Oil Leak regarding output shaft seal

Hey guys, have a question regarding the transmission output shaft. After seeing some spotting on the floor a few times, and finally a decent sized mark on the parking lot at work, I decided to find the cause. One thing I noticed was it would only drip after a ride. If I left it on the stand for a few days and didn't ride it, it would not drip.

Tracked it down to the output shaft, and am wondering what is involved in replacing that seal? Just pull the old one out, push new one in? Or is there more to it? Such as requiring a special puller, or even worse, having to take the transmission apart?

 

Bob it looks like you dodged a bullet.

I looked in the fiche, my Clymer book, and the factory manual.

Neither book specifically mentions installation of the seal, but in the photos it didn't appear until well after the case halves were reassembled.

According to the fiche, it's not an externally-flanged seal, and does not appear to be trapped. The seal is still available from Yamaha, but I'm sure chacal has them cheaper.

Looks to me like you pull the sprocket, there is a collar that's on the shaft, and the seal. Run a couple of small sheet metal screws into the old one and yank it out. (I would have the new one on hand first, to confirm.)

 

I really need to get a factory manual, heh.

I'm waiting until I get my bike into its winter home 'till I perform this operation. One thing will lead to another as soon as I start removing things...

I'm considering going through and replacing a lot of the rubber on the bike, and tearing down the steering head and swingarm.

Anyways, it's just a rubber doughnut without flanges, then? Hopefully it comes out without much of a fight. Thanks for the tip.

 

RE: Steering head and swingarm: Both can be retrofit with contemporary needle bearings, replacing the old separate balls (steering) and nylon bushings (swingarm.) Chacal carries the swingarm upgrade kit.

As for the 550 book: You need to look for what will almost always be listed as the Seca book. The 550 Max is a supplement in the back of the factory "XJ550" book. I found my factory book on eBay for $15 complete with grubby fingerprints. Well worth it, it does fill in some of the gaps in the Clymer book. Neither of them is super clear on valve adjustment, which is why I did this: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=14827.html

The absolutely best way to do this is to go through the "maintenance" section in your book item by item leaving nothing out. Plan on replacing any gasket you disturb for the first time; replace anything that is dried out, cracked, crumbling, or worn. Our resident parts source chacal (info @ xj4ever.com) http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewforum/f=23.html carries about anything you can imagine needing at prices better than you'll find elsewhere (for QUALITY parts.)

Once you're done, it's really cool having a like-new 28 year old bike to ride.