Did you change the oil when hot? You probably had a lot of oil drained back into the sump. You really must change the oil after the engine has been fully warmed up, so the oil has time to all get pumped back into the tank.

Seems you may have definitely overfilled your tank. Lucky it didn't shoot out the dipstick and spray the whole living room.

John

 

^^^^what he said. Though it could have been a defective tank it might have been fine if it wasnt over filled. You said you only drained 2 quarts and put a little over 3 quarts in. So you could have had well over 4 quarts in there. The oil had no where to go but the tank and when it ran out of space it split what might have been an other wise ok tank at a weak point.

Hard lesson learned for next time. Let the engine run for a few minutes BEFORE you drain the oil. I always put 2 quarts in then creep up on where I want it to be which for me is 3/4s up between the min/jmax marks.

 

Copied and pasted from my 2014 Softail owners manual:

Checking Oil Tank Level
2014 Softail Owner's Manual: Maintenance and Lubrication https://www.harley-davidson.com/app-...owners/om/2014...

Do not overfill oil. Doing so can result in oil carryover to the air cleaner leading
to equipment damage and/or equipment malfunction. (00190b)

1. Ride motorcycle until engine is warmed up to operating temperature.

2. Idle motorcycle on jiffy stand for 1-2 minutes.

3. Shut motorcycle off and leave motorcycle resting on jiffy stand.

4. See Engine Oil Level. Check oil level on dipstick. If necessary, add oil until oil registers at upper groove on dipstick (FULL HOT). Do not overfill oil tank.

 

^^^^^disregard above post, check per a sportster manual not a softail manual.

 

if you over fill... the system will puke it out of the vents and a/c.


drop in 2 bottles, run, and check levels. add more as needed.

 

Wait. Let's go back to where you changed oil in your 'living room'..really? Wow.
That part is weird enough without an oil tank 'blowing up". Hahaha.

 

post #6 says there was *no pressure relief valve (PRV) on 2007.
my 2011 xl1200 does have a PRV. That did not stop the MC from blowing the oil tank filler plug right out of the tank three times in a row. How the pressure managed to turn the filler plug conunterclockwise i do not know. I am draining a quart of oil to see if the tank was overfilled
*If you have a PRV in your oil tank, check to make sure it is functioning.....

 

While the quantity of oil is important for reasons of temperature stabilization and sinking heat, the really vital aspect is that there must be oil enough to keep the pump suction line filled with oil. Sweating a 1/2 quart one way or the other is a false path. That didn't cause anything except maybe a limited leak in the overflow area of the plumbing.

Drysump tanks for motor oil need to be built to safely tolerate at least 10 psi, maybe more. This is because of vapor pressure due to fuel dilution and crankcase pressures that may sometimes be transmitted to the tank. As I recall the cap on the sporty is a rubber plug - that can blow out. That's good. But if it can't stand such trivial pressure without blowing the cap-plug stopper out, well then...

The tank was defective. Period.

My impression is that a used tank is about the same value as a dead cat. So is a new one. Same "reliable" supplier - HD. I would take the view that HDMOCO obviously treasures their tanks, both the worthless exploding sort and also the replacement tanks, far more highly that is logical.

I would take the tank that failed and see about welding it properly. If that was not realistic I'd simply make one. I could not do any worse than the illustrious Company!

 

I will try using vice grips to hold the seam together on the oil tank, until I can get the old tank replaced with a new one.

 

You can't be serious!