stereomind

I'll poke around the old coupling and see if there are any holes. The new final should be here by this weekend, so as soon as I get that beast out of my garage, I'll have some room to do an autopsy.. lol Vlad

I'm wondering the same thing. This is an '03. I see no signs of spline lubrication from the final. Vlad

Some more pics of the carnage... Looks pretty dry. Don't think it's ever been serviced. There's a bit of grease on the forward end of the driveshaft, and the hub side of the final.. Splines on the hub don't look bad. These, however, are toast. There's no sign of anything rubber in there, either. Wonder what happened to it? Peace Vlad http://imgur.com/HkxA9Vyl.jpg http://imgur.com/YqnSoF8l.jpg http://imgur.com/vboxADFl.jpg

Ah well.. this is all that's left of the boot then. Perhaps there's a piece of it still in the receiving end, but it certainly didn't come out with the drive shaft. I'll know more when I get some garage time. Vlad

I couldn't find the o-ring. The driveshaft basically fell out of the final drive.. I'll take some more pics in the next day or two.. the gear lube looked like Coke syrup.. doubt it's been touched in a long time... Vlad

I ordered a complete final assembly, drive shaft and all. Not gonna take any chances. The receiving splines in the final look marginally better than the driveshaft.. time to chunk this one in the trash. Peace Vlad

And a follow-up question.. Would a '96-97 driveshaft and final fit on an '03? Thanks! Vlad edit: nevermind, looking at ebay, and seller is um... misinformed about year models

Three guesses what's wrong with this driveshaft... :D:D peace Vlad

Oh hi Carl! I still have my XJ... I'll check the splines tonight. Waiting on truck and trailer so we can bring the bike back to my house. peace Vlad

Thanks for the input, guys. I think we're gonna go get the bike tonight and I'll be able to properly diagnose it then. Peace, Vlad

Hey folks. So I'm still having some issues with this high mileage '03 RSV. Got the oil leaks under control, it seems, but now I got the call from the owner as he was loading the poor thing on the trailer on the side of the road. It seems something in the final drive gave up the ghost. It shifts into gear just fine, and at first, feels like it's gonna pull ok, but then all power to the rear wheel goes away and gears start grinding.. I'm pretty sure it's coming from the final and (crossing fingers) not the middle gear. U-joint appears OK, from what I can see past the dust boot. I'm ready to order another used final assembly off ebay, but wanted to hear if anyone had similar symptoms. The bike is not in my garage so I can't easily take a look at it right now, but I'll probably go load it up and haul it back tonight. Are these finals prone to issues? Granted, this one has 122K on it. Also, what years are compatible? According to part numbers, it seems '99 and up is the same.. Is this correct? Thanks! Vlad

Hey Brian, The company is Purvis Industries.. They're based out of Texas but have a store here in Tulsa. Their number is 918-622-3344. They had to order the seal for me, as they didn't have it in stock. The seal is an SKF brand, part # 563793. I found a place online that appears to carry it: https://www.motionindustries.com/productDetail.jsp?sku=03238217 (ninja edit: I spoke with the front desk guys briefly about the seal's application while I was waiting on the receipt.. They'll probably know what you're talking about right away ) peace, Vlad

Just a quick update.. The leak is... Gone! Took it for a spin, came back.. Seal is bone-dry on the outside. So if anyone else has trouble sealing up the shift shaft, Try a 13mm ID double-lip spring seal. Mine was 7mm wide but I don't think that's crucial, that's just what the bearing house had in the catalog. peace Vlad

I picked the seal up at our local bearing house in Tulsa, OK. It appears to be available online from a few vendors -- SKF part# 563793. Just went out in the garage and took a peek.. Not a drop under the bike or around the seal, so it's definitely an improvement, as with the other seal it would weep even without the engine running. Will post an update once I put a few miles on it. peace Vlad

Well, I decided to go with a undersize seal. Stock calls for 26mm OD, 6mm width and 14mm ID. I went with a 26x7x13 (7mm width and 13mm ID) so it would snug up against the shift shaft a little better. So far, it looks promising. No leaks while sitting with engine off and full of oil (the stock replacement seal leaked right away).. I'll take the bike for a spin some time over the next couple of days, once the rain clears... Fingers crossed.. I'd like to get on with the project and fix the clunky U-joint, and get this bike out of my garage peace Vlad

The seal looked fine, and I did clean the shaft before putting the new seal on. I don't believe it's a spring-loaded seal though.. Just a single rubber lip. Do you happen to have the dimensions of the seal? All I have is a part number..

Well, dang. I replaced the seal, but no dice. Still leaks like a sieve in the same spot, even without the engine running. There's a tiny bit of play in the shift shaft even with the outer end riding inside the middle gear cover, like it's supposed to be.. However, it leaks even when not applying any sideways force to the shift shaft. I ordered the correct seal from PartZilla.. I did notice that there's a slight witness ring on the shift shaft right where the seal lip would ride. Is it possible that the shaft itself is worn to the point where the seal will not work? Any suggestions welcome..... Keep in mind this bike has 120K+ miles on it.. Vlad

Ok, so I'm planning on pulling the swing arm and replacing the u-joint and swing arm bearings. I found the part number 4X7-46180-00-00 for the U-joint. Is that the whole assembly? Thanks! Vlad

Funny you mention that.. I had to swap a complete front end (all the way from the triple tree to the cowling and GPS and all the goodies) on a '06 GL1800, and the donor front end was off an '04. Aside from having to fab up a couple of brackets to make up for year differences, it wasn't all THAT bad.. or perhaps I'm a glutton for punishment. Vlad

Well, darn. I was hoping this was gonna be a quick fix.. But then I realized that it's a giant touring bike, and nothing's gonna be easy on it, other than pouring gas in the tank

That's the best news I've heard so far! Thank you for the info. This is not my bike, and I'm just helping a friend out, but I'll pass the maintenance info onto him. Thanks again, Vlad

Hey folks. Back with another question regarding the high mileage '03 (122K miles).. I have a feeling that the u-joint is about to go. There's a pretty loud clunk when drive line goes under load. You can even feel it through the foot pegs. I ride an XS1100 (with over 150K miles on it) and that same noise was the U-joint trying to disintegrate.. Of course, on the XS1100, I can replace the u-joint right through the rubber boot area. That does not appear to be the case with the Venture. Is there any trick or shortcut to replace it? There doesn't seem to be much room between the swingarm and the engine.. So one or the other has to move. Which one will move the easiest? Thanks! Vlad

Ok, I'm an idjut! The end of the shaft rests in the hole in the middle gear cover.. So the play in the shaft without that cover is probably normal. I guess I just need to replace that seal and go on.. Anyone got the size for that puppy? Thanks! Vlad

On this bike, the shift shaft sticks out quite a bit from the transmission case itself. It does not go through a sidecover at all, although I did have to pull the middle gear cover just to be able to access it. It seems like an odd design choice, but it is what it is.. LOL edit: see my post below. I'm a dummy. This definitely cannot be machined in place.. But if there's no replaceable bushing behind that seal, I might still be able to use a sleeve of some sort. Hopefully someone else will chime in with a (hopefully) simple solution Vlad

Hey folks. I'm helping a friend out with his high mileage '03 Venture and its several oil leaks. The bike has over 120K on the odometer. The rear valve cover gasket was toast, which wasn't too big of a deal to replace. But now I noticed that the shift shaft seal is leaking pretty bad, and the bearing (or is it a bushing?) for the shift shaft is also wore out, and the shift shaft has quite a bit of sideways play. It looks like the seal is easy enough to replace.. But what about the bearing? Can it be done with the engine still in the frame? Thanks! Vlad