Loud gear noise , help please !

[Frank3]

I have recently been given an "88 Venture Royal , with 104k miles , and its been pulling a very heavy trailer on long trips .

The guy said he was concerned about the milage , and its starting to make a little noise it 4th & 5th gears .

In fact it makes a very loud gear whine in all gears , that changes with speed both pitch and volume . At 45mph and up , and holding a steady speed it is the worst . It goes away if you coast , gets quieter if you accelerate or decelerate .

My first thought is pinion gear , which this thing has 2 of . And I can't tell if its motor end or final drive end . And it is leaking motor oil at the front drive shaft , and is definitely worse with a passenger .

With the bike on it's center stand , and in gear , I can rotate the rear wheel 3 to 4 inches of play . What would be normal here ?

I'm hoping for only the crush sleeves on the pinion shaft to be beat up / bad .

Has anyone had any experience with this ?

[muffinman]

First of all Welcome to the site Frank

 

Second it sounds like the middle gear is bad it has been known to happen around here had it myself.Take the rear wheel off and remove the 4 acorn nuts holding the differential to the swing arm.then remove the drive shaft,after that take the black rubber boot off the engine end just move it aft and look at the middle gear and u joint I use a light from the pumpkin end to see it you can get a small screwdriver in there and try to lift the ujoint end up to see if there is play on the engine side.

 

If you need me to talk you through any or all parts of this diagnosis give me a call at 9196735095 any time after 10 am thursday through sunday I work till 0130 and would not mind helping with the bike I also have parts to fix the problem when you figure out what is needed

 

 

 

Jeff

[Frank3]

this is where I planed to head . the previous owner had just put tires on and replace some seal on the final drive , but didn't want to try the middle gear . I want to recheck what he did .

If it is the middle gear , is it possible to simply drop in a used one ?

[muffinman]

Yes its fairly easy but takes a few hours let me know what you find and I will advise you from there

[paysaw]

Hi Frank

I had to change my middle gear.It is abit of work.Put your finger in the boot.If you find a nut and a washer that would explain alot.If you have to pull the gear, the trick is how you get it out.Losen the top engine nut (split) to the inside of the engine.Get a screwdriver and gently pry the gear out.Go side to side.It will come out. Good luck and keep us posted. Also, remember shim placement.

[paysaw]

Also,Make sure you have another middle gear to do the replacement.If I think what is wrong you really can't put the drive shaft back.Put your fingers around the rubber boot.Feel for lose stuff.If you feel a lose nut and washer somewhere in that boot, the middle gear nut that holds the u-joint is broken.The pinion gear is freewheeling and making noise in the gear set.If this is the problem the only thing keeping the driveshaft in place is the pumpkin gear.The oil is coming from the shaft where the nut broke.