callison Posted December 23, 2003 Share Posted December 23, 2003 Not the greatest of contrasts in the photo, so I've outlined the two oil puddle color areas in red. I've always wondered just where the transmission oil leaked at on my bike. Now that I've been tearing down the bike to replace the frame, I've found a crack on the top of my transmission at the top left frame mount boss. Lest you think that this crack is a result of the accident itself, let me assure that it is not. A month before the accident, I switched to Redline tranmission lube (great stuff BTW!!!). It is a light blue color. On the transmission case I have a puddle area, the smaller portion inside the boundaries of the puddle is blue - the Redline. The outer boundary of the puddle is black and older transmission lube. Stuff that has to have been there before the accident. While the accident may have exacerbated the crack, the crack appears to have been there BEFORE the accident. This is NOT an easy spot to look at either, I had to take the bike apart before I noticed it. It is under the frame mount tab at the rear of the spine and the injector fuel line sits atop that area as well as wiring and other stuff. So... if you have a mystery transmission leak, this might be where it is. The symptoms are a smell of burning oil after a bit of a ride, oil baked to the top of the exhaust crossover and little if any oil puddled under the bike. It doesn't puddle because the crack is at the top of the case and there is no static pressure while the bike is sitting. It takes gear motion to force it through the crack. What a wonderful thing to find! Now I get to learn how to work on the transmission and take it apart since I doubt that it can be heliarced with the fluid and gears in place. Too bad this transmission isn't under recall, I might have been able to get a warranty repair (warranty expired about the time of the accident anyway). It could be worse. I could have taken the accident money, bought a new Guzzi - and STILL had a transmission leak (my friendly "local" dealer who has a couple of new Guzzi's pretending they're old Triumphs and piddling on the floor). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docc Posted December 23, 2003 Share Posted December 23, 2003 This is where my original gearbox cracked. Perhaps a site of future finning? The dealer said it's the kind of stress introduced by wheel stands. ( I reminded him tht his mechanic was the only bunger to ever wheelie my Sport). Sometimes the Sports will 'jump' into gear, slamming pretty hard. I have always wondered if that may have contributed to the crack. The oil tends to show up on the left side of the case toward the back. And, Carl, why couldn't the case be welded with the gears in it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callison Posted December 23, 2003 Author Share Posted December 23, 2003 why couldn't the case be welded with the gears in it? I don't know, certainly there shouldn't be any oil in it. Anybody out there have some feedback on this one? I've never wheelied this bike either. But - there is a threaded bolt hole on the opposite side of the boss from the crack and I suspect that the stress risers from the the sharp edges allow for the formation of a crack. So, I'm not the first one to have this happen eh? The bike has 30,000 miles on it - and no stunt riding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docc Posted December 23, 2003 Share Posted December 23, 2003 I've often wondered if this is why the lower subframe of the '02 and newer bikes have that strut that fastens the frame side plates (pork chops) across the gearbox to the engine case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldini Posted December 23, 2003 Share Posted December 23, 2003 I've often wondered if the Guzzi lump is strong enough to be used as a stressed member... KB, Cymru Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlaing Posted December 23, 2003 Share Posted December 23, 2003 It may have been strong enough with the five speeds. I'll bet Carl's Sporti does not have this problem. Maybe the lack of extra support to the Transmission is why the 2000/2001 were squirllier handlers. Does anyone out there make custom frames out of titanium? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John T Posted December 23, 2003 Share Posted December 23, 2003 Maybe the lack of extra support to the Transmission is why the 2000/2001 were squirllier handlers. Nah, the "quicker" steering was from a steeper head angle and shorter frame. Guzzi went back to the "on rails" (slower) handling due to the sports, lemans etc being made more for sport touring than sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Minnaert Posted December 23, 2003 Share Posted December 23, 2003 This is going to be fun with the mgs01, hanging it's whole swinging-arm on there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildbill Posted December 23, 2003 Share Posted December 23, 2003 My '02 LeMans had the same pesky leak - neither I nor my dealer had any luck locating it - but I solved the whole mess by trading it for a lovely V11 Sport which I love and is bone dry - now all i have to deal with is the tranny recall!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd haven Posted December 24, 2003 Share Posted December 24, 2003 Carl, We replaced a gearbox housing for the identical leak on a bike which had been down hard. Didn't see it at first, only after cust. had picked up bike and ridden it awhile. Fortunately, it was an insurance job, and since a new housing was about $350.00 and availabe, we went that route. IIRC, it looked weldable, but the memory is not what it used to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callison Posted December 25, 2003 Author Share Posted December 25, 2003 This is going to be fun with the mgs01, hanging it's whole swinging-arm on there It's definitely going to be less fun for the first guy who has the rear end fall off of an MGS01 on the race track at high speed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest_jlburgess Posted January 1, 2004 Share Posted January 1, 2004 I also have the leaky transmission on an '01 V11S. The bike has never been down or even wheelied. I do have the race stand. I haven't bothered to have it repaired since I figured it was a gasket problem and would wait 'till the day I have to pull the motor for some other reason. In light of Carl's cracked case, I'm a little more concerned now. The difference seems to be that mine leaks on the crossover mostly when the bike is sitting for a few days. I've heard many other owners complaining about this left side gear box leak. Anyone had a gasket repair fixed under warranty? I'm wondering about the section of the warranty manual that states that gaskets are not covered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd haven Posted January 1, 2004 Share Posted January 1, 2004 Guest-- a much more common leak is the sidecover on the left side of the trans. Often not visible, just smell the oil burning on the crossover. Glued on cover--the tomato sauce used in the Guzzi factory doesn't seem to hold up. We use a German Loctite 574 product used for years on Porsche transmission cases for a similar application. Pricy from Porsche, don't remember how much exactly,as a little goes a very long way. Maybe someone can source it elsewhere. Porsche number 000 043 010 00. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docc Posted January 2, 2004 Share Posted January 2, 2004 My cases were resealed under warranty ( with 'Yamabond') but the leak turned out to be the case crack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callison Posted January 9, 2004 Author Share Posted January 9, 2004 While helping Joe Camarda swap wheels on his V11 Sport yesterday, I noticed that you can clearly see the rear left side of the transmission case when you look along the top of the swingarm on the left side of the rear tire. If you have the transmission crack (Joe doesn't - lucky guy) you ought to be able to see signs of oil dribbling down the finning under the top left transmission mount bolt on the back of the case. This is just an FYI for those of you that smell that burning 90 wt smell. The other more common leaks have been documented by Mike Stewart and others elsewhere on the forum. Sorry, with my bike apart and the transmission 100 mile away, there isn't any way I can provide a photo with an arrow pointing to the offending area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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