Front Pinion oil seal leak

[slowdryrider]

Went on a night ride last night and today I happened to see oil splashed on the front frame. Upon better inspection I was able to see that the oil was coming from the front diff. pinion seal. Guess now I'll find out what Honda warranty is going to be like. :lol:

 

[Admin]

 

[ohanacreek]

Looks like the boot is torn, mine is too but its not leaking.

 

[Hondasxs]

Well, that sucks. Cant tell if it is the boot is ripped or not. I know on my Rincon it always ripped. I gave up on it. Not much to tear up inside it anyways. The boot does not leak.

As for the seal...
Not sure I would waste a trip to the dealer. Even if it is covered. You know they will only replace the seal. Its a $5 part.
Few bolts on the diff. enough to slide it forward and you can get the shaft off. Then pull the seal. Maybe a 30-45 min job.
Vs... the drive and it sitting at the dealer for a week... Unless you have a good dealer.

 

[Hondasxs]

WAIT....
Looking at it again. Is that clean metal I see right at the seal?
Have you messed with it?
No!

Then that means something is moving in and out. Not supposed to do that!

 

[ohanacreek]

Is that a crack near the centerline or a piece of grass?

 

[slowdryrider]

Well, that sucks. Cant tell if it is the boot is ripped or not. I know on my Rincon it always ripped. I gave up on it. Not much to tear up inside it anyways. The boot does not leak.

As for the seal...
Not sure I would waste a trip to the dealer. Even if it is covered. You know they will only replace the seal. Its a $5 part.
Few bolts on the diff. enough to slide it forward and you can get the shaft off. Then pull the seal. Maybe a 30-45 min job.
Vs... the drive and it sitting at the dealer for a week... Unless you have a good dealer.

I was thinking of that as well. I did send a e-mail with pics to the Dealer and they replied back to me in a few minutes and said bring it in as soon as I could so that they could assess it. Not sure if I want to spend the $$ on hauling it there and then leaving it there and having to pick it up again.

 

[slowdryrider]

WAIT....
Looking at it again. Is that clean metal I see right at the seal?
Have you messed with it?
No!

Then that means something is moving in and out. Not supposed to do that!

No haven't touch anything yet.Never had any grass or mud or anything in that area [ just snow ]

 

[slowdryrider]

Is that a crack near the centerline or a piece of grass?

It's just some grass.When I seen the pics on the computer I had to go out and take a look as it made me think of a crack as well. The boot itself isn't ripped either just the angle of the pics I guess. Not sure what the end of the boot looks like but its got 3 little tabs sticking out the front right against the shaft. I know its gear oil because if you run your finger around the seal you can smell gear oil. Again I sure hate the idea of taking my machine in to the dealer and leaving it there for any length of time.But again because its still on warrenty I'd hate to mess with it and void any future warrenty stuff if there happens to have a need to fix something.So I'am sort of torn what to do. As for the bare metal that you say is in front of the boot and before the seal isn't that supposed to be there.Isn't that the coupler.??

 

[ohanacreek]

Just went out and took a look at mine. The shaft seems to seat closer to the diff that yours is sitting. That shiny portion right at the seal is not there on mine.

I see the three tabs, odd design, not torn.

 

[slowdryrider]

Just went out and took a look at mine. The shaft seems to seat closer to the diff that yours is sitting. That shiny portion right at the seal is not there on mine.

I see the three tabs, odd design, not torn.

Thanks for that pic it sure looks different then mine.Looks like It's going to have to be taken in.

 

[ohanacreek]

Your pic is a little blurry but it looks like the seal itself is the difference. Like it is more pushed in on yours.

 

[slowdryrider]

Went into see and talk with the Honda dealer yesterday about the seal leaking. I had sent them pics earlier and some how they didn't make it to the service manager. I had some on my phone so I showed him and he said yeah we can do that no problem. In fact were sending in a order for parts and I'll include the seal. It should be here tommoro [which is today] because were having them flown out. He said we can do it later this week and he'll call. He called today and said bad news ??? The seal is on back order and it will be here Sept 19 - 30. So I'am thinking to myself good thing I didn't bring the Pioneer into you and leave it there for a couple days like you wanted me to. It would have ended up sitting there who knows how long. Hope Honda parts aren't going to end up being a pain in the a** to get.

 

[hurld]

I hope the backorder doesn't mean this is a common problem.

 

[slowdryrider]

Got the call from the Dealer on Sept 12 that the seal came in. Made the appt. for Monday [today] to have it changed. Dropped the Pioneer off at 9;30 am and picked it up at 12:05 pm . The wife and I did some shopping while waiting and all was good. The seal was in bad shape according to the service manager. Guess it was damaged during installation during assembly. I can just imagine how not so careful some of the stuff is put together. Anyway glad its done.

 

[Hondasxs]

Nice. Glad they got you fixed up while you were still in town.
Looked at mine. Seem to be holding well. But I'll keep a eye on them for sure.