Has anyone had issues with final drive. It started a couple of weeks ago when I noticed a little man rapping(metal tapping) a few times coming from my rear left side upon release of the clutch in 1st gear. Makes no difference if I accelerate fast or slow. It only rapped a few times then stopped and only in 1st gear and not every time, sporadic. Last week I noticed it rapped a few more times longer than usual and also that same metal tapping sound started appearing in 2nd gear as well before dissappearing. It seemed to go away as the bike warmed up. With head down near the right side fuel tank and accelerating it is definitely coming from the right rear area.
I checked the tire, secure, caliper, secure, rear fender, secure, nothing seemed to be loose. Then I checked the oil level in final drive and it was full, problem is it was medium to dark gray, ie. fine metal particulate mixed in with oil. I am going to change my oil tonight to a very high grade synthetic hypoid oil (SAE 90W) as per manual. Will run for a few days and change oil again to see if it stops and if the second oil change also shows signs of metal. Bought it with 2,800 miles on it and I now have 5,300 which has all been put on since May. Not sure why I would be having a problem all of a sudden. Any idea? Thanks for all your help!!!!
Pete
I'm not saying that this is the beginning of the same problem I currently am dealing with, but....and there is a Kawasaki bulletin about final drive noises and a washer or something that causes it. I hope you are not experiencing the beginning of a failed bevel drive bearing.
Troll, is this bevel gear failure a common issue on Drifters/vulcans? Reason I ask is, I have not heard of it before. A friend of mine has put many thousands of miles on his Nomad, and no issues. Just wondering if this is something to be on the lookout for. I would think that there should be some meta; in the oil drain plug if it is starting to fail? ???
Well I changed the oil last night when I got home. I spread some of the oil on white paper and looked for metal. There was none that I could see. I don't know if the drain plug is magnetic, but there was no metal on the plug either. The oil was dark but consistent with no slugde present in the bottom of the drip pan after sitting for several hours. From what I could see and feel of the main gear the edges were still sharp with no wear evident, as would be expected after only 5300 miles. Not sure what that noise is now. I will check the new oil in about 500 miles to see if it is getting discolorred. I heard the tap sound a couple of times this morning but didn't hear it again by the time I got into town at work, about 1/2 hour ride. It's weird because I only hear it when taking off in 1st gear and it's only two or three raps then nothing. And it's not that loud, you kinda have to be listening for it. I guess I'll just wait to see if it gets worse for now and cross my fingers it's not serious.
I'll go looking for that Kawasaki bulletin on the final drive noises. Was there a fix to the problem?
Thanks for the input! Greatly appreciated!
Pete
Hey Troll, I just read your post regarding the whining sound and your replacing the bevel drive bearing. Maybe I'm confused. The final drive is the gear transfering power from the rear of the drive shaft to the rear wheel. The rear axle goes right through it right??? That's what I read as the final drive in the service manual. It looks like the bevel drive bearing is in front of the drive shaft and part of the tranny, is that correct. I guess I'll have to look at the manual again. What you are doing is out of my league for repair jobs. I don't even have the special tools they say you need to open the final drive up to access the gears. Taking the final drive off is simple enough but not to disasseble it, I would leave that up to a real mechanic. Thanks again for the pics and sharing the info!
Pete
Now that I have to deal with it, a quick internet search brought up all the information I needed to make the diagnosis before I took it apart. When I took the part to the dealer for repair, they said they had just done one on a mean streak, and the on line info I read seems to indicate it's common enough to have postings. If it was a once in a blue moon thing, I'm thinking there would be less information. Since the bearing went 80,000, I'm hoping the new one will last at least that long. I remember reading about a click noise coming from the final drive, and something about a spacer or like that....
Hey Troll
Can you describe the noise for me please?
