Doug, if the pulley nut comes loose it could cause some serious damage, the pulley could move off the main drive gear which would trash the splines on the pulley and possibly the drive gear too.

You will need some special tools for the job, but even if you buy the tools for the job you will still be able to save some money compared to paying a shop to do it.

The manual will tell you how to :
Remove outer primary cover
Remove primary chain tensioner
Remove the compensator nut (Standard Thread)
Remove the clutch hub nut (Left Hand Thread)

To get access to the clutch hub retaining nut you must remove the snap ring that holds the adjuster plate at the center of the clutch. You don`t have to disassemble the clutch, it can come off as one unit.

The clutch/primary chain/compensator sprocket will all be removed at the same time.

Remove starter jackshaft
Remove starter mount bolts
Remove bolts securing inner primary cover
Remove primary inner cover
Remove pulley nut (Left Hand Thread)

Tools:
A 1-1/2 inch socket to remove the compensator nut. Big breaker bar…

A locking device to immoblize the clutch/compensator, several ways to do this, some use a locking bar, some use a wedge between the primary chain and the clutch and primary sprockets.

The nut that holds the clutch hub to the mainshaft is 1-3/16, if my memory is correct…

A special socket for the pulley nut must be fabricated or purchaced, 1-7/8 inch.

If you must rremove the mainshaft bearing race you will need a special puller/installer tool.

You can find some of the tools needed on ebay, or georges-garage.com , also jims machining.

The old pulley design uses a single bolt to prevent the pulley nut from backing off.

The new pulley design uses a lockplate and two bolts to keep the nut from backing off, it also used a different pulley and spacer.

If you have the old pulley, throw the pulley,nut, lockbolt and spacer into the scrap pile.

If you already have the new pulley design, keep the pulley if it looks ok but replace the bolts that hold the lockplate, also replace the quad seal that goes under the spacer, and the spacer itself.

Also replace:
Main drive gear seal (the big seal).
Main drive gear/mainshaft seal,it goes between the main drive gear and the mainshaft.
Starter jackshaft seal
Shifter shaft seal
Mainshaft bearing seal on the inner primary

Sorry for such a long winded post, but I`m off today and it is 12 degrees outside...

 

The new configuration is much improved over the old design,the old design was simply a bolt that threaded into the pulley, and was supposed to stop the nut from turning backwards, but the nut would just start to back off, hit the bolthead, shear it off and then keep loosening until failure occured.

The new configuration uses a lockplate, bolted to the pulley that holds the nut.
It also uses a pulley that is thicker at the center web, and a narrower spacer.

 

Thanks for the useful info in this and your big previous post, Dan. I guess I will not worry about it, since I surely have the new pulley version.

12 degrees is painful for this Southern boy to even think about! It's 44 here and sunny. I just got my bike put back together after installing a new Daytona Twin Tec single-fire ignition/coil/plug wire kit that I got a good price on. The bike seems to like it. It's running very well. I think I might take her out for a spin today or tomorrow!

 

Just a couple of 'learning experiences'. Like I posted, it happened twice. Once with the OEM 93 setup, and again with the 'upgraded' version.

Or you could ride it, like I did, and it will eventually make a 'ticking noise' followed by a screeching/grinding noise. At that point you'll be looking for a shop. If your luck is like mine you'll be at least a thousand miles away from home...

When M&S Cycles in Chambersburg, PA fixed mine (9/29/1996-I was off a year) here's the part numbers back then:
1 - 40210-8SP Sprocket 'upgrade kit' $75.95
1 - 11147 O-Ring $3.95
1 - 34901-85 Gasket $14.95

1.5 quarts primary oil $6.38
1 pint trans oil $3.50
Shop 'supplies' $2.00

Total Parts $104.73

Labor (remember it's 1996) $85.50

Total Repair $203.76

Your bike has the 'improved design'. The best way to check for an drive sprocket leak is to get the bike up on a lift and/or crawl under it. Take a light and look at the area behind the drive sprocket. If it's wet, moist, cruddy... You've got a loose lockplate/nut.

More likely, it will do like mine did and hit the inner primary. Trust me, when that happens, you'll know it. My bike felt like it was 'missing', in addition to the noise(s). Little did I know, that the inner primary was getting a custom machining job.

You're gonna have to trust me on this, the 'new and improved' version is still prone to loosening up.

