saddlebum

This also is a very good point. To add to it, when the diff cannot breath air gets drawn in through the seal but cannot escape. As the diff warms up and since the seal will not allow the air to escape pressure builds up in the diff compressing the moisture in the air to convert to water. As the diff cools a negative pressure forms in the diff allowing more air to enter the diff. further cooling depending on how much can cause condensation to add further to the water build up in the diff. As this cycle continues the water content in the diff builds and eventually you get enough water contamination to turn the oil into that tasty looking light fudge color (But Don't be tempted to sample it). After awhile if left long enough you will get a seal failure and you will see signs of oil leakage. Some years back Rockwell decided to install breathers in their truck diffs that were a third the size of what they used to be and because they were so small they would plug up with dirt and as a result we had numerous trucks coming in with the above mentioned issue all coming in with early wheel seal failures and that lovely brown liquid fudge. We eventually figured out the cause was that these undersized breathers were plugging up cause the scenario I also described above. Since the hole was too small to go back to the larger breather and drilling and tapping was out of the question due to warranty we started replacing the Rockwell breathers with the J tube style breather that Eaton used on their diffs. and the problem was solved. It was so prevalent that eventually Rockwell's warranty fix for this issue was to use the Eaton breathers. Following rear ends went back to the larger breathers and the issue disappeared.

Another possible cause can be dry drive pins in the rear wheel hub. Remove the wheel clean the pins rubbers and holes of any rust or debris, then lubricate the contact surfaces of the bins and sockets and reinstall. A high tack water proof grease such as red N tacky, any marine stern drive propeller shaft or grease such as Volvo Penta 828250 propeller shaft grease. The main thing is that the grease is a high tack, high temp water resistant grease which is rubber friendly. Though I have not used it myself some even like to use fluid film and swear by it. P/S You can check your wheel bearings at the same time.

Maybe that someone added a heavier spring so the choke would self cancel because they had a tendency to accidentally leave the choke on, only realizing it many miles later. Don't ask....

Even here in Canada all the trucks we sell at our Volvo truck dealership, have California emission standards stickers on them because we know that these units do run to California and are not allowed in the state without the sticker. But this has been going on for some years now so not sure why all of a sudden it is surfacing as an issue in lieu of the Covid issue.

I would want to know how water got into it. Bad seals are often the cause. High pressure washing can force water in past the seals since the seals are designed to to keep oil in not water under high pressure out. The same holds true if you ever submerged the axle in water wear the axle seal or the vent is under water.

That is the colour diff oil often looks like when it has been running with water in the oil. That make you want to vomit sulfur smell is not uncommon among diff oils and the strength of it depends a lot on the type and manufacturer of the oil and gets stronger the longer the oil is run. More common among dino oils than synthetic.

I would check https://www.yamahasportsplaza.com/oemparts/c/yamaha_motorcycle/parts and check part numbers to see which years and models share the same harness than check around to see who may have a harness laying around that fits.

Definitely a great option and would highly recommend Earls kits. The only issue for Canadians is shipping, customs and exchange rate can drive the price up for Canadians. I picked my fuse block up from NAPA for just under $6.00 plus tax. I have since seen a various assortment of them at Princess Auto, Amazon and In marine stores for $20.00 0r less depending on style and number of fuse sockets.

Not to mention why was it pulled apart in the first place ??? Was it for cosmetic reasons, such as replacing damaged plastic etc.? Accessories and modification or did it have a serious issue that still needs to be addressed? Seems odd that a good running bike would be pulled apart to that extent. On the other hand if you were in need of parts for a similar bike you already own and had to buy a lot of those parts anyway, it might be worth it to you since you could easily spend that kind of money and more replacing needed parts on a bike you already own and may have dropped or worn out.

Hope that solves your issue once and for all. BTW for future reference those relays come stamped under many names even though it is the same relay. Hella, and Siemens are two examples, both quality relays and very common to find. Makes me wonder if the parts guy was unaware of that and may have had a relay on hand under a different brand name. But then again if you have to back order air for your tires

@Du-RronGo to the parts department of any big truck shop like Volvo, Mack, Freightliner, Kenworth, Western Star etc. they always have them on hand.

Local jobber. I have seen them at marine stores and at princess Auto (our equivalent of harbor freight) as well.

That Bosch relay is a different animal. If you look at the schematic on the side of the case 87 and 87a are both normally open and joined together internally. The relay Du-Rron is showing is different in that terminal 87 is normally open and terminal 87a is normally closed they are separated internally making it a switch over relay. So @Du-Rronmake sure you match up with the same type relay. The extra Diode in some relay's is to prevent a voltage spike from occurring when the relay is switched off preventing damage to voltage sensitive circuits. If the original did not have the added diode you can use either but if the original had the diode than you should replace it with the same. The one you show in the picture does not have the diode. That box with slanted line in it indicates the operating coil in the relay and which terminals go to that operating coil . If it had a diode you would see a triangle with a line across one of the points beside the little box, which indicates the diode. Also if the relay has a diode the +12v line must go to pin 86 and the neg or ground to 85. If there is no diode the pos and neg wires across 86 an 85 can be hooked up either way.

J For those who did not know Jim he is the one in the shorts.

So I have and he is very upstanding and stands behind what he sells.

A fully charged battery will fair better at freezing temps than at warm temps as long as it remains charged. Only when it is discharged will it be at risk of freezing. So if you don't but a charger on it disconnect the ground to eliminate any parasitic draw. A battery tender is ideal but if you use a trickle charger, put it on one of those wall timers and set it to charge for an hour a day, This is what I used to do before I got the battery tender and it worked perfectly. My bike sits outside all winter and I simply plug a battery tender on it and forget it until spring. There has been the odd year I forgot and the bike still fired up in the spring. I have a Deka Agm and it is currently heading into year seven.

Glad your making progress.

I would have practiced on the wheel barrow 1st to hone my skills. But you did a great job just the same. Looking forward to seeing pics of the finished bike.

Quite often those cheaper plugs though they are manufactured by the same company that makes the quality plugs simply do not go through the quality check. I once dated a girl that worked for GE.. She was on the quality check line. Canadian tire for example sold GE bulbs as well as their own brand and at a much lower price. Customers were told that the house brand were by GE and were the same bulbs just packaged in Canadian tire boxes. The girl I dated at the time informed me this was true with one exception. She would have the day off when GE packaged for Canadian tire because they went directly into the boxes skipping the quality check line and by doing so manufacturing costs were cut on the bulbs, so you could get a good one but you might also get a bad one.

Praying you all have a quick recovery and minimal effects.

If your bike still has the glass fusses I recommend updating to the blade type fuse.

Sorry to hear about your wife I hope its only a relative mild case. We almost lost both my sister and brother in law to covid. They both were hospitalized for a month and a half, placed on ventilators and at one point we thought we were going to loose them. Miraculously the pulled through though my sister in law has had to under go three surgery's to repair damaged vocal cords from her trying to rip out the ventilator. The cords were healing together which means instead of parting and closing as she breathes they would block her air flow causing her to choke and unable to breath. If this third surgery does not succeed her only option is a tracheotomy. So far things are looking hopeful.

With a Philips bit on a 1/4 drive socket on a long wobble extension or flex joint on a 1/4 inch ratchet you should be able to reach up from the bottom without removing the exhaust. You may have to raise the tank a bit to sneak the petcock out because of the stand pipe which is about two inches long.