Question for all the 250es fans out there

[motordude]

The oil in it was clean"ish" had a tint of black/green. No signs of any water at all. Spinning the pinion gear by hand was silky smooth with no gritty feeling. I think I caught this in time. Bearings seem to be tight and all the other seals and bearings look/ feel good............ The axle came out clean as well as eveything else.

[tri again]

I love the sound of 'smooth as silk'.
It's a wonderful feeling we can all relate to.
I think we're supposed to also check, like up and down play and axial, like back and forth
for play.
I forget how we checked backlash.
There wants to be some, like the gears mesh with a little bit of slop, like when you wiggle correctly adjusted valves.

But also sure there are numbers and specs that relate.
I think we used some blue dye or white grease to see the mating surface and contact of the ring
and pinion.

Yeah, wiggle everything and really TRY to find some sloppy direction.
as in loose bearing tolerances, but ALL directions in addition to that wonderful rotation you have going.

New seals ( we used to glue them in with a little contact cement) so they wouldn't sneak back out.

The correct hypoid gear oil and run it?
If you're the only operator, you'll most certainly be in tune for funny noises.

oh wait.
now WHY exactly did that seal lip do a flip?
I wouldn't be able to sleep until I figured THAT out, but that's just one of my personal issues
I need to address.
If something works, I need to know why.
Maybe I'll outgrow it.

[motordude]

I spent a good two hours last night going over everything/cleaning. The only "play" that I found was when I spun the pinion by hand back and forth abruptly which was very minimal. Everything seems perfect..............but I am going to see which tolerances I can check without taking it apart.

Now as far as why the seal lip was inverted on one side? Looks to have been like that for a long time as it basically molded itself that way. The friend I bought it from (55 years old) is a very honest guy, no reason to BS me, said he has never done anything to it since new, other than fluids. He said it sat for 17 years and he has been driving it for the past 6 only to head out on his lake for ice fishing and up and down his 1/4 mile driveway to get the mail.

When I told him I did two 40+ mile days on it, he almost dropped! He said that is the most distance it has gone in its lifetime in one day. Another thing was when I picked it up last month, he filled the tank for me and had to make sure he told me he had not put any fuel stabil in it as he was all out. I told him not to worry, this tank will be gone in a couple of weeks anyway, again he was shocked!

[dougspcs]

Well that lip was turned by installing the shaft..no question of that.

So it comes to this..your mate is an honest guy and says he's owned it since new and never opened the differential.

Therefore, it's been there since factory days..1+1=2. Simplest answer the correct one!!

Luck that he didn't ride it much or go into the water..would have been the death of the differential for sure.

Anyway the answer is in your hands..clean, lube the driveshaft nub, install a new seal and put her back together. BTW that little bit of backlash you feel is totally normal..Case closed!

One more thing..credit to you for taking the time to explore the cause of the leak. You unquestionably saved yourself a major repair by not ignoring the problem. Paying the machine respect and good maintenance will ensure you got a machine that will last you til your an old man!!

I'd drain that tank and start fresh!!

[motordude]

One last question and thank you to everyone for your help.

Any ideas as to where I should purchase this seal? I know I can get it through bike bandit, ebay, local dealer and such but I just wanted to try to keep the money circle throughout this forum and not give my hard earned $10-$15 to some stranger.

OIL SEAL (38X64X11)
91251-HC5-005