I rebuilt my motor and had the same oil leak issue thought my seal must’ve gotten messed up from when i first installed so I replaced it same result. Good thing i came across this video because i thought that I forgot something internally and was dreading splitting my casings. Thank you🤙🏽🤙🏽
great advice. I used a socket and hammer technique. The seal seated too far in on one side and not enough on the other. Had to buy another seal kit since I FUBARed one set already. Will def try your technique next.
It s the same on the 19-20 models. Just had the same issue, pushed the seal too far and leaking a lot more than before :( I m gonna use your method, thanks for the video, very useful
It’s tough. Terrible design in my opinion by Kawasaki. They could do like KTM for example and have a machined lip on the case to be able to drive it until it stops where it needs to be instead of having to be so careful so you don’t ruin a brand new seal.
Yeah man that’s exactly what happened to me. The manual is very vague on it so after I ruined the first one I figured I’d make a quick video because I’m sure this has happened to lots of people. It’s an annoying design. KTM has a much better design with a lip so you can drive it in with a socket and it stops where it’s supposed to.
Thinking about it, if you could find a flat washer with a ID a bit larger than the countershaft and a OD larger than the seals OD, you could use that to drive the seal in flush with the case with the sprocket/nut and not have to sneak up on it. It would only go to flush. Then throw the washer in your tool box in case it's needed in the future. Anyway, just a thought.
For sure that would work too. Really anything that stops when it hits flush will keep it from dropping back in there. It’s really a poor design on Kawasaki’s part in my opinion. KTMs design is much better you can drive it in with a socket and it stops exactly where it should.
@@tannerjthomas That would be awesome. My CRF450R has the same flawed design as yours. Thanks man for sharing your video. I wish my mind could simplify things like that. It doesn't...lol
To remove it I just took the sprocket off then used a curved pick to slide between the collar and seal to pull it out. You can also just take off the sprocket and push the seal in toward the case beyond the flush seal and then take the collar off and pull the old seal out.
Thanks for the video. Question, what is that orange seal in the back? Looks like that is my issue on my 2013 KX450F. Thinking more than I want to get into on my own. 🤦♂️
How far does the inner collar go in. Does it butt up against the oring, or go over the oring? Mine didn't seem to want to go past the oring, but there wasn't enough depth when I put the sprocket and that nut locking washer on so I had to torque it down more to make room. I think that might have been my issue. Going to take it apart again once I get the new seals
With the new seal and O-ring it is much harder to install since it’s a new and tight fit. You can tap the collar in with a punch or socket. It will eventually hit the stop point where it should. Torquing it down works too it should still stop flush agains the shaft where it’s supposed to
The two O rings that come in the kit, my initial thought would be to put in the O ring that will match what I pull out, would it be better to add the thicker O ring from the start? I havent pulled mine out, 08 Kx 450, not sure if its going to be the thinner or thicker O ring yet. Also, I have seen some back and forth on if the torque spec of the nut should be as stated in the service manual, 94 ft lbs, or less, ive seen in some forums to set at 54 ft lb. What would you recommend? Thanks
Usually the one that’s a little thicker is better since the original O-ring wears down a bit thinner over time. Depending on the bike the the bigger O-ring is actually too big since aftermarket replacements often add extra sizes into the pack. You can always try the bigger O-ring and if it is too big the collar won’t slide back on and then you can put the smaller one in.
Is this the same with the 2011 aswel.?. The last one I followed these steps and it seemed to not have pressed up the seal properly by winding nut up etc to press it in slowly and it ended up popping back out on first kick. The second seal basically fell inside without even pressing it hard with fingers, should both outer seal and surface be completely dry?.
I put grease on mine but only a very very light coating. You can do it dry the grease just helps at least on mine. Did you get a new collar for the countershaft and new o-rings with the new seal? Sometimes if you reuse the collar and O-rings it won’t fit as tightly. The OEM seal should be pretty tight around the outside too. This is a horrible design by Kawi though.
It should stick out of the seal a bit you can grab ahold of it carefully with some channel locks or pliers. It’s a pretty tight seal with the o-ring underneath of it so just give it a good pull and it should come off.
I noticed that when u put spacer behind the sprocket then the nut to press seal in place that the video jumps fwd a couple of times and when your tightening nut and removing it you can't see the spacer behind the sprocket even when it's done right up the sprocket seems to be near flush with the housing and no gap, wouldn't there be a noticeable gap if the spacer was between the housing and the sprocket?. Just seems unusual as the video skips every time you go to remove it so doesn't actually show the spacer behind the sproket at all just seems odd?. Not questioning your workmanship at all it's just something I noticed that dusnt look right lol cheers
Yeah that was an editing mistake. You can also tighten just the sprocket down without the spacer and it will end up flush as well it’s just easier to see when you use the spacer. I think I accidentally edited out that explanation but that’s what I was doing.
No on this bike it’s just a new seal, a new O-Ring on the shaft in the groove then slide the collar on between the shaft and seal. The service manual references a circlip but it’s referring to the other side of the shaft on the right side of the motor which can be confusing.
