Shift shaft seal leaking even with new seal?

rich3389 · February 23, 2015, 07:38:32 AM

I bought this 93 GS500 with a leaky shifter shaft seal. No biggie I changed out the seal with a new one, still leaked. I thought maybe I damaged it upon installation somehow so I changed it again and was extra careful installing it. The seal still leaks! Is there something I am missing on this one? Any thing else I could try?

gsJack · February 23, 2015, 08:30:12 AM

Thought I had a shift shaft seal leak once, oil was coming out shaft, running down lever, and dripping on boot toe. Seal was OK and turned out it was excess chain lube in front sprocket housing that was causing leak.

rich3389 · February 23, 2015, 08:39:15 AM

Quote from: gsJack on February 23, 2015, 08:30:12 AM
Thought I had a shift shaft seal leak once, oil was coming out shaft, running down lever, and dripping on boot toe. Seal was OK and turned out it was excess chain lube in front sprocket housing that was causing leak.

Its not chain lube as I just cleaned the chain with wd40 and applied dry lube to it. The leak is most definitely engine oil from the shifter seal.

sledge · February 23, 2015, 09:23:26 AM

Assuming the housing and the seal seat aren't damaged.....are you sure the primary lip isn't damaged or folded back on itself, and.........you have got the right size seal?

rich3389 · February 23, 2015, 09:30:31 AM

Quote from: sledge on February 23, 2015, 09:23:26 AM

Assuming the housing and the seal seat aren't damaged.....are you sure the primary lip isn't damaged or folded back on itself, and.........you have got the right size seal?

Looking at it installed it doesn't appear to be damaged. Unfortunately I have not found a way to remove the seal to inspect it without destroying it. The seal is an OEM Suzuki seal. The housing does not look damaged or scratched and the seal fits in nice and tight when I install it.
Looking at that diagram it may be possible that the seal is not pressed in completely, as my seal protrudes slightly form the engine case and the diagrams shows the seal in the case a bit further.

rich3389 · February 25, 2015, 03:27:16 PM

Found the problem. I removed the seal, inspected the shaft, and it was all gouged up from the PO's awesome mechanic skills.

I am pretty sure there is no easy way to replace/repair this nicked up shaft either!

sledge · February 25, 2015, 04:49:43 PM

The shaft can be replaced with the engine in situ, I have done it myself but (I think) the clutch basket has to be removed. Maybe someone else can confirm this

Alternative solution is one of these........

They are called speedi-sleeves. Basically a thin wall ring that knocks onto the shaft covering the worn area and giving a nice clean smooth surface for the seal to run on......BUT fitting one reliably wont be easy with the shaft in place.

http://www.skf.com/uk/products/New-Market-Offers/SKF-SPEEDI-SLEEVE-new-generation.html?WT.mc_id=ADwords_SPEEDISLEEVE_Ad12014

rg500gamma · February 25, 2015, 11:52:14 PM

Hi all , replace with a new genuine shift shaft and of coarse a new genuine suzuki shift shaft seal . speedi sleeves will pick-up / transfer the imperfections on the indented / gouged / marks that are on the shift shaft due to being uneven / out-of-round shape , some people send out the shift shaft to get centerless ground ( centerless grinders ) (machine shop) to try to correct / get rid of the unwanted marks while trying to keep the same size (thickness of shift shaft ) . then you have added material to the shift shaft that you would have to try to remove when trying to slide the shift shaft past the bearing / bushing in the gearbox , get new genuine suzuki parts and problem is solved , I say good day rg500gamma

Sonic242 · February 26, 2015, 04:37:58 AM

I can confirm the clutch basket does need to be removed to change the shifter mechanism.

rich3389 · March 01, 2015, 06:47:56 AM

Thanks guys! Doesn't seem like a bad job.

rg500gamma · March 03, 2015, 07:59:09 PM

Hi Rich3389 , get the new shift-shaft installed yet ? hope you had no problems on doing the job , kind regards rg500gamma

rich3389 · March 10, 2015, 03:09:14 PM

Quote from: rg500gamma on March 03, 2015, 07:59:09 PM
Hi Rich3389 , get the new shift-shaft installed yet ? hope you had no problems on doing the job , kind regards rg500gamma

Not yet, I am probably gonna tackle the job next oil change as I just changed the oil

rich3389 · April 17, 2015, 11:35:34 PM

I got the shifter shaft changed out, wasn't a bad job at all.

All I had to do was take off the clutch cover, pull out the clutches along with the clutch bucket.
Then, with the shifter taken off the left side of the bike, the shaft just simply slid out (turns out mine was also bent, needed some extra persuasion with a BFH)
Installation was opposite.

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Shift shaft seal leaking even with new seal?