Thanks
Mak
The first thing I noticed was a "rubbing" noise, like something was caught under the fender. I checked, and there was nothing, and after a few miles it went away. I probably put another 400 miles on before I had the second incident. I had been running on the Interstate, about 75 mph for a couple of hundred miles, and I pulled off to get gas, and when I squeezed the clutch in, there was nothing! I got pretty preoccupied with that and finally got the clutch to work, halfway and I got the trans in neutral. I got stopped, and pumped the clutch a lot. Finally got enough to get it to release so I could put it into gear. I got moving, and there was that rubbing sound again, only this time, much louder. I popped the trans into neutral and coasted into the gas station. As I slowed to a stop, I noticed a "whining" sound. I looked around under the bike for fluid leaks, found nothing, checked the clutch sight glass, it was full.....Filled the tank, and started the clutch pump again. I finally got enough to release the clutch, and headed back to the "I". Still had the rubbing noise, and now a distinct gear whine. I was about 25 miles from home so I decided to try to make it. Kept the speed down to 65, and every time I backed of the throttle, there was a a loud gear shriek, or scream from the area near the back of the engine. Steady throttle, and there was no noise I could hear, accel, and it was present, but not loud. Long story, but...the ball bearing on the input gear for the bevel drive had failed, and the noise was the gears not meshing properly. I went to the dealer and picked up the bevel box after they tore it down. I'm going to post pictures of the damage in the thread I started last week. I have a good used bevel drive coming from a 2002 mean streak, so I'll be back on the road next week. http://www.vulcandrifterriders.com/forum/index.php?topic=24586.0
Hey all,
New to the site ( photos on the way), I'm looking to change the final drive oil and I want to use the best product I can, so I am open to recommendations.
Bike has 30k on the trip and I don't have any medical history on her, so I'm replacing everything I can to start fresh...so I will also take help pertaining to any other areas I should hit.
Thanks for the help!
Rizzo
Welcome to the Forum, Rizzo! Looking forward to seeing some pics of your ride! 8)
Welcome aboard! When you change the oil pull the oil pump pickup screen as well, it may have some crud on it.
Quote from: 49Reo on August 26, 2013, 09:57:31 AM
Welcome aboard! When you change the oil pull the oil pump pickup screen as well, it may have some crud on it.
Good idea to pull that screen. I found hair on mine.
Whats a good brand/weight oil for the final drive gear?
Thanks for the welcome Reo and DC.
Rizzo
I use a name brand 85/140 GL-5. I think I have Valvoline in it right now...It only holds 200 cc, which is 6.7 oz, so a quart of gear oil will last a long time.
Well, I think I might know what the metallic tapping noise is coming from my rear drive area. I don't believe it is the final drive unit because I just checked the oil in the unit after driving @500 miles on new oil. Oil looks great, no discoloration or signs of metal shavings. Gear still looks brand new. After going through the repair manual to see what else it could be I decided to check rear tire lash. Put bike on lift this past weekend and the rear tire has about 3 inches travel in gear. Seems like that's way to much but not sure. I'm suspecting the wheel coupling dampener. The noise has been getting worse and more frequent. No radial or axial movement so don't suspect bearings. Will let you know what I find went I get in there, will post pics as well if that is the probelm. Hoping the coupling is not bad!
Follow up. Took the rear wheel off this past weekend. Inspected the wheel coupling, engagement tines and rubber dampener. All in great shape! no sign of wear or tear. Transfer gears (final drive & coupling) in excellent shape. Started poking finger around inside and felt a spacer between the wheel bearings floating around inside the hub. Bounced the tire a few times and sure enough there was that metallic clanking sound. So, I figure that when I apply tourque(release the clutch), the rear tire must vibrate or bounce (typical of shaft drive) and the spacer raps against the axle and naturally the sound comes out at the end of the axle at the final drive. The only cure I could think of was to coat a very thin film of axle grease on the inside of the spacer that's inside the wheel hub to prevent metal on metal sound when it raps against the axle. Sure enough, took it for a short ride and low and behold no little gremlin hammering away as I accelerate through the gears. Won't know for sure if that's all it was for a while, taking a longer trip on Wednesday. That will let me know for sure. Not sure how long the grease will last but at least glad to know it wasn't my gears or coupling that were failing. Side note, put a film of grease on the inside of the long spacer between final drive and coupling just in case. Don't suspect that would rattle only because it is pinched in when applying axle nut. There shouldn't be any play in that spacer anyway but did it just to make sure that spacer wasn't adding to the noise.
Troll, never found that bulletin from Kawasaki regarding the rear noise and washer issue but suspect they meant the wheel hub spacer. I'm hoping that is it. Thanks again, everyone, for all your input!
That's the issue I was thinking about. From what I have heard, some dealers were just removing it. I would check with a dealer about this. as now you know what is going on...
Not sure why they put that spacer between the bearings anyway. Doesn't seem like you would need it. It doesn't keep the bearings from moving inward on the hub does it? I would think those bearings would have a seat on the inside of the hub. If I get the rattle back that will be my next step, to remove one of the bearings, remove the spacer, then press the bearing back in. I will check with a dealer before I remove the spacer just in case I'm missing it's purpose for being there. Hopefully my grease trick will work long term. I'll post if the gremlin return!