driveshaft oil leak

I have about 10K miles on my 06 FJR. About 260 miles into a ride, I saw oil on my rear wheel. Further inspection discovered a coating of oil on the underside of the driveshaft cover, eminating from the small breather hole on the bottom of the cover, at the rear. I rode staight to a dealer and left the bike, arranging for one way transpo 260 miles home.

Nine days later the dealer calls and tells me they can't find anything wrong, nor can they explain the source of the oil leak. Has anyone else had a similar occurance? Any feedback appreciated.

Update: I phoned the dealer and offered to forward the posts I received and guess what? They tore the driveline apart and found a bad seal. Parts have been ordered. I thought only HD's marked their territory w/ oil leaks but it looks like Yamahas do too. Thanks for your comments - very helpful to hear from members that have had similar experiences.

jtd said:

I have about 10K miles on my 06 FJR. About 260 miles into a ride, I saw oil on my rear wheel. Further inspection discovered a coating of oil on the underside of the driveshaft cover, eminating from the small breather hole on the bottom of the cover, at the rear. I rode staight to a dealer and left the bike, arranging for one way transpo 260 miles home.
Nine days later the dealer calls and tells me they can't find anything wrong, nor can they explain the source of the oil leak. Has anyone else had a similar occurance? Any feedback appreciated.

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Been There Done That!

I have all of the seals and O-Rings for the rear end. I too experienced drippage from the weep hole in the swing arm. Can't explain it... Seemed like it leaked like a siv but when I tore it appart I couldn't find any apparent leakage internally.

There's only one way that oil gets into the swing arm, but none of those seals looked bad. I cleaned everything up and put it back together. It still weeps when it's really hot, but beyong that I'm leaving well enough alone for now.

It's one of your seals. There are a couple that it could be.

I had mine replaced under warranty at 110k and no weeping on the wheel since. Forum member vectervp1 just had one replaced also.

For more info, CLICKY HERE.

What Sparky said above...

Just had mine replaced a few weeks ago. I'm not sure which seal was replaced, but the mechanic made a comment that there was alot of oil everywhere and it was hard to determine the exact seal that was leaking. He took an educated guess at it and told me to keep an eye on it in case he guessed wrong. I've put about 3k on it since that and I've had no leaks so far. I'll still keep an eye on it when the temps climb into the 100's, but I'm thinking he got it right the first time.

mine did the same thing at 16k. it was the large seal behind the splined coupling that holds the drive shaft,,i had it replaced under warranty n the idiot didnt tighten the nut enough,,n it came loose , but wouldnt come all the way off because the drive shaft held it on,,i found this when i greased the splines at 22k. torqued it n used red locktite

Smooth_Gary said:

... it was the large seal behind the splined coupling that holds the drive shaft ...

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pretty certain that's the seal that just went on my 2008 with just 2K on the clock. i have an appointment with the dealer on monday. bummer.