Tinus89 Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 Hey all, As you may know, my gearbox suffered a crack on the rear right next to the top frame mount. I've grinded away the metal and applied metal glue, which seems to hold fine. The leak however, is still present. After a 100km drive, I assessed the leak locations: it more and more seems to be one of the two rear sealing surfaces (in the housing) instead of the suspected crack. The intend is to bring the bike to the Alps for a week of driving in May (alternative is bringing my XL650V Transalp - lot less fun). There is a few things I can do: - Nothing. Bring a bottle of gearbox oil and keep an eye on the level. I should be fine for a whole day's driving without a refill. Risk: severe increase of the leak may lead to oil on the rear tire. - Take out tranny and fix leaks. Downsides: challenging in the timeframe, requires special tools, may still be the crack leaking of which repair is not feasible in the timeframe. Time consuming. - Apply one of those stop leak fluids in the tranny. If it were the engine, I would never use this kind of stuff, but as it is a tranny without oil pump and tiny oil galleries, I might try it. Optionally I could drive it for a while, and if the leak stops, replace the oil with clean oil before the trip. Questions: - What would you do? - Any experience with stop leak fluids/aids? So far (leak slowly increasing in severity) I've refilled about 600ml in about 3500km of driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68C Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 You have probably already done this but it is worth checking the breather is clear. I had a leak from speedo drive that stopped once I cleaned the breather filter. (As advised on this forum). It obviously will not cure the crack but making sure there is no pressure build up in the box may reduce leakage for the duration of your alpine adventure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolf Halvorsen Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 Hi Netherland Take out your old gearbox and replace it with one that is fully restored (and got fresh sealings and sealing liquids in the joints). Your question will be: where can I find such a piece. My answer: By me. I have a retired engineer and restores gearboxes and rear drive "for fun". In my shelf I have ready one from a 2003 V11 Sport LeMans. The same black wrinckle paint as the Rosso Mandello. Which clutch do you have? Single plate or twin plate? (I have a twin plate clutch also available.) Contact me directly if this could be an option. My parts is not cheap - but I believe the quality and price fits to each other. The negative is that I live in Norway (outside EU). Rolf rolf.halvorsen@mail.com 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolf Halvorsen Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 I will travel to Kiel in April. Arriving there 16. April at about 10.00 I could bring with me the gearbox and we could meet then. Rolf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scud Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 If you decided to re-seal it yourself, here is a link to a thread about how to do that: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=20021 Whether you repair or replace, it would be good to add the supplemental transmission brace / bracket from top of tranny to frame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowRyter Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 Rolf sounds like a great guy. A transmission swap out would be quick and less risky. For example, when my transmission cracked, the housing was put in a powder coating oven for a week before is was welded. So far it's held together. The only thing I might add, since your bike is an '01 model, I am guessing it has the same frame as the redframe? If so, I would definitely install the transmission brace to keep it from cracking again. The mechanic that fixed my bike has fabricated a few kits with the bracket and fastener and has sold several. This attaches the bellhousing to the frame. The later model bikes have an upgraded frame that doesn't need the bracket. I am not sure about the Mandello model. If you need the brace, here is the website. http://www.motivcycleworks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinus89 Posted March 16, 2018 Author Share Posted March 16, 2018 You have probably already done this but it is worth checking the breather is clear. Yes, checked, clear. Hi Netherland (...bla bla...) Rolf rolf.halvorsen@mail.com You have mail:) If you decided to re-seal it yourself, here is a link to a thread about how to do that: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=20021 Whether you repair or replace, it would be good to add the supplemental transmission brace / bracket from top of tranny to frame. Excellent, but if I would do that, I would: - Weld the crack as well - Install the transmission bracket as well, but that is rather intrusive as my early black frame does not have the connecting plate, I would have to get that made/welded to the frame as well. For now that is not an option in the timeframe. Depending on the price, Rolf's transmission change-out can be. How about stop leak fluids? Any experience or do/don'ts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swooshdave Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 You have probably already done this but it is worth checking the breather is clear. Yes, checked, clear. Hi Netherland (...bla bla...) Rolf rolf.halvorsen@mail.com You have mail:) If you decided to re-seal it yourself, here is a link to a thread about how to do that: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=20021 Whether you repair or replace, it would be good to add the supplemental transmission brace / bracket from top of tranny to frame. Excellent, but if I would do that, I would: - Weld the crack as well - Install the transmission bracket as well, but that is rather intrusive as my early black frame does not have the connecting plate, I would have to get that made/welded to the frame as well. For now that is not an option in the timeframe. Depending on the price, Rolf's transmission change-out can be. How about stop leak fluids? Any experience or do/don'ts? I believe stop leak additives are meant to swell rubber seals not gaskets. If you're just looking at a temporary fix and possibly a replacement then it can't hurt but don't be surprised if it doesn't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyNZ Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 It may not be related, but I had a minor gearbox oil leak that was easily fixed. After I built a maintenance stand, I found that the gearbox was overfull. This was the cause of a leak somewhere around the top & back of the gearbox. I suspect out the vent, and/or past the rear seal. Previously I was lifting the bike up vertical from the side stand, then looking at the sight glass. With the bike held vertical on the stand, the viscous redline heavy oil took longer than I expected to reach a stable position in the sight glass. I might change to a thinner oil this winter. Also, I removed the sight glass while the bike was on the sidestand and cleaned inside it to make it easier to read. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinus89 Posted March 18, 2018 Author Share Posted March 18, 2018 I understand the stop leak stuff does not act on paper gaskets, but how about liquid gaskets? As that is the stuff used to seal the gearbox... Good point MartyNZ on the gearbox sightglass. I did clean it a year ago so it is clear, but maybe I've slightly overfilled it as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swooshdave Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 I understand the stop leak stuff does not act on paper gaskets, but how about liquid gaskets? As that is the stuff used to seal the gearbox... The most likely suspect for anything leaking is too much pressure inside, failed seals or cracks. You can also have loose screws but liquid gaskets rarely fail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinus89 Posted May 16, 2018 Author Share Posted May 16, 2018 I will travel to Kiel in April. Arriving there 16. April at about 10.00 I could bring with me the gearbox and we could meet then. Rolf In the end, I decided the offer Rolf was giving was too good to pass. We met in Kiel in the parking lot and exchanged money for a gearbox. The frowns on people's faces walking past alone were even worth it. Did the trip to the Alps, all great! I'll have a think about what to do with the broken box. Repair or use for parts... Thanks Rolf, and thanks all for the help! Rolf is a great guy who really tried to help me the best he could:) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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