Here's the parts list from Kissimmee Harley-Davidson to repair the leak a second time (10/21/2002):

1 - 34901-85 Gasket $14.95
1 - 11105 O-Ring $.28
1 - 11147A O-Ring $1.75
1 - 12052 Oil Seal $3.20
1 - 12053A Oil $5.65
1 - 31430-93 Thrust Washer $3.60

Supplies $5.00

Labor (3.5 hours) $210.00

Like I replied, it's not a difficult repair, it's just a PITA repair. If mine ever starts to leak again, I will put the JIMS sprocket and lockplate/nut combo on. They make the HD parts look like the junk they are.

 

Doug, my hand is raised as being among the world's worst for ordering/buying all possible parts and tools before tearing my ride apart... but it's winter time so do yourself a favor and tear it down first. I've "been there, done that" and couldn't afford "the t-shirt" cause I spent too much on unnecessary parts. If you could make it leak enough to get your finger wet and smell or taste the fluid, you'd have a better idea of how far you'll need to go but I can't describe either - it's an "aquired taste"

One, you don't know for sure the pulley is loose and/or needs replacement or if the transmission seal is even leaking. It may only be the inner primary seal. There's about 125.00 difference in tools and parts needed between the inner primary job and pulley/seal/spacer portion of the job. And that's not counting a "pulley kit." Midwest (Jireh) sells a "kit" a few dollars less than Revtech and the Midwest kit is junk. The pulley is correct, but it doesn't include a spacer because the included seal is for the older models and will not work with the required spacer for the wider (post '93) pulley. So be careful ordering if you end going that far.

Naturally, anyone who's had a failure in that area is gonna scream (I would) but don't assume the pulley is bad or even loose until you get it apart. Mine had 105,000 when I did the trans and I went back with the original old style thin pulley because it was tight on tear down and the seal was only seeping. I'd done the inner primary seals about 15,000 miles prior and all looked well, so...

Other than the pulley nut, basic hand tools are all that are required for initial teardown/inspection so unless you have bucks to throw around, take my advice and tear it down first...

 

OK - I looked under there, and the outside of the inner primary is all wet with oil... I can't tell if it's coming from the tranny or the primary seal though - but it's all covered in wet oil - not even dusty, just wet.... that's got to be where my dripping is coming from... UGGGGH!

Looks like I need to crack it open and find out what's going on. But like someone here said... it IS winter! Might as well break open the clutch and replace the plates, or get a heavier duty clutch, while I'm in there... my bike has about 50,000 miles on it.

Thanks for the very useful info Hackd!

 

NGH,

Sorry to hear it, but atleast you know where that slow primary leak is now..just like me. It's 18 degrees in my garage right now so I'm in no hurry, wanna split the cost of the tools.

Doug

 

With regards to the price of tools, holy cow, if you spend 100 bucks to do it your self, you can always sell or loan to others. I've never regretted buying the proper tools to do the job vs. paying the stealer to do it. Besides that, it makes you just that much more NOT dependent of paying someone else to do the work. After all , who cares more about your bike than you do!! Hell, I've got ford and chevy clutch alignment tools I've only used 2 or 3 times, but still cheaper than than any indy. Not to dis any indy, they've got to pay for their specialty tools too.

 

Yup. Mine started around the time I replaced the polished OEM outer primary cover with a chromed one. I changed gaskets three times. Still had a dime/quarter size 'spot' on the floor. Figured it was just a bad chrome piece. The PA wrench that repaired it, knew right away what it was (funny how that is). The only thing that holds the transmisson seal in place is the torque on the drive pulley nut. It doesn't take much 'loosening' to get it to leak. That's why I knew what it was when it loosened up in Daytona six years later: I saw a spot of oil on the parking lot.

Another way to identify the problem, is to clean off the area, get some dye and put it into the transmission. Run it for a few miles, put a black light on the area, and see if it's trans oil.

Again, I would toss the OEM crap into the scap bin and install the JIMS sprocket/lockplate. Good time to do a final gearing change if you want, as JIMS offers a variety of tooth counts.

If you don't want to crawl around on cold concrete: Check with a local indy (My experience: The 'stealers don't like working on old junk - or they don't have any 'old timers' working there.) to see what they might charge to fix it. Someone that's got a lift/hoist, an impact, and knows what they're doing, should be able to 'fix' it in around three hours or less.

 

My 85 FXWG has a definite leak, but for years I have just kept a pan under it. It seemed like too much work to just fix a minor drip, but reading these posts has me wondering now. Every once in a while I feel a definite grab when Im going down the road. I have always thought it was wheel bearings or something else, but never found any cause for it. I wonder if the pulley nut has backed off enough to be hitting the primary case?????