TLDR- Took bike to HD dealer service center to fix oil leak, first time did not fix it, second time did not fix it, same amount leaking after all this time and money, they want me to take it in for a third time to fix it. Paying a lot of money, worried that i am getting scammed. Looking for advice. Prices below in CAD - Canadian Currency.

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1st time: My bike has an oil leak and I took it to the dealership to fix this. They said it was the Primary cover gasket. Labour rate: 139$ per hour. They charged me for the 1.75 hours of labour (243$), and Primary Cover Gasket (50.95$), Inspection Cover Gasket (7.39$), Shift Shaft Seal (7.99$), Formula+ Oil (15.61$), 2 O-Rings (2.98$). 326.43$ in total.

After bringing the bike home, the bike was leaking the same amount of oil, there was no change.

2nd time: I took the bike back to the HD service centre, they told me the head gasket was where the oil was leaking from. They replaced the head gasket, they then took it for a test ride, then told me that it was still leaking but from the Crank Position Center, and they inspected it and it had disintegrated, so they changed that. They then called and said they took it for a 2nd test drive, and said it seemed like there was some potential oil seepage coming from trans output seal, but they werent sure if it was from the previous ride, so they washed the bike, and asked me to take it home and ride it, and see if it is still leaking.

They charged me: Labour to Diagnose Leak (2 hours - 278$), General Labour (6 hours - 834$), Top End Gasket Kit (289.95$), 4 O-Rings (7.56$), 4 Screw Cylinder Head Chrome (29.96$), 4 Screw Cylinder Head 3.17 Long (30.76$), Crankshaft Position Center (92.95$), Oil Filter Black Spin On (19.95$), HD 360 20W50 Drum (41.10$). Total: (1624.23$)

I took the bike home, took it out for a 20 minute ride in the evening, left it in the garage with a piece of cardboard under the engine, and in the morning i checked, and it is leaking the same amount of oil.

I requested, and they agreed to deduct the cost of the first repair from the second repair, by reducing 2.5 hours of labour from the second repair. So essentially I did not have to pay for the first repair.

In total, I have paid (1276.73$), bike in the shop for a total of 3 weeks, and there has been no change in the problem. There is no less oil leaking then before I first took it in. Nothing has changed.

Has anyone gone through this before? I feel overwhelmed and am concerned they are trying to take advantage of me and scam me, where they will just keep replacing parts that dont fix the problem.

 

Welcome to HDForums from Michigan.

Leaks can be very difficult to locate.

 

Welcome to the forum.
what year bike? Have you tried to locate the leak yourself?

 

1. Find a different shop, see if there is an independent Harley mechanic near you.
2. Clean off areas where you see oil with brake cleaner so there is not oil visible - put a oil drain pan under your bike and have it outside while doing.
3. Then ride the bike and look to see if you can see where the oil is leaking from using a flashlight.
4. A head gasket oil leak (do not think it was the head gasket) is readily apparent, so is a valve cover oil leak (this is the most likely from your description of the parts replaced).
5. Depending on the year, it could be leaking from a varity of places, could be a bad oil tank line, or some models with a plastic oil tank have leaked at the tank seams.



NOTE:
The above information, while credible, is worth what you paid for it and should not be considered gospel.
Do due diligence, research and have a H-D Field Service Manual before working on your bike.
You will probably have many opinions and suggestions presented; make sure you research the person providing the helpful information as there are some who provide good information that is useful and some who speak out of other orifices with gibberish. You will figure out this quickly.

 

A scam? You think they have you on the hook to be a consistent source of income?
I doubt this theory. Incompetence on the part of the mechanics seems more likely.

I would clean all the areas thoroughly (including using brakeclean or contact cleaner) and use UV dye in the oil. Go for short rides, continue to check with a UV light, and see if it can be identified at the source.

 

Doubt they're scamming you. More likely they're just not that good. I agree, leaks can be a bugger to chase. You can do a lot with cleaning, a short ride, and examining. Take pictures.

 

Unfortunately, in-depth diagnosis by an hourly-paid tech with a job list of bikes waiting to be worked on, is a thing of the past. If the service manual says 2.5 hours to replace a gasket, he will do 2.5 hours and replace the gasket. In other words, a critical thinking thought process to diagnose a problem isn't described in the service manual, and nothing is done to look "outside the box".

just as @Keithhu said, leaks can be hard to find, but sometimes the keep it simple approach, and experience is the best first approach. I too, early on suffered from a leak I couldn't find. Luckily, I have a bike-guru friend that told me, "maybe the derby cover is warped". This sometime happens when it is over-torqued, or torqued incorrectly. I replaced the derby cover and the leak was gone. My point is, experience and knowledge go hand in hand.

Clean the bike up with some degreaser or S-100, and let it sit overnight. inspect it carefully, and then take it for a 20 minute ride, and again, let it sit. Carefully, visually inspect. You might be surprised at what you see when you have the patience to really look.

If the service department appears to you that they are really trying to diagnose, and not just throw parts at it, then see what you can work out with the service manager. If you still think they are trying to scam, find a reliable independent service tech near you that might actually take time to do the work correctly. When the tech has his name on the front door, they tend to work on bikes differently than a dealer that sees techs come and go on a regular basis. Just my .02 (or 3 Loonies)

 

Oil leaks suck, and at some point are not worth the cost of the repair.
My base gaskets weep, but it's not worth the time or expense to me to replace them.

 

A lot of dealer techs these days are lacking skills, have minimal training, and work without supervision. The only thing they get right is charging you for hours of labor and parts you didn't need.

You can still ride your bike. Find a different repair shop. If you charged the work on a credit card, I would contest the charges.

 

I never let oil leaks go period. Don’t let people have the satisfaction of talking trash about Harley. I wouldn’t let that go. With that said I also admit that could be really tough to find. My solution when I can’t find is completely tare it down and replace everything in question. Another trick I used a few times was to completely clean it, then I sprayed white deodorant all over the undercarriage. Check it every hour closely looking for the leak even if it takes a couple days. The leak spot shows more prominently on the deodorant.

This place is harsh and a lot of closed minded know it alls like to attack, so before you Jack holes attack me, do this first before saying it doesn’t work, if you haven’t done it you have no business commenting on if it works. I know it has.