Ok, so as I was saying in another thread, my 07 SuperGlide developed an oil leak between the tranny case and crankcase. Right along that seam. I read several previous posts about this issue on some other bikes and it seems that on a silver engineyou can see "the leftover machining oil seeping on the top of the case". Doesnt sound right to me but that seems to be the general idea anyway. Well besides that I noticed some oil, a very dark colored stain, on the upper exhaust side of the case also. Right on the side under the bolt that connects the cases. Took it to the shop, they just called and said they are going to replace the gasket on the oil filler spout as that is where it looks like its coming from???? Umm.....no it isnt. But whatever. They say becuase there is some oil towards the bottom of the filler spout that it must be leaking.....UP the side of the case??? There is no oil trail from the filler spout to where the leak looks to be. And last time I checked fluids dont run straight uphill anyway. Was told they are going to put a dye in the oil so next time I bring it in for service they can run a blacklight over it to see where it's leaking from????? I wish I had taken a few pics of the leak before I took it in but I didnt think about it. Hmmm, guess I'll ride it a bit and see if it starts leaking again as I dont take it to the dealer to have the maintenance done. I do it myself.

 

Seems like a very common thing. My 05 has the same thing. I figure the guys with the black engines just don't notice it. Intersting thing is that I don't believe there is actually any oil in that space between the engine and the transmission. I'm not actually sure it's oil on mine because it doesn't wipe off. Mine showed up after about 1,000 miles and hasn't changed since, so I'm not worried about it.

 

I keep hearing that there arent any oil passages in that space, but where is your oil filler spout?? Look at where your oil drain plug is at? How can oil NOT travel in any passages in that space? What are they trying to pull by telling me that there are no oil passages there? The oil fill spout IS ON THE TRANNY CASE!!

 

I have the same thing on my 02 and I suppose if I look real close I suppose my 05 black engine will have the same line of "smudge". It's really hard to explain but according to my service manual there no oil lines directly below the "seam" that will push oil up. The oil goes to and from the cam chain chest behind a little cover plate just to the rear of the cam chest and into the oil resevoir via drilled passages. What you are seeing is the product of aluminum rubbing against alum. and forming like an aluminum oxide residue. It can be washed off but brake cleaner works pretty good also. This smudge issue pops up from time to time. Ride safe

 

That makes sense to me. Come to think of it, the stuff does look a lot like what ends up on a cloth when polishing aluminum.

 

Nope...I've got a '06 FXDCI w/6700 miles, with the silver motor, no leak/smudge...guess I'm lucky so far...based on comments it sounds more like a cosmetic thing than something to be concerned about.

 

Ok, got my bike back today. Besides the usual "machining oil" residue on the top seam, they say now that the oil leak was from behind the oil filler spout. Seems that the oil spout is on a little plate that has a seal BEHIND it that was leaking. Oh well, they fixed it. Cleaned it(which my bike needed pretty bad anyway). And adjusted my hot idle to a much lower speed for me. Almost sounds like a harley now! Guess I can't gripe too much about the service dept. Then again, I havent had to have any MAJOR repairs yet either??!!

 

My 03 FXD has been showing that smudge since day one. I clean it with brake cleaner and the wife's toothbrush, and about 200 miles later, the smudge is back. My 04 Ultra with black cases never shows any such smudging.

 

My '05 FXD had the same problem. I had the dealer replace all engine seals at no cost since it was still under warranty. Didn't cost me a dime and it was in/out in 1 day -- got lucky there.

 

WOW. Unbelievable.

Post back when the stain reappears.

mud