Finaldrivendectomy

I began this blog as I was transitioning between a 1999 K1200LTI (icon) and a 2000 K1200LTC (custom). I had a final drive failure on the 1999 model at 114,000 (yes, THE dreaded Achilles Heel of the model line) but had it rebuilt at a Seattle BMW dealership while I was buying my 2000 with half the milage and heated pillion seats for Mrs. RedTigre. I then swapped the drive from the 2000 into the 1999 and put the rebuilt FD into the 2000 because it was newly rebuilt and had a 2 year parts and labor warranty.

18,000 mile later, it has failed again.

Making that now recognized wa-wa sound, draining the FD fluid again shows debris I have seen in the last four FD oil changes.

That glitter you see is bearing  :(

More bearing race sparkle...

Debris picked up by the magnet

Now, with the proper shim and preload, this drive should have lasted another 100k miles minimum... as it was, it had concerns after the first oil change and now that things are really ready to begin breaking down, it has been pulled and being ferried this Friday by auto back to the dealership for warranty repair.

Let's hope they spend the time to inspect and get this one right...