I decided to drain my primary oil along with the engine oil today. When I got under the bike there were two drain plugs (one 3/4" and one 5/8"). In the manual it says the primary should take 24 ounces, but I drained out at least 30 ounces. When I put it back in I only put 24. Do you think that is okay?

Also, when I put the 3/4" plug back in place it tightened, and then when I tighted it slightly more, it slipped and then tightened again. I repeated this several times. I'm hoping I didn't strip the whole thing out. Is this just a common bolt, or would I need something special to replace it? My fear is that it will come off and then I'll be in big trouble.

One more thing. I read somewhere that there was supposed to be a screw I could back out that would tell me if I had the right amount of oil in it. It was supposed to be right above the footpeg. I cannot find such a screw anywhere.

Thanks again,
Barry

 

The screw is in the primary cover sitting a little above the mounting screws for the cover. This will be short screw and does not thread into the case. You remove this screw and with the bike sitting level (not on kickstand) you fill the primary until it starts coming out of the screw hole. This is the correct level for the primary fluid.

The drain plugs are steel and the cases are aluminum. I am afraid you have a stripped case not a stripped plug. There are various ways to fix this and it should be fixed.

 

Can I re-tap it?

Thanks,
Barry

 

Hey Barry,
Which one of the plugs is stripped? I don't know what year bike we are talking about here but there is one plug under the transmission (standard) and one plug under the clutch (magnetic). The one under the trans is 1/2x13 and the magnetic is 1/2x? (finer threads) and has more metal to thread in the case. The one under the trans as well as the crankcase plug (same size) are the common ones to strip.

 

The bike is a 1972 XLH.

The plug I'm talking about is the one closest to the front. The head on it is 3/4". I am going to take it off a little later today and make sure whether it is the plug or the case that is stripped.

 

One closest to the front is the crankcase plug under the flywheels. Not primary. Maybe something is getting lost in translation here. Got pictures? I can't do scans/pictures or I would post a shot of the underside. Maybe someone here can. You can't tap the crankcase because the flywheels are really close on the inside. I guess you could try a blind tap oversize bya little but there is an easier fix. Let us know what you find out later.

 

Here are some pics:

This is taken from the front of the bike and it is the plug that is leaking/stripped:

 

Okay, I removed the plug. There is a sliver of thread missing on the second to top rung of the bolt, and about an 1/8" inch of thread that is lifting off the bolt. There is also a copper washer on this bolt that I'm assuming might have been put on to cover the missing thread by a previous owner. If I put a thicker washer on it would cover up all the missing thread. Do you think that would be a good idea?

I also noticed that this bolt has been cut to fit because there are obvious saw marks on the end of it.

Also, I tried to see the threading inside of the case but can't get a good enough look at it to see if any of it is stripped or not.

Thanks,
Barry

 

That is a crush washer to prevent leaking oil. That should be a 1/2 x 13 thread bolt. If it is not he went oversize already. That might account for the custom cut bolt. These drain plugs are usually hollow at the thread end. Find out what size that bad boy is and move on from there.

 

It is a 1/2 x 13 thread bolt. I couldn't find one anywhere short enough, so I bought one that I'm going to cut down a little later. I'm sure the one I took out was not the original though.