Leak advice : V-Twin Forum: Harley Davidson Forums

TaddeoEG · 05-04-2009, 02:03 PM

Okay, so this is my first Shovel and first vintage Harley. I know leaks are not uncommon and I'm sure there are tons of reasons but I'm hoping that the symptoms my bike displays will let you experienced guys point me in the right direction. 82 FXRS which is a 5spd.

Very soon after riding then parking the bike a fairly large glop of oil (say the size of two silver dollars side by side) appears beneath the primary towards the back. Left frame rail is coated with oil and jiffy stand as well. After this initial purge a much small puddle (say two pennies side by side) appears a bit further forward - could be residual from the original leak. After that, she's clean until next ride.

My lift is on back order but hope to get her up in the air this weekend. That should help home in on the actual source but thought I'd give the forum a shot as well.

Thanks,
Tadd

guymack · 05-06-2009, 01:12 AM

Welcome to the club. I used to have a frisbee at work I would throw under mine. Best thing i can say is get a gasket scraper and go to town. Start replacing the primary gaskets. Use the fiber ones not the metal though...

Texas Tom · 05-06-2009, 06:03 PM

I had a 82 fxr many moons ago that I bought new sold it some 10 years later,and there were two things that I did to get rid of the oil leaks...get rid of the chain oiler block it off oil the chain by hand there are a lot of good lubes out there better than dripping engine oil on it,second the 82 uses the same oil for engine and primary,which often leads to a lot of leaks,been to long ago can`t remeber where I got it,but there is a kit that changes it so the primary and engine oil are seperate that way the primary oil is static (not under pressure) and your engine oil is a lot cleaner..Im sure someone will jump in and tell you how to do this,your in there anyway if you change the gasket..good luck wish I still had my old 82 fxr good machine...Tom..

Phåråoh · 05-07-2009, 02:53 PM

Crapola! I recently read an excellent on-line article about isolating the Primary from the engine, complete with step by step instructions and photos, but I don't remember where I found it to give as a reference... heck, it might have even been here. Search the site and resources, you might find it. If not, Google it. You'll definitely find the info.

As mentioned, a very important factor which will reduce primary leaks is that, by isolating the primary, it's no longer under pressure, which helps.

Mine is isolated, but it does have a leak, probrobly because it's been about 6 years and 11,000 miles since the primary was last opened. The leak isn't a bad one though.

I also have the chain oiler plugged. Excellent advice also. I use chain moly.

I also have the tranny isolated from the engine and use Ford ATF in it.

By isolating these systems, it keeps the metallic (and plastic primary chain tensioner pad) particles from circulating through all the systems.

I don't know if they are available for a Harley primary, but vintage Dodge 440 engines suffer from habitual exhaust manifold leaks. The cure to this is using copper gaskets.

Does anyone know if they are available for Harley primaries?

nmaineron · 05-08-2009, 09:25 AM

If not your primary or chain oiler then it is probably your main shaft leaking.The sprocket nut was famous for loosening up and allowing oil to seep by.They had a few different upgrades to the sprocket and I believe they fit all.You should still have the three fingered clutch hub with the heavy splined gear.I quess the best way to tell is to pinch your oiler line and check for puddles in the AM.

I am a big fan of taking the primary out of the oilling system,HD must have been also..Good luck