Final drive oil level??

Discussion in '7th Generation 2010-Present' started by Dangerous Dave, Jun 25, 2013.

  1. Dangerous Dave

    Dangerous Dave New Member

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    Anybody else notice that in the service manual they tell you to inspect the final drive oil with the bike on the sidestand and that the level should be to the bottom of the fill hole. But when changing it, they tell you to fill it to the bottom of the fill hole with the bike supported and the rear wheel off the ground (ie: centertand). Getting ready to do this (gonna refill with Mobil1 synth), so I guess I'll see where 6.8 US ounces gets me (per the manual). Anybody else been there, done that?
     
  2. Robclo

    Robclo New Member

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    Mine was a dealer demo that was serviced before I brought it home and when I have someone hold the bike level and get waaayyyy down there to look the oil is considerably over the max line. I've got an appointment tomorrow for a service and was gonna ask about it.
     
  3. lshark

    lshark New Member

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    since i have yet to find a measuring device marked in tenths of an ounce, i went with the close enough method...i did learn to drain the final drive with the wheel removed to avoid coating the tire with 90W, so yes i use the centerstand method
     
  4. Dangerous Dave

    Dangerous Dave New Member

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    I think you're talking about engine oil, not final drive oil.

    Well, here's what I did...
    I drained it on the sidestand to get more out and to keep it off the rear wheel. I have to say, it sure didn't look like 7 oz came out of there, and what did come out was nasty! When it was done draining, I put the drain plug back in and put it on the centerstand. The Mobil1 bottle has graduations on the side every 4 oz. So I put in 8 oz. (yes, I know that's too much) and put the fill plug back in finger tight. Then I put it back on the sidestand and took the fill plug back out. A small amount pissed out and when it had just about stopped, I put the fill plug back in, put the cover back on the shaft, and called it a night. I guarantee it's better than it was and ready for my upcoming 2000 mile week. I just thought it odd that the manual says to check the level on the sidestand, but fill it on the centerstand. 8 oz. did NOT fill it to the fill hole when on the centerstand, and almost nothing came out the fill hole with the bike on the sidestand, so I'm gonna say sidestand it is.
     
  5. Volfy

    Volfy New Member

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    I drained and refilled all on centerstand. I think the manual says to drain on sidestand mostly to avoid getting the oil on the rear tire. The drive hub doesn't get contaminated with combustion byproducts, unlike engine oil, so a tiny bit more OEM oil left in it isn't gonna make a whole lot of difference. I used Mobil 1 gear oil too.
     
  6. JBzRed07

    JBzRed07 New Member

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    Last edited: Jun 30, 2013
  7. Dangerous Dave

    Dangerous Dave New Member

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    I hope you only put in 7 (6.8) ounces and didn't fill to the fill hole, as I do believe that would be too much, and there doesn't seem to be a case vent on the final drive. Overfilling would risk over-pressurizing the case and blowing gear oil past a seal.
     
  8. JBzRed07

    JBzRed07 New Member

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    Exactly! This is what I have read regarding the pressure buildup as it pertains to too much fluid volume inside the FD housing.
     
  9. Volfy

    Volfy New Member

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    The final drive lubricates by partial gear immersion and splash lubrication. There is no dynamic pressure variation like in an engine crankcase with the pistons' pumping action. A few ml more (or less) gear oil is not going to create pressure to blow a seal, when the rest of the FD is fill mostly with air. The final drive assembly itself goes through quite of bit of heating in normal operation. I measure it the other day with an infrared thermometer when somebody asked about whether their FD was getting too hot. IIRC, mine was around 125F some 20min after riding in 90F ambient. If you think a few cc's more oil will blow seals, imagine what trapped air when you tightened the cap at 70F ambient and the FD heats up to 125F?:eek: I don't think so, folks.
     
  10. Volfy

    Volfy New Member

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    FWIW, that weblog changed the FD oil on the centerstand:

    "2. Remove the drain bolt and drain the old oil out. Roll the bike back and forth a few times to squeeze any residual oil out from the gears. This is where I'd like to have the centre-stand so I could just spin the back wheel. Due to the design of the final drive, it is impossible to use any type of race stand to support the rear end with the wheel off the ground. This is an advantage of the "hollow" final drives on the shafty BMW bikes.... they can be lifted with a special stand. When the old oil first started draining it was quite clean-looking, but as it finished draining it started to look black and metallic."
     
  11. cornerexit

    cornerexit New Member

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    I will put the bike on the Pitbull to drain it so I can spin the wheel, then put it on the sidestand to see if more comes out, and refill while on sidestand.

    I also agree with volfy on his comments. It doesn't matter that much in reality. I've got a Zuma that I have to replace FD oil in and it's never been an issue either way.

    Are you guys that are putting in synth using 75w90?
     
  12. briandor

    briandor New Member

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    Actually you need to re-read that. He said as you highlighted "This is where I'd like to have the centre-stand" meaning he doesn't have it but would like to as opposed to "This is where I like having the centre-stand". I'd is the abreviation for I would so that reads as "This is where I would like to have the centre-stand". Besides that he is only saying that about the draining of the oil and spinning of the wheel to move the remaining oil off the driveshaft and out the drain. He really doesn't ever specifically say what position the bike was in when he filled it or even to what level it was filled (bottom of the threads or top).

    PS -- Not trying to be a grammer nazi or anything. I only wanted to point out that he was saying he didn't have the centre-stand.
     
  13. Volfy

    Volfy New Member

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    No biggie. We are all free to do whatever we feel is the right thing to do. Just like for me personally, I am not changing the FD oil on every engine oil change, nor am I changing the engine oil every 3000 mile. That's just me. YMMV.

    Cornerexit, I used Mobil 1 LS 75w90.
     
  14. db59

    db59 New Member

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    Yes I have noticed this. I filled mine the book way and was shocked how little came out the next time I drained it. It was kind of dumb that i didn't measure it but i thought the OEM manual could be trusted.I'm lucky that it doesn't appear to have damaged anything. I recently changed it with the bike level on a stand and have not had any leaks or such. I used Royal Purple synthetic gear oil. My bike is the DCT version and has 20k miles on it.
     
  15. cornerexit

    cornerexit New Member

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    Me neither. I use Amsoil synth and I use it so I don't have to change it very often.
     
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