1998 Road King. Just rolled 34k miles last week on it. Stellar service history. Did a 3 hole a while back, has Redline Primary and Redline Transmission Shockproof and plain old HD360 20/50 in the engine. Came back for a ride last week checked the oil while hot, on jiffy stand it was just below the cold fill mark on the dip stick. And I let the motor idle for at least a min before shutting it off. Has oil pressure just enough at idle to lift it off the pin and never seen a light. topped it off so it was just below the hot full mark.
Tonight I went for an evening run to cool off it’s been 90 plus the last few days. Came home checked it again and it’s back below the cold full mark.
I started up the bike again, raised my RPMs up a bit to show 10psi on the gauge let it sump for 30-40 seconds. Shut the bike off waited a few mins and it maybe came up just above the cold full mark.
No visible signs of any leaks. Tail pipe cones have some soot which I consider normal. It’s not wet.
pulled the Transmission Dipstick while level and it’s dead nuts on full.
I know I have a bit of blow by at freeway speeds but probably only ran 50-60 miles on the freeway at 65-70 lately. The Arlen Ness Big Sucker tends to keep my K&N oiled. lol but it’s not dripping out the cover or filter.
I have heard rumors of fluids swapping or engine oil getting into the primary. But not usually without an underline cause, like the umbrella valve failing.
No abnormal noises other than the typical Evo top end noise.
Bikes finally been running the best it ever has thanks to some safe advice from someone I found.
I don’t notice any blue smoke indicating it’s burning it.
bike did sit for 5-6 years with minimal miles before I purchased it but the Original Owner still changed the oil every spring whether it was ridden 1 mile or 10 miles.
Borescope down the plug holes shows clean piston tops enough I could read the part numbers. Plugs look good, but these have only been in 500 miles. I accidentally fouled the last set out to the enrichment plunger was not fully releasing causing me to run super fat again now solved and timing tweaked so like I said bikes finally running strong. Pulls good from 50-70 now.
I am really fearing pulling that derby off to get a gush of oil. Its probably “used” 3/4 a quart in 1500 miles.
Other than that. Amazing ride tonight. Perfect temp and beautiful sunset over the San Juan Islands to be out on 2 wheels.
Shine a torch in the oil tank to make sure the pump is returning the oil to the tank. If it is and you dont have any noticeable leaking going on around the motor, carb or any fittings, you better check that primary case. as you may find it is coming through your crank seal.
Oil is returning. But I walked out to a puddle of oil under the bike and traced it to where the Stator Wiring comes thru the case. I’ve always had a minor leak after a hot ride but never enough to track down the primary case under the motor and drip on the floor. So I assume my primary is full of oil now.
Looks like I’ve got a major project ahead of me. Can’t imagine what a shop would charge. Might consider changing my belt as well as it’s got a tiny hole in the middle of the belt from a rock I must of picked up someplace.
Only taking things apart will tell for sure, but it does sound like you have oil coming from engine to primary. May be as simple as crankshaft/sprocket shaft seal at spacer.
and Life made easy on the stator gromnet to primary case leak, and double check the crank sensor if MM, to make sure its o ring is still in good shape, oil not coming from there as well and not having to pull the primary to fix a crank to primary seal.
So with some brake cleaner and pick tool, spray the outside of the primary case to front of grommet as you use the pick to pull the end or grommet away from the case, to get all that clean.
Now using some Black RTV and thin bead, work around to use the pick tool to pull the end of grommet away from case, so you can get RTV between case and primary void for it to seal it up. You don't have to get it that deep into the two, and only about 1/8" with the pick tool all they way around, will seal up the leak.
Once you have the grommet sides packed with RTV, then wipe the excess away.
If you do have to pull the primary for crank to primary seal, then since you will need to remove the stator, and may even pull the grommet out of the case, when you go to put the grommet back in, use the black RTV on brake cleaned surfaces, to seal the grommet as it push back into place and clamp tighened back down.
As for crank sensor if MM, O ring 6 is a wear item HD 11170, and can either go oem, or just replace with same size O ring instead.
Myself, since I remove the crank sensor when changing out the oil filter so cable it not destroyed in the process again, have change out the sensor Philips bolt to allen head bolts, and just replace the o ring every time.
If you fix all the oil leaks, and still have problems with oil disapearing, then may be time for new valve seals, since old ones may be rock hard, and allowing oil to leak past them to cause problems. Also, when filling engine oil, only fill to half way between fill line and full line (either hot or cold) since if you fill to top of fill line, motor tends to puck more out of the breather and into the intake manifold. Hence keep an eye on your spark plugs, and if they are wet from oil into the cyclinder from either, then will need to resolve that.
As for this being an evo motor, does seem that your over spending with the fluids being used for three hole change.
Granted that I like to use the K&N filter since can use socket to get them off ($10 in bulk buys), But as for fluids, run all Super Tech fluids across the board.
Hence 5 qt of 20-50 conventional, 10-40 conventional for primary, and 75-90 conventional for trans, keeping my fluid cost for 3 hole changes every 5K to about $25 dollars (load up on them when they are on sale). Also to point out, I only change my trans fluid about every 3 hole change,since do ride more than 20K every year.
As for conventional, verse synthetic fluids, the synthetic fluid are a touch more thinner,and will allow the motor/trans/primary to make more noise,and lets face it. most of the synthic fluid are designed to be run way more 5K, that you will be doing the oil changes isntead.
Supertech oil is made by the Warren oil company, so not a cheap joke of a oil/fluids to begin with. Just less expensive, since no money spent of advertisement to market it, and since it walmart store brand that they buy in huge bulk, price kept down that way as well.
