Have never used pipe dope or any tape on threads, reuse o-rings if they look good, have never had a leak.

 

I did my second oil change, not the first. I auditioned the dealer shop by letting them do my 1000 mile service. At the next oil change, which I did myself, I found the thread sealer and the torn o-rings.

Sealer is bad enough. The o-rings, all three of them, were smashed up, and one was actually torn apart. I have a very hard time believing that this was done by the factory assembler. The next guy to touch the plugs was the dealer shop guy. I have assumed that HE was the one who put on the spunk and tore the o-rings.

In any case, the dealer shop failed the audition, for more reasons than the thread spunk and torn o-rings.

 

I'm not saying the dealer's tech didn't tear the o rings or put the plumbers paste on the drain plugs, he did. But i did my own and the plumbers paste was on the drain plugs from the factory.

I don't bring my bike in for oil changes because this simple procedure done in haste, can allow them to over-tighten the plugs and rip the o rings.

The reason i do use the plumbers paste on the last couple of threads and replace the o rings is because the torque very little on these plugs and an o ring costs pennies and the paste is just added because i felt the factory used it and has worked well for me.

Plus when i have it on the jack i can look over everything else, clean the wheels etc.

Keeps me in the game, plus the dealer overfilled the engine oil my friends bike.

Lastly, i like doing it.

 

At the time, I asked a friend about this, because I hadn't had a Harley since 1970. He said he thought the spunk on the threads is because they might leak, and it is better-safer to avoid any kind of leak at all which would cause the owner to come back to the shop. I see that point.

OTOH once I cleaned the spunk off the bolts and put new o-rings on there, and torqued the bolts to 28 n-m, they have never weeped even the tiniest bit in 36k miles.

The factory should have used a little more thread spunk on the breather bolts. My rear breather bolt leaked oil from Day One. I took it in, and the tech "put another 3/4 turn on the breather bolt" (his words) but that did not affect the leak. I pulled the breather bolt out and could see that the thread sealer wasn't applied along enough of the bolt to get into the head, thus allowing oil to wick out onto the engine. I fixed that, and another oil leak from the rear rocker box, myself, after I decided the dealer shop wasn't worth the trouble.

 

+1 never use anything but new ring and make sure everything is clean

 

teflon thread sealer liquid, and new o-ring each time, slightly lubed with oil.
Main thing is do not overtighten. I call it nudge it up like a jelly jar. I just bought high temp permatex thread sealer, probably overkill, but why not.
cheers.

 

I replace the o ring each time.
I bought a new drain plug from the local dealer recently, it came with a o ring and already had Teflon on the threads.