I had an SE comp installed 3500 miles ago. Last weekend, I changed the oil for the first time and the attached pics show the drain plug magnet. Cleaning the magnet revealed that all of the particles were very fine. No chunks or shards. Is this anything to worry about?

I had a new trans installed at the same time. That magnet was basically clean.

I run Redline in both: V-twin Primary Case and MT-90 (75w-90).

 

Not sure by your description which hole this plug is from...?

If it's out of the primary, I wouldn't worry one bit about it.

If it's out of the engine, I would hope that the filter would have caught some of that. Still doesn't look deadly to anything IMO--after all, that's why there is a magnet...

All the best,

Shane

 

That's the primary plug. Motor and trans were very clean.

Thanks

 

Mine looked the same when I did the first oil change after getting a new comp. I'm hoping there will be fewer shavings at the next oil change.

 

By the time it comes up clean will mean the comp has wore out enough to not put out anymore shavings and will probably need to be replaced again :-)

 

With all that goes on in the primary (multi-row chain, clutch, compensator), sometimes I think it should have its own oil filter...

That looks well within normal for a primary plug magnet with more than a few miles on the fluid.

All the best,

Shane

 

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1t up what to say i replaced the std dino 75w-90 wt oil i was running with the same Redline MT-90 man trans oil your running in your HD thats rated at proper 75w-90 wt thats rec by gm for the 4 speed muncie M20 wide ratio trans in my classic muscle car and boy it didnt like it at all.

As soon as i ran it in temp anything above 65-70 deg and trans heated up it made noises it never made before that mostly sounded like could have been due to a worn mainshaft bearing or bearing-s in the trans.

The trans also never leaked or wept a drop of the same grade/wt trans oil eother but with the the redline syn oil it had slight drip/weep from few places.

I quickly dumped redlines mt90 and cleaned the redline oil off the outdside of trans using brakleen & towels.

Then i re-installed Sta-Lubes std dino of same 75w-90 grade and the noise was gone with trans back to its normal no noise no matter what the temp was outside and the few drips & or weeping of gaskets/seals in a few places stopped too.

That was approx 7-8 yrs/7,500-8k miles ago & all is still well with the trans still operating quietly with no leaks or drips.

Had to be an issue with the redline full syn oil not only being a bit thinner when hot then std dino of same grade for same app that led to some noises the trans never made before installing the redline syn oil but also because on a mollecular lvl its easier for the avg full syn oil to migrate (weep & or leak) past seals & gaskets esp when they have more then avg age on them like in this case.

But the noise the trans made with the redline syn oil was by far my biggest concern & why I dumped it ASAP.

So thats my exp with Redline's man trans / MT-75w-90 syn trans oil in an app it's rec & rated for.

Ok,now to the contamination on your primary plug.

Whats on the plug is normal for prim case oil with approx 3,500 miles on it.

Imagine how it would look if you ran the oil in prim case HD's rec 10k miles vs the 3,500 miles you ran it & not getting the prim case oil with all that crap/contamination in it out of the prim case till 10k miles .

Running the prim case oil for 10k miles perf hd's rec would surely lead to additional & or premature wear of anything in the prim case being lubed by prim case oil.

The amount of crap built up on drain plug in only 3,500miles is why i decided to change the prim oil in my HD every time i change the motor oil & filter at approx 3k-3,500miles (HD rec's 5k miles) ,but i would never go past 4k miles on motor or prim oil.

I use spectro's 20w-50 motor oil (avil in std dino/semi-blend/full syn & all are very good high quality oils) along with their prim case oil (85W) too both of which are specifically designed & formulated by spectro for twin cam HD motors & prim cases.

I had tried hd's syn3 & m1's v-twin both syn 20-50 in my bikes motor prior to spectro oil and found the spectro oil held consistantly higher oil pressure on hot days @ idle and at cruise too then the syn3 & m1 did in same exact cond in same outside temp on same roads & riding/driving cond.

Thats showed the spectro oil didnt thin & or loose as much visc when it got very hot on hot summer days then the 2 oils i tried prior did.

HD also rec's 20k mile oil change for trans, i wont run it past max of 10k miles or 1 yr ,which ever comes 1st .

But it was time to change motor & prim oil with approx 3k-3,500 miles on those 2 oils right before i put bike up for winter storage here in upstate NY so i said,what the heck and changed the trans oil at the same time as motor & prim so i could start the new / upcoming 2016 riding season with fresh oil in all 3 holes.

BTW,when i dumped the trans oil with approx 3k-3,500 miles on it the oil seemed to not have change color yet looking almost like it did new being pretty darn clean and there was no buildup on trans drain plug either.

So after seeing that i will definately be sticking to a 10k mile or 1yr (which ever comes 1st) trans oil change schd from now on which is still 50% or less miles then HD's rec of 20k miles for trans oil change that i would never do no matter what on an HD with the issues some of HD's trans have.

Since the Trans only holds 1qt of oil and is easy to drain & re-fill i figured why not change it early before HD's rec 20k miles.

It just couldnt hurt to keep trans filled with fresh lube that has less less dirt , less metal particulate contamination along with with less moisture build up in the oil especially with the not so uncommon trans bearing failures we read about here these days too.

I use spectro syn 75-140 trans oil thats specifically designed & formulated to better protect & quiet the annoying 5th gear whine noise of the 6spd in my 09 flhtcu w 96" motor which did seam to help reduce 5th gear whine a bit.

BTW,i am just about tired enough of the clunking when shifitng to try approx 30-50% ATF mixed with spectro 85w prim oil ofr my next prim case oil change which should thin the 85w prim oil just enough to get better clutch plate separation / disengagement to stop the clunking when shifting.

And yes i checked clutch adj to ensure its ok / disengaging clutch enough which could also cause clunking when shifting if it wasnt adj properly which was in fact OK when checked.

Hopefully running an approx 30-50% mix atf & 85w prim oil will still provide more then enough protection for IPB & everything else the prim oil lubes vs going with all ATF that i would never feel comfortable running in an HD prim long term for reasons i wont get into here because it ruffles too many feathers !/LOL!!!

Happy motoring.

Scott

 

I bought plugs for all three holes that have 'rare earth magnets' and you should see what they pick up.

 

Thank you, Scott. I think I'm having the same weeping oil experience you had with MT-90, and so I'm going to reconsider trans oil. ...

Don't (yet) know about plugs w/ rare earth magnets. Anyone else using these?