oh crap!

[GCE61]

So I took off the side cover that covers the flywheel in order to give the flywheel weight a check that the set screws are snug and all is well.

There was about a tablespoon of oil in the bottom of the cover, so I guess the crankseal is leaking. Wonderful, after looking at the repair manual the cases have to be split to replace the seal- is that correct? 97 220.

[rbates9]

Yup

[brayden55]

yessir! lol i just finished rebuilding a yamaha blaster, it was leaking air trough the case seem.

good luck with the new seal hopefully you dont find any surprises along the way

[kdxmaniac]

i wonder if the sandpaper trick will work on crank seals??

[brayden55]

sand paper trick??? btw just kinda reminded me of my fork seals i had some leaky fork seals and found a tool called the "seal mate" it removes dirt and grime frome your deals its $5 and works wonders, hmmm might it work on a crankshafe seal

[TWMOODY]

i wonder if the sandpaper trick will work on crank seals??

Not so sure I would want the grit floating around inside the bearings ect....

[kdxmaniac]

i dont know if sandpaper would work on crankseal? neve tried it. works good on fork seals tho. might be worth a try before splitting the cases! if it dont work, what will you be out of?

[GCE61]

learn me oh wise ones.... please, what it the sandpaper trick and how can I utilize it to save me hours of pulling the friggin motor out!!!!!!!!!!

[TWMOODY]

learn me oh wise ones.... please, what it the sandpaper trick and how can I utilize it to save me hours of pulling the friggin motor out!!!!!!!!!!

Don't do that !

[kdxmaniac]

if you use wet/dry paper, i dont see how any grit would come off. like i said, ive never done it to crank seals, so i dont know. next time one of my crankseal is leaking, ill try it........that way its my motor if something dont work out. i think it would work tho.

[KarlP]

I don't think the sandpaper or scraper trick will work on crank seals.
They are probably leaking because over time they have lost a lot of elasticity.

[Julien D]

This is just my experience, but leaking main seals usually indicates play/slop in the main bearing. When the crank end is spinning somewhat oblong, it becomes very difficult for the seal to maintain contact, and you get a leak. This is why it never bothered me that KAW designed this bike in such a way as it has to be split to change seals. If you're changing seals, you should probably be replacing main bearings as well. Just makes sense.....

[GCE61]

as far as mains.... I get a good tight grip on the flywheel and there is NO play whatsoever. That was the first thing I was concerned about & I think the mains are somwhat OK.

This just sucks because I just don't have the extra time to do this. Between work travel kids and "stuff", free time is limited.

Are there any tips or vids that have been posted here on splitting cases, etc? It would help alot!

Thanks!

[Griffbones]

This is just my experience, but leaking main seals usually indicates play/slop in the main bearing. When the crank end is spinning somewhat oblong, it becomes very difficult for the seal to maintain contact, and you get a leak. This is why it never bothered me that KAW designed this bike in such a way as it has to be split to change seals. If you're changing seals, you should probably be replacing main bearings as well. Just makes sense.....

I don't always agree with Juliend, but this time I have to say that I couldn't agree more! Change the bearings and seals!
This is not the terrible job that most people think it is, it is really quite straight forward and a bearing/seal kit is pretty cheap really.

[GCE61]

oh crap.... Updated-

Well, I've decided if I have to yank the motor & split it, I might as well just do it right and rebuild the whole motor.

The topend hasn't been done since we bought it 3 yrs ago, so what the hell, it's only money.

Details to follow as soon as the parts are ordered and I roll up my sleeves to get my ass moving.