Removed gearbox cover. Some questions.

The o ring that my shifter emerges from was leaking oil. So, I ordered the part (thanks Chacal!) and pulled the gearbox cover. I have not put it back in yet.


A couple of questions:

1. I drained the oil before I took off the cover. When I broke the seal on the gasket, though, oil poured out. Is this normal? Yes, I drove around and got the oil hot before I drained it and yes, I drained from both plugs.

2. The oil that came out was looked like a latte (cream colored and foamy). It seems like that means it has some water in it. I am replacing the gasket (thanks again Chacal!). Is there anything else that I should do?

(i.e. is there some sort of gasket sealant that I should be applying?)

3. In order to get the gearbox cover off, I had to stick a pry bar under the engine mount and lift it up about a 1/4". This was in order to get it past the foot peg. Is this normal? Is it just sag in the engine mounts, or is my frame bent or something?

4. There are some gouges on the bolt heads in the back of the gearbox. It looks as though something metal, at some point, broke off and flew around the gearbox. There isn't anything in there now. How serious is this?

 

Another one...

5. Does anyone have any suggestions for taking the remnants of the gasket off of the cover? Should I just painstakingly use a razor or can I spray some carb cleaner or something on it?

 

I took off the foot peg. It made it easier to take off the cover.

I scraped it off and I used some RTV gasket material to make my new gasket. Which I will be scraping off to put on a real gasket soon.

Dan

 

there is a gasket remover in a spray can that i hear is some wicked stuff i htink it is made by permatex. but be careful if you go that route it will tak eof the clear enamal, any paint it comes into contact with and probably isn't good to inhale or get on your skin.

 

BUMP

 

My foot peg is - I believe - riveted on. Could you explain how you took it off?

 

Correct. Permatex spray gasket remover, and it is VERY nasty and VERY effective. It will remove stuff that aircraft paint remover won't. Old gaskets just shrivel up and can be easily scrubbed away.

Use it outside and AWAY from everything; and wear gloves. Even a microdroplet on your skin will burn like hell.

WATER neutralizes it; as soon as you're done stripping/removing, flush with large amounts of water and then scrub everything clean with a stiff brush.

 

Foot peg is bolted on - the bolt goes all the way through and holds both rider pegs. I took mine off too. The gasket remover works great as fitz says.

The oil that came out is from the middle gear oil reservoir - not much in there. It can be drained but not worth the risk due to plug being frozen in place. Search for numerous discussion.

Not sure if you had water but new gaskets won't hurt of course. I usually glue the gasket to the cover using Permatex high temp sealer.

Can you get some pics of the gouges? Not sure what could have gotten loose in there.

 

I did drain the middle gear reservoir before pulling the cover off, but I'm not too worried as it seems that there is a place for oil to pool BELOW the reservoir.

This isn't a great picture (I'll try to get a better one today). If you look to the back right, you'll see that bolt head is gouged.

 

Also, I don't have a dealer of those sprays around. Would have to order them online. Can I use Carb cleaner?

 

are you talking about this bolt?....



If so, it's supposed to have that gouge in it. It's peaned so that it doesn't turn at all after installation. You should see 3 more just like it in there i think.

 

AutoZone, Advanced, O'Reilly's, etc. should all have the Permatex gasket remover.

Herb

 

Excellent. Just picked up the gasket remover from auto zone. Also, grabbed some wheel bearing grease which was recommended instead of gasket cement.

 

And yes. I was talking about that bolt. I didn't realize they are supposed to look like that. Thank you.

 

You guys weren't kidding about that stuff being nasty!

It's working now. A little bit with the razor blade, a little bit with the gasket remover, a little bit with the razor blade... etc.
Thanks.

TWO MORE:
1. How about the wheel bearing grease? IS that really a good substitute for gasket cement?

2. Getting that O-Ring out - is there a trick? or do I just go at it with a razorblade and dig it out? Also, should I be using some sort of sealant or anything to put the new one in?

 

Lacquer thinner will help get the Gasket off.
A Chisel brought to a really fine scraping edge is superior to the razor.
On some spots you still need the razor.

Grease is a Lousy sealant.
You have to SEAL that compartment.
Use a Gasket Cement or RTV.

CAUTION:
The wire for the Ignition Pickups is routed along that Case.
It is VERY easy to pinch that wire when you put the Case back on.

If your case had a Baffle on it.
You can remove the Baffle and trace the Case on to Gasket Paper or Cerial Box. Search: Lipstick Trick

 

Thanks, already bought the gasket from Chacal. Do I REALLY need a cement at all? If I can get the parts super clean, can I just use the gasket with no sealant?

 

Alright! It's on. Used cement and the gasket. It seems to be holding pretty well but won't know for sure until I take it out for a longer trip.

 

You don't need to remove the foot peg, you can just loosen the nut on the rod that goes all the way through to the other foot peg and flip it up out of the way.

 

Again, take every precaution to protect the Ignition Pickup Wire Pigtail at the upper left where that Cover sets.
The Cover can PINCH it; rendering the Ignition funky -or-
SEVER it, ... KILLING the Ignition all together.

 

Thanks Rick. Also, Jwg. I got the cover back on just right and the ignition wire is fine. I also did it without loosening the rod that goes all the way through (although that is good to know) by raking on the engine mount a little bit with a pry bar and lifting the engine up just enough to slide the cover in.

Thanks for all of your help.

 

Glad you got it all fixed up. It's not too bad a job but the gasket cleaning was a pain I remember.