@@tannerjthomas ok, thanks. I have a 2006 kx450 and it looks just like yours but it has a snap ring. I reassembled just like you did without it and no leaking. Yet... I’ll have to do some digging to see if that needs to be on or not.
@@tannerjthomas gutted, rebuilt it atkeast 20 times as i kept messing things up but finally learnt but didn't change bearings, I changed the circle rubber and the black seal and also fitted collar :( flys out, I noticed my crankcase breather was bent as it came out engine so would that cause too much pressure to blow oast bearings? I don't mind replacing everything again it's just the bearings as I don't fancy another rebuild, finally running after 4months
@@cory8832 that’s interesting it’s blowing it out of there even with a collar and O-ring replacement. Is the seal and collar staying in place when it’s blowing all the oil out? Oil does move around in there so it kind of sounds like something isn’t sealing up right but hard to say without actually seeing it.
@@tannerjthomas would crankcase breather being bent and blocked cause pressure? And maybe I didn't fit collar properly as it didn't feel like it wanted to go all the way down, I only bought new o ring and new black seal, if I could attach videos pictures I could show you tommorow
2:52 mark you say, "clip that you could put on there". Then you do not even install it. Or at least do not show putting it on. That is why you are leaking. It needs to go on.
I rebuilt my motor and had the same oil leak issue thought my seal must’ve gotten messed up from when i first installed so I replaced it same result. Good thing i came across this video because i thought that I forgot something internally and was dreading splitting my casings. Thank you🤙🏽🤙🏽
Glad it helped
Hi, I just replaced my oil seal, following your instructions. Worked like a charm! Thanks so much.
Glad you mentioned to where to apply the grease. Great video, thanks👍
Great advice brother. Gonna share this with a buddy of mine. Thanks man.
great advice. I used a socket and hammer technique. The seal seated too far in on one side and not enough on the other. Had to buy another seal kit since I FUBARed one set already. Will def try your technique next.
thatnks for this info, doing it this week
It s the same on the 19-20 models. Just had the same issue, pushed the seal too far and leaking a lot more than before :( I m gonna use your method, thanks for the video, very useful
Good deal man glad I could help. Also good to know the 19-20 is the same I figured they would have fixed that design on the new ones.
Thank you. Ive tried this 3 times and it has not worked yet. You did a great job explaining this. I finally got it right thanks to you.
It’s tough. Terrible design in my opinion by Kawasaki. They could do like KTM for example and have a machined lip on the case to be able to drive it until it stops where it needs to be instead of having to be so careful so you don’t ruin a brand new seal.
Great vid man did the same thing on my 18 kx450 drove it in too far and had to ruin the new seal.
Yeah man that’s exactly what happened to me. The manual is very vague on it so after I ruined the first one I figured I’d make a quick video because I’m sure this has happened to lots of people. It’s an annoying design. KTM has a much better design with a lip so you can drive it in with a socket and it stops where it’s supposed to.
Was there a u clip in your kit? And if so, where in the counter shaft did you put it with the seal installation?
Thanks for video, luckily I just started so I will avoid your mistake
Sweet man good luck enjoy!
Thinking about it, if you could find a flat washer with a ID a bit larger than the countershaft and a OD larger than the seals OD, you could use that to drive the seal in flush with the case with the sprocket/nut and not have to sneak up on it. It would only go to flush. Then throw the washer in your tool box in case it's needed in the future. Anyway, just a thought.
For sure that would work too. Really anything that stops when it hits flush will keep it from dropping back in there. It’s really a poor design on Kawasaki’s part in my opinion. KTMs design is much better you can drive it in with a socket and it stops exactly where it should.
@@tannerjthomas That would be awesome. My CRF450R has the same flawed design as yours. Thanks man for sharing your video. I wish my mind could simplify things like that. It doesn't...lol
Would be nice if u showed us how to remove the seal itself while it's still on the bike but good video tho it helped out
To remove it I just took the sprocket off then used a curved pick to slide between the collar and seal to pull it out. You can also just take off the sprocket and push the seal in toward the case beyond the flush seal and then take the collar off and pull the old seal out.
Thanks for the video. Question, what is that orange seal in the back? Looks like that is my issue on my 2013 KX450F. Thinking more than I want to get into on my own. 🤦♂️
I had some issues getting the old collar off and think I may have punctured that orange seal.
The orange is the seal on the bearing. If you punctured it you’ll have to split the case and get into the bottom end to replace it.
