre

  • <i class="fa--xf fal fa-check "><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" role="img" aria-hidden="true" ><use href="/data/local/icons/light.svg?v=1789222567#check"></use></svg></i> Discussion starter Discussion starter Didi
  • Start date Start date

I have oil spillage from the final drive/bevel gear similar to the posted pictures

  • Total voters
    88
This thread (and others) on the same subject have proved useful.
My FD started showing the same symptoms as others describe at the start of this year. At first it was quite sporadic - seemed to be during warm weather and/or after motorway speeds riding. But then it fairly quickly turned into being after every ride. Never bad enough so that oil was getting onto the tyre or dripping down when stationary though.
I talked to my local dealer and presented photos of the issue from various dates. It was due a service a few weeks back and to prevent any faffing around in terms of having to take the bike back in, I was fairly insistent that they order in a final drive oil seal prior to the service.
Long story short, FD oil seal replaced under warranty and because a FD oil change was part of the service schedule for that point in time, I didn’t have to stump up the cost of that part of the service.
Been for a couple of long rides since in warm weather at all speeds and so far, all is well 🤞
IMG_5149.jpegIMG_5148.jpegIMG_5147.jpeg
 
I had noticeable oil on the rear hub some time after the break in service. Cleaned it and did not recur. Last month rode 495 miles mostly at 80 mph from Pittsburgh to Maggie Valley for dinner, then another 95 into Tennessee, no oil leaks. Still clean at 9300 miles. Did have an H-D rider run into and break off one of the saddlebags but that's another story!
 
plumbob said:
I had noticeable oil on the rear hub some time after the break in service. Cleaned it and did not recur. Last month rode 495 miles mostly at 80 mph from Pittsburgh to Maggie Valley for dinner, then another 95 into Tennessee, no oil leaks. Still clean at 9300 miles. Did have an H-D rider run into and break off one of the saddlebags but that's another story!
Click to expand...
Similar case here. I think this happens (mostly) because of an overfilled hub.
 
rem47 said:
There is more to it than just removing the rear wheel. You have to remove the cush drive rubbers, you may then be able to inspect the breather by looking through one of the holes in the drive plate that locate the rubbers (see post 35 on this thread, you can see the photo of the breather - a rubber bung). Mine was clean. If there is a leak here you would see it on the bevel side housing around the bung. Taking the drive plate off to access/replace the breather is no trivial task.

No one on this thread has shown any evidence of an oil leak form the bevel lateral drive shaft seal or breather, all the photos can be explained as grease, unfortunately the title of the thread is misleading folks "final drive oil spillage". Its excess grease that has reached its melting point flung from the drive plate, the originator of this thread has also stated this is BMWs explanation.

The debate will no doubt go on? A seal may just fail one day, If you really think its oil I would expect a drip or two or pool on your garage floor or wheel rim as a result of gravity (not centrifugal force) when the bike has been stationary on its side stand after an episode. If it is transmission oil it will smell distinctly sulphurous (the test used by old British bike owners to trace the source of an oil leak - engine or gearbox), to my knowledge grease or engine oil wont.
Click to expand...
If it is over usage of assembly grease as BMW states then the problem would stop at some point. Has anybody reported that happening?
 
As a long time BMW rider I can just say that BMW final drives are really good… unless they are not. QC on them over the last 20 years has become non-existent. So the R18 already came pre-disastered. They were not lubricated properly. They fixed that.

I think I have about 150,000 miles on post 2010 final drives. These are not matters of conjecture. If oil is coming from the plug it’s overfilled. If you shade tree the fluid change and over fill it can cause the seals in the back to leak and they will need replaced. If you don’t watch your final drives it will over heat and catch on fire (really) If you don’t handle a leaking final drive you will crash or it will stop working and then you will crash. If Klaus was asleep at the switch and didn’t put the seals in right it will start leaking fast (this is apparently BMW’s new method of qc… if its assembled wrong it will leak on the customer). Do not accept any excuses from the dealer, if you haven’t touched it and it’s leaking make them fix it now or leave the bike and call a lawyer.

Overall, BMW final drives are really awesome but if there’s an issue they will deflect on it, if you changed the fluid yourself they will say it’s your fault. Every BMW bike I’ve owned since 2010 (I think 3 or 4, I honestly lost count) has had a recall on its drive and one of mine started leaking at 3,000 miles (My R1200GS) The good news is once its fixed, its fixed probably for the next 125,000 miles. The other good news is they don’t all have problems. But FORCE your dealer to fix a leaking drive. It is not going to repair itself. It will cause an accident or catch on fire
 
OK… maybe not catch on fire… models with a rubber boot on the end can catch fire :-). But you get the picture
 
I disassembled two rear drive axles that were replaced after sale.The oil leak is the large oil seal near the starting plate.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20260305_191803.jpg
    IMG_20260305_191803.jpg
    1 MB · Views: 21
  • IMG_20260305_191756.jpg
    IMG_20260305_191756.jpg
    758 KB · Views: 22
  • IMG_20260305_191752.jpg
    IMG_20260305_191752.jpg
    2.1 MB · Views: 22
  • IMG_20260305_191757.jpg
    IMG_20260305_191757.jpg
    745.7 KB · Views: 22
JRD said:
Possible fix: after thorough draining ensure you add only 200ml of final drive oil. Final drive oil may seep if overfilled.
Click to expand...
Thus the BMW shop manual. It instructs usually 170 to 175 ml of fluid. I have always used 175 or 170 when I refill, depending on the bike. The whole thing is under tremendous pressure. Under filling a teeny bit is far better than overfilling one single ml.
 
ad78 said:
youtube videos dont help and they will screw you up. i usually fill 180ml. 210ml is ridiculously a lot
Click to expand...
I fully agree ... and IMO the same counts for the gearbox ... i think it calls for 1.15 l ... but my oil comes in 1 l bottles ... so I use 1 l and had no issues at all.
 
At just shy of 12k miles mine is actually leaking. It's wet at the opening between the wheel and final drive housing and collecting at the bottom of the housing forming small drips after riding. It's in line for a rear seal at my local dealer which is covering it under warranty. They want it for the day and maybe a little longer, as the service manager stated that rarely, in some circumstances, BMW will just swap out the entire final drive unit. I just replaced my rear tire a few months ago, so this leak developed within the last 800 miles.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top