I have a '92 flstc that is leaking at the bottom of the rear cylinder. I have heard that if I repair this that I need to have the bottom of the jug machined because just replacing the gasket will not correct the problem permanently. The information I have received has come from a couple of local shops that work on harley's only but are not dealerships. The local "Harley" shop has stated that just the gaskets need to be replaced. Just wondering if anyone has heard of this supposed problem and if the machining is necessary. If anyone has done this repair I would also like to know what type of time frame to complete that I am looking at. Any help would be great. I am new to this forum and posted this message under the soft tail board with no response, so if this is in the wrong place please let me know.
Thanks.

 

You can just replace the gaskets or if you have time and money, people have had success with getting a groove machined so that an o-ring can be used instead of a regular gasket. To me, just verify the bottom of the jug is flat by putting it on a piece of glass and do the same with the case. If both surfaces are true, replace the gasket, maybe use some copper coat on it and you should be good to go. I cannot stress enough the necessity of SLOWLY torquing the jug down evenly.

 

Thanks for the response. I have already purchased the gasket kit, and since I just bought this bike used with only 23k miles I found it hard to believe that it would need that much work with so few miles. I'll stick a staight edge on it, but the bike looks like new and was well maintained so I think it's just the gasket, due to sitting for two years without being ridden. Thanks for the tip on the torque of the jug. Now I'll probably start due to the temps being down and this is the last long weekend of the summer.
Thanks for the response.