Thanks Dano, it’s a Carb Bike. I’m just a stickler on fluids. I know I can run cheaper. I run Private Label in another bike which is all Valvoline. The Original owner of the bike ran high end fluids in it so I just chose to keep doing it.
I think the dead giveaway on it was the last few rides after the bike got hot was shifting almost got more and more difficult. Harder to find neutral and almost crunchy feeling
ill pull the primary chain adjustment cover tonight and see how much oil is in there and go from there.
Harder to find neutral could be fluid too high in the primary, to cause fluid stiction of the discs,
Hence bike level on lift, primary fluid should only come to here.
So before you pull primary cover, just get bike level and pull the derby cover to check fluid amounts in the primary.
As for crunky, that is not something that should be happening with fluid higher than normal, so would pull the clutch apart to check it. On your year bike, no garnade ring, so only other thing that comes to mind, is grooving in the clutch basket that are causing the discs to stick in the grooves. If not badly grooving, can clean surfaces up with a file, while if deep, may be in for a replacement clutch out basket.
This one is more on the lines of replace, than try to clean up surfaces square to each other with file.
As for when you are reinstalling the clutch if discs are fine, the steel discs are stamp cut, so one side edge will be sharp, while other side edge of tabs will be rounded. Same for the friction pads as well. So when loading, rounded side of tabs for both, go towards the motor, with sharp tab edges outwards. The reason for this, will not have the drive line under tension when pulling the clutch lever in, but will have system under tension when letting the lever back out, and the rounded sides of the tab plates slip a lot better as they are moving back in against each other.
The next one with clutch out, and primary chain slack adjusted correctly, get rear tire off the ground, put the trans in to 3rd gear, and spin the reat tire while watching the stationary out clutch basket. The out clutch basket, as the inner hub is spinning with trans/rear tire, should not face edge dancing/dipping in and out.
Hence inner hub is connected to trans input shaft and should be running concentric if no end of inner spines are damage when it mates up to spine on trans input shaft, and if the clutch basket bearing 19 is cooked, or basket of 11 for the bearing peened to have bearing sitting canted in it, this will cause the out basket to start dipping in and out against the motor, to cause all kinds of clutch problems.
If you need to pull the primary to replace the crank to primary seal, then double check bearing 11 and the seals.
Truth is, the limited amount of times that you may every pull the primary off the bike, if bike has 30K or more miles, just replace the bearing 11 and seal while you have it off.
The other place that can case the clutch to feel crunchy, is problem on the other side of the trans, with either ball bearing starting to go out of round, or the ramps on the levers pitted to hell isntead.
19/7/18
And to play the way back up game on the notchy clutch feel problem, when you are removing the durby cover to check oil level, take the slack off the clutch cable via cable middle adjuster, remove the clutch lever and cable off the lever,
Get a needle lube bottle to fill up with Mobile one, or any sythtic motor oil,
And flood lube done the side of the cable to inner sheilding, to lube the cable in the sheild.
On the bottom end of the cable when it bolts up to the trans cover, you have trans fluid that is flowing back into that end of the cable, so motor oil down the cable and shield from the top end, is not going to hurt a thing. As for lever pin and lever back to lever housing, HD states to use dry lube, but white lithium grease will not hurt a thing to keep those parts lubed as well.
Hence notchy problem itself, could just be lever to housing and pin, and clutch cable in dire need to be lubed as well.
And before you go to readust the clutch cable lever for lever distance, while you still have the cable loose, double check the clutch basket tension nut.
Back off nut 6, then with allen wrench is bolt 11, go counter clockwise for a spin, then tighten the bolt back in until it will hold the allen wrench to 3o with just the weight of the allen wrench, back the bolt off 1/4-1/2 turn counter clockwise, hold the allen wrench so bolt does not turn, and retighten bolt 6 back tight to hold the enter bolt in that postion.
If you want to go a step farther, the pull out bolt 11 before adjusting the clutch, pull the push rod to check it ends, and even take a look at the concave of the bolt 11 that mates up to surface.
As for other side of the bike/trans if its the ***** and ramps, or even bearing 7 with it races 8 cooked, that is causing the clutch release to feel knotchy still after rest checks out, it is what it is, and the front cover for the trans can be pulled, without having to remove the trains, or its inner cartridge set.
Just make sure that when are putting the trans cover back on, you have ***** and ramp with cable in the correct index and the clutch cable pulled back in the shield.
All 3 holes are kept separated with seals.
Primary
Trans
Engine oil, the only 1 under pressure.
If you're not burning it or seeing it on the ground, (a little goes a LONG way),
then it's somewhere IN the engine, see what's overfilled.
Hopefully nothing with the clutch as it’s only got 34k miles but will inspect when it’s open. I know it’s got a few upgrades under the primary cover but don’t know what exactly when the original owner converted it from an Electra Glide to a Road King. He spared no expenses on chrome and factory and Screaming Eagle upgrade parts and I have all the receipts from Mile zero as well.
will dig tonight. Get the bike on the lift and start digging deep.
Hopefully nothing with the clutch as it’s only got 34k miles but will inspect when it’s open. I know it’s got a few upgrades under the primary cover but don’t know what exactly when the original owner converted it from an Electra Glide to a Road King. He spared no expenses on chrome and factory and Screaming Eagle upgrade parts and I have all the receipts from Mile zero as well.
will dig tonight. Get the bike on the lift and start digging deep.
The only path of oil to the primary is the seal behind the stator, the trans has it's own seal behind the clutch pack.
07-10-2024, 12:21 AM
Engine Oil Disappearing
o with just the weight of the allen wrench, back the bolt off 1/4-1/2 turn counter clockwise, hold the allen wrench so bolt does not turn, and retighten bolt 6 back tight to hold the enter bolt in that postion.