How far does the inner collar go in. Does it butt up against the oring, or go over the oring? Mine didn't seem to want to go past the oring, but there wasn't enough depth when I put the sprocket and that nut locking washer on so I had to torque it down more to make room. I think that might have been my issue. Going to take it apart again once I get the new seals
With the new seal and O-ring it is much harder to install since it’s a new and tight fit. You can tap the collar in with a punch or socket. It will eventually hit the stop point where it should. Torquing it down works too it should still stop flush agains the shaft where it’s supposed to
The two O rings that come in the kit, my initial thought would be to put in the O ring that will match what I pull out, would it be better to add the thicker O ring from the start? I havent pulled mine out, 08 Kx 450, not sure if its going to be the thinner or thicker O ring yet. Also, I have seen some back and forth on if the torque spec of the nut should be as stated in the service manual, 94 ft lbs, or less, ive seen in some forums to set at 54 ft lb. What would you recommend? Thanks
Usually the one that’s a little thicker is better since the original O-ring wears down a bit thinner over time. Depending on the bike the the bigger O-ring is actually too big since aftermarket replacements often add extra sizes into the pack. You can always try the bigger O-ring and if it is too big the collar won’t slide back on and then you can put the smaller one in.
My sprocket is bottoming on the case? There is no spacer in any of the parts fiche's and I see you dont have a spacer either. Any thoughts?
It sounds like your collar that goes on the shaft before the sprocket isn’t there. Did you make sure to put the collar back on?
@@tannerjthomas it is there. It may be deeper than it should be however since I saw a note on that on this thread.
Hey man how about the liltle o rings that sometimes is diff sizes were do they go ??
If they’re the ones that come with the new set you order they go in the groove on the shaft. There is one that goes underneath that collar.
Is this the same with the 2011 aswel.?. The last one I followed these steps and it seemed to not have pressed up the seal properly by winding nut up etc to press it in slowly and it ended up popping back out on first kick. The second seal basically fell inside without even pressing it hard with fingers, should both outer seal and surface be completely dry?.
I put grease on mine but only a very very light coating. You can do it dry the grease just helps at least on mine. Did you get a new collar for the countershaft and new o-rings with the new seal? Sometimes if you reuse the collar and O-rings it won’t fit as tightly. The OEM seal should be pretty tight around the outside too. This is a horrible design by Kawi though.
How did you remove the metal collar that’s inside of the seal?
It should stick out of the seal a bit you can grab ahold of it carefully with some channel locks or pliers. It’s a pretty tight seal with the o-ring underneath of it so just give it a good pull and it should come off.
I can't find the right nut to lock it all up for my 2011 suzuki drz400s?
You can get OEM parts online or at your local motorcycle shop if you lost the original. They’re pretty cheap to replace.
I noticed that when u put spacer behind the sprocket then the nut to press seal in place that the video jumps fwd a couple of times and when your tightening nut and removing it you can't see the spacer behind the sprocket even when it's done right up the sprocket seems to be near flush with the housing and no gap, wouldn't there be a noticeable gap if the spacer was between the housing and the sprocket?. Just seems unusual as the video skips every time you go to remove it so doesn't actually show the spacer behind the sproket at all just seems odd?. Not questioning your workmanship at all it's just something I noticed that dusnt look right lol cheers
Yeah that was an editing mistake. You can also tighten just the sprocket down without the spacer and it will end up flush as well it’s just easier to see when you use the spacer. I think I accidentally edited out that explanation but that’s what I was doing.
Did you place a snap ring over the seal?
No on this bike it’s just a new seal, a new O-Ring on the shaft in the groove then slide the collar on between the shaft and seal. The service manual references a circlip but it’s referring to the other side of the shaft on the right side of the motor which can be confusing.
@@tannerjthomas ok, thanks. I have a 2006 kx450 and it looks just like yours but it has a snap ring. I reassembled just like you did without it and no leaking. Yet... I’ll have to do some digging to see if that needs to be on or not.
Yeah being an 06 it might have. Mine is a 2017 so they may have changed it in that time. Probably wouldn’t hurt to have one just for extra hold.
I just looked at the service manual online for a 2006 and it does have a snap ring outside of the seal.
@@tannerjthomas thanks! I’ll take it apart and seat the seal further in so it will fit. Hopefully that will work. Thanks for your help
I followed this and still pissing out of oil, will that be my bearings?
Could be the bearing. Did you replace the o-rings and collar too?
@@tannerjthomas gutted, rebuilt it atkeast 20 times as i kept messing things up but finally learnt but didn't change bearings, I changed the circle rubber and the black seal and also fitted collar :( flys out, I noticed my crankcase breather was bent as it came out engine so would that cause too much pressure to blow oast bearings? I don't mind replacing everything again it's just the bearings as I don't fancy another rebuild, finally running after 4months
@@cory8832 that’s interesting it’s blowing it out of there even with a collar and O-ring replacement. Is the seal and collar staying in place when it’s blowing all the oil out? Oil does move around in there so it kind of sounds like something isn’t sealing up right but hard to say without actually seeing it.
@@tannerjthomas would crankcase breather being bent and blocked cause pressure? And maybe I didn't fit collar properly as it didn't feel like it wanted to go all the way down, I only bought new o ring and new black seal, if I could attach videos pictures I could show you tommorow
How do I get ur out?
If you use a pick or anything that can get behind it you can just pull it out.
I think you are leaking because you do not show installing the c clip. That is not optional.
2:52 mark you say, "clip that you could put on there". Then you do not even install it. Or at least do not show putting it on. That is why you are leaking. It needs to go on.
👍👍👍