ok i'll make this as to the point as i can.

i got an 04 1200c i put a Nightster (not sure of the year) primary on it.

it is leakin like a sive on the shifter arm.

i went to HD and got the blow up verision of what oil sealers go where. they are exactly the same on the N and the C.

i put the primary on with the pressed in oil seal, then the rubber washer, then the shifter arm....STILL LEAKIN!

i don't know how to fix this??? dam thing is pissin!

could i have possibley damaged the oil sealer when pressin it in? i used a socket the fit and a rubber mallet to whack it in.

on the blown up diagram it doesn't look like i'm missing any oil seals, washers, gaskets....nothin, just the 2 things, the oil seal (with the spring inside it) and the rubber washer.

any help will be greatly apprecieated....i can't afford to buy gaskets every time i screw up.

thanks

 

Quit screwin up then! :P lol


Sounds like you whacked it a little too hard...That's what happens to me anyways. lol all jokes a side though. It's damaged. You shouldn't have to hit it with a mallet to get it on there. If everything is aligned properly, it should fit right on.

 

Old Skool, I went thru the same thing with my Sporty just a few months ago.

I had the silver powdercoated primary cover and I picked up a chrome HD primary cover for cheap on eBay. After I changed it out, the oil was blowing out around the shifter. I thought I might have damaged something during the change

I have an '04, and I think the cover was from an '06. When I looked further into it, I found that the seals were different over the years. The ID (inner diameter) and OD (outer diameter) vary year to year.

The seal that fit the OD of the primary opening had too large an ID to match the shifter shaft. The seal that fit the shaft had too small an OD to seal with the primary cover. You need to have a tight fit between both or oil will blow out.

What to do?? Well I decided to use both seals!! First I placed the seal with the correct OD for the primary, then seated the seal with the smaller ID on top of it. I remember fabricating a thin shim made of aluminum flashing to help tighten the fit, though I don't recall where I placed it right now. To finish it off, I cut the rubber spacer to half its thickness (to accomodate the extra seal) put it on and tightened everything down.

There's still a small amount of oil that gets by the seal and I have to wipe it off the cover every so often, but not enough leaks to cause oil spots beneath the bike.

I completed this mod in late May and rode for probably 4-5k miles since then. When I drained the tranny oil last week I measured it before disposal. I found very close to a full 32 oz remaining.

If the seal is good you should feel no excessive movement around the shifter shaft. BTW I didn't replace the primary gasket while figuring this problem out, just reused it. Hope this helps.

 

thanks gilmour, that does help, i'm see if the outside diamiter holes are the same on the 04 and 08...if so then i'm gonna go get the 04 bushings, take them to a machiene shop and have them press them into the 08 primary...if not i'll try yr way cause i sure as **** can't afford another one right now

 

Gilmour...04-06 do not vary from each other. Same o-rings, seals, gaskets, covers, etc. Is your primary you bought an HD product or knock off?
From 04 and switching to an 08, there could very well be differences.

Old skool- I'd give the shop a ring and ask some questions just to make sure. One way you can find out very easily is go to the HD website and look up a primary for an 08 sportster and see what it fits. If it's made for the bike, there is no way in hell you should have to shim stuff and have things machined.

 

got any bubblegum? j/k
good luck oldskool, glad to see you got it back together after the accident. you didnt bend the shaft in the accident did you? I have done that one and it leaked. anyway congrats on winning the photo contest!

 

UPS, I can assure you that there are differences between '04-06.

While working on the leak, I made a couple of trips to the stealer and ultimately they were able to produce two different size seals for post-'04 Sportys. Side by side they were noticeably different.

And yes, the primary is a geniune HD part.

 

gilmour my man that might justa done it! did just what ya said, didn't use a shim, just muscled it on and pushed really hard on the shifter lever then bolted down, took a 25 mile trip and just a little leak, nothin to bad, seems like its leakin from under and out of where the shifter shaft and the shifter lever are....i can live with a little runny oil, as long as i can ride and now thanks to you i can and not sweat it.....when i get some extra $$ i will buy a new one....maybe....this seems to work very well....thanks agian for the advice

 

Glad I could help!!!