...or something else... The middle and upper rocker covers aren't very wet. The exhaust clamp is. 50,000 on the motor. The leak happened fairly quickly.

 

I just fixed a rocker cover leak on my front cylinder. I would guess that is what is going on in your pic. The area around mine was just wet like that.

 

There's a rectangular gasket (rubber) at the center of the valve cover. That would be my diagnosis from what I can see in the photo. But it could be a lower gasket also (rocker box) and there's only 9 more bolts to remove in order to replace the lower gasket(s)

PS here's a breakdown - give you a better idea of what's involved, though not the best diagram. Don't worry about the rocker arms, shafts - it will all come out off a unit... And this shows 2 lower gaskets but now they are a 1-piece from most sources.

 

Is there anything else that normally needs to be done when these gaskets are replaced? Does the gasket leak because of age or is it an indication of some other issue? I will probably pay an independent shop to do the work. I want to know what to expect.

 

Nothing lasts forever. Gaskets are a prime example. Of the two, the front is the easiest to get to (I've done mine a 'few' times-see below). I would imagine you'll get socked for an hour and a half labor + parts to do the front. If there is no oil on the top/middle box, then it could be coming from the lower. But ya gotta remove 'em all to get to the bottom anyway. Most often, they leak either above or below the middle box.

Have the indy shop check the boxes for warpage. This is easy to do using a piece of glass: Set the pieces on the glass plate and see if they 'wiggle' or 'rock'. If they do: Toss the warped one and replace with a Genuine HD part. Chances are slim to none that you will ever be able to seal a warped rocker box.

Oh, and I have a real horror story that involves the aftermarket (Custom Chrome) ones....

 

I spoke to my Indy today. I explained what I saw, and reminded him that the base gaskets also have been oozing for a while. While the top is off, he said it's smart to do the bottom too. With 50,000 miles, and the labor involved to do the gaskets, he's encouraging me to also go ahead and do a rebuild on whatever is showing significant wear. I remember that the Stealer told me 6 months ago that I would soon need a rebuild because of some "blow-by" (I guess the dyno picked up on it), but I didn't heed the warning because their workmanship was horrible. Anyway, I do trust the Indy, but still feel like I might be opening a can of worms... I wasn't even thinking about making any engine upgrades either, but now would be the time.

 

I would just fix the leak that bothers you. If I had the cash for a rebuild I would save that little bit more for a new 107" El Bruto from Ultima.

 

Considering the base gaskets are wet, I'd say he gave you sound advice.

The complete top-end rebuild gasket set is about 90.00. Rings are about 40.00 and typically a "service" is all you'd need for the heads about 50.00 assuming the guides are good. If there any bad ones, it's usually only 2 (front and rear exhaust) If needed, pistons can range from 80.00 to 300.00 (including rings) and whether the cylinders need to be over-sized is a "wait-and-see" deal. So, that's you basic rebuild (plus labor) a rather inexpensive precedure that will give you ay least another 50,000 miles or so. But you can spend big-bucks upgrading things.

So, that's the "can of worms" - take out the bad ones and keep the good ones, then reseal the can and ride

 

My $.02:

If your bike is running good, just seal up the boxes and ride it. It would be a waste of labor time ($$$) to go do the base gaskets and not do some 'freshing up', as it's around a 5 hour job to pull it all down to the cases and put it back together. I would definitely install The Oil Fix from Hayden M6 at that point. On EVO's there are two types of base gaskets: Those that leak (or weep, or seep, or get 'wet'), and those that will eventually leak (or weep, or seep, or get 'wet'). It's the nature of the **** poor HD design on the oil return. I watched mine 'weep, seep, leak' on my 93 FLHS (purchased new 4/93) from spring 1994 until 2006. Dealer's advice? 'Let it warm up, before you ride it.' Trust me, if they're 'weepin, seepin, leakin', they are gonna stay that way. At least that's how mine remained until The Oil Fix was installed in 2006.

Here's where the MAW's (might as well) start to run the bill up.
MAW, clean up the cylinders. Rings, possible pistons, machining, etc.
MAW, put in new lifters/cam upgrade and cam bearing.
MAW, bump the compression a bit.
MAW, do a 'street porting' job on the heads.
MAW, stick a new exhaust on it.
MAW, get it dyno'd and the carb tuned.

Next thing you know, the bill has gotten to over $2K, and that 'crate engine' V-twin is looking pretty attractive.

A properly maintained and used (not abused) EVO should give you 100K of riding before things start smoking. Or knocking. That being said, I had my top end 'freshened up' just shy of 50K (actually it's been done twice-horror story too long for this thread). All part of listening to an indy, when I took it in after ten years of leaking base gaskets (they leaked after he finished - all part of the horror story), who said: "MAW freshen things up".

 

There's something else I'm curious about. I think I have been getting more engine vibes lately below 2500rpms. I usually cruise around slowly in the low 2-2500rpm's anyway, but lately this hasn't felt so right. Is this characteristic of any wear issues, or is this likely just in my head?

Hack'd: Thanks for MAW's. I feel the tug on my wallet already. I'd like to have the cam bearing changed to be smart, but I wasn't dissatisfied with the cam. My goal is to ride as long as I can, not as fast.

Thanks everyone for your input so far.