oil return problem

[chickenleg]

Got a 2005 heritage I went to ride yesterday and checked the oil first, no oil. Put a quart in-no oil. Put another quart in-no oil. Put some more in til it registered right, started it up and went in the house for a couple minutes to let it warm up, came back and oil had pumped to the tank and all over the floor and bike. Anybody got a clue what happened?

[TXCHOP]

Was it sitting a while? If it was, gravity probably put all your oil into the crankcases and when you fired it up, there was way too much. Kinda normal..Alway check oil hot for that reason.

[Hillside]

It was all in the cases.
But speaking of Softails, Axtell, at one time reccomended, that the Softail feed be re-routed to the bottom left side(new bung welded) to be able to circulate the entire tank, instead of just the right half.
Scott

[ChopperDude]

Oil tank is located differently for softail than it is dyna or touring models. Softail has tank HIGH, above oil pump. Dynas and Touring bikes have it low, almost lower than the oil pump.

On Softails, what happens is that GRAVITY allows the oil to bleed past the check valve that is SUPPOSED to keep the oil out. Over time, that valve loses its effectiveness, and the oil drains from the oil tank into the cases, as Hillside indicated.

Once you start the bike up, all the "original" oil plus what you added, gets pumped back into the oil tank, overfilling it.

It is not a "return" problem, as you indicated... it got returned the last time you rode the bike, it's just that SINCE you last rode it, it all drained down into the case.

1) Be aware that this can happen
2) Don't just fill it up blindly like you did.
3) Remove oil cap, and start bike, and very quickly you will see the oil getting returned

There's not a cheap and easy fix, unfortunately...