‘83 GS650GL Drive Shaft Oil Seal Replacement – How Hard?

[WingMan71]

GREAT NEWS. IT'S NOT THE DRIVE SHAFT SEAL!

I pulled some engine covers last night and then pulled back the drive shaft rubber boot. Not a drop of oil inside of it!

The whole entire mess of oil back there is coming from a leaking shifter shaft seal!

That said, the shifter shaft seal on this bike is so far recessed toward the centerline of the bike you almost can't get a pick in there to pull the old one out.

Anybody got a clever trick for removing the shifter shaft seal?

Thanks all.

[tom203]

Are you sure it's this shifter shaft seal- max oil level (non-running) seems below the seal area as far as I can tell, so I can't see lots of oil escaping.

[WingMan71]

Are you sure it's this shifter shaft seal- max oil level (non-running) seems below the seal area as far as I can tell, so I can't see lots of oil escaping.

Actually, just about every vintage bike I've restored over the past several years has had a leaky shifter shaft seal, and over time it does make a major mess all over the back of the engine.

In the case of this bike, it's the only thing that's leaking back there. The entire 5-inch length of the shifter shaft is covered with crusted up old oil from the leak. Also, all of the oil on the bottom of the drive shaft rubber boot cover is coming from the shifter shaft seal as well. The bottom of that rubber boot actually almost touches the shifter shaft where it enters the seal.

Even though it's gonna be a bugger to replace, it's much less headache than a leaky drive shaft seal.

[csw55]

Even though it's gonna be a bugger to replace, it's much less headache than a leaky drive shaft seal.

I've got a 1982 GS650GL that i've always thought had a leaking driveshaft seal, but after reading this thread, you've given me hope that it's something simpler!

[WingMan71]

I've got a 1982 GS650GL that i've always thought had a leaking driveshaft seal, but after reading this thread, you've given me hope that it's something simpler!

csw55,

If you find that it's the shifter shaft oil seal that's leaking, you're gonna need some advice on getting that bad boy out. On a GS650 it's recessed about 5" in toward the center line of the bike and you can hardly get your hands or a tool on it.

Here's my thread with pictures of how I finally got mine replaced.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=216722

Hope that helps.