Question on 8v rear main seal replacement

[JWD]

I made the mistake of taking a short vacation over the holidays. When I returned, I found a puddle of oil under the clutch housing of my 2009 8v Griso. Problem is, the warranty ran out while I was gone and Guzzi declined to honor it.

So now my Griso looks like the victim of a serial killer, with the frame hanging from the ceiling and various appendages strewn out all over the garage. At this point, I've removed the clutch. There's an obvious stream of oil coming from the main seal and everything else is fairly dry. So my next step is to remove the flange.

I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on supporting the crankshaft during flange removal. Am I going to have to pull the oil pan off or is there some trick to make sure the whole thing doesn't come crashing down?

[fotoguzzi]

feeling very sorry for you... why did it happen? how many miles?

[JWD]

feeling very sorry for you... why did it happen? how many miles?

No idea why it happened. Just over 20k miles. Changed oil (Motul 10w60) and filter (HIFlo) every 3K, as well as all scheduled service. Maybe it was payback because I briefly advertised the bike for sale the week before.

The whole experience has made me long for the days of Berliner. I was a Moto Guzzi dealer in the 70s. Back then, the dealers decided whether to honor a warranty claim and Berliner always stood behind us. I've only had one other warranty issue with this bike [a crack next to the clamp on the u-shaped exhaust pipe] and it took Piaggio 6 weeks to decide to honor it. This time, it only took them 2 weeks to say "no".

[Vasco DG]

There may be more to it besides just the seal. I'm busy right now but if you can wait a few hours I'll explain.

Pete

[Wayne Orwig]

Are you 100% sure it is the seal?
It sounds like Vasco will cover it, but there are issues with bolts too long, and O-ring grooves not machined properly, the first couple of years on the 8V motors.

And the seal can, with care, easily be replaced without pulling the rear bearing carrier.

[JWD]

Are you 100% sure it is the seal?
It sounds like Vasco will cover it, but there are issues with bolts too long, and O-ring grooves not machined properly, the first couple of years on the 8V motors.

And the seal can, with care, easily be replaced without pulling the rear bearing carrier.

I'm aware of the potential problems with both the o-ring and the bolts. That's why I thought it best to remove the flange (even though it seems pretty obvious that the oil is coming from the seal). I've already ordered on oversize o-ring from Moto International in case the groove is too deep. And I plan to check the two bottom bolts once the flange is off.

Unless I'm missing something else, my concern at this point is that the manual says the crankshaft needs to be supported when removing the flange. I've never had reason to remove a Guzzi flange before, so I want to be sure I don't cause any damage.