I've started having a serious tranny fluid leak & trouble shifting my 5 spd 97 Road King. Nearly everything is standard except the better carb I put on it a couple of years ago.

I jacked the scooter up today and started looking around and found a small hose coming out of the left side top of the tranny housing. It bends out, then turns up and around and connects to nothing. It would be about 6 inches long if straightened out. It looks like it would attach to something on the inside of the Primary housing but repeated feeling around doesn't find anything.

I checked my Factory Manual and it shows NOTHING about this particular hose.

It looks like my tranny fluid is spraying out of this hose onto the exhaust pipe. The leakage, when the bike is parked, seems to be coming from the Primary Cover Gasket. I replaced that not too long ago and my wrencher used factory specs to torque all the bolts.

Your advice would be greatly appreciated...I've got a couple of 'official' rides coming up, but I won't jeopardize my safety just filling up the tranny fluid & prayin' it won't run out before the end of the rides.

12Gauge

 

I know on my FXD your "tube to nowhere" is a Tranny vent. I think it prevents pressure build up from heat that would blow out gaskets. Maybe the inner primary bearing? Just a guess but that "tube" shouldn't be the cause unless you seriously overfilled the tranny.

 

The hose is a vent tube.
Can you tell if it is tranny fluid or primary fluid?
Have you checked the fluid levels?
You could clean the cases then recheck after a ride to pin point the leak.

 

My 93 FLHS spits out oil thru this breather tube once in awhile cold weather early spring conditions I use mobil 1 75/90 syn gear lub 22 oz max

 

Check your trans lube level...could be overfilled. Check it hot.

If your primary derby cover is dripping oil you need to get a new gasket & put it on correctly. If the last guy who changed the primary oil didn't return the derby cover to it's original orientation it may have warped to the shape of the outer case over time and now is out of position and doesn't match the case. So it will leak. If that is the case you can:

1. buy several gaskets and by trial & error rotate the derby cover clockwise one bolt hole until it doesn't leak which will be your original position (don't forget to mark the cover top hole with a scribe on the INSIDE of the cover so you don't do this again. Also, top off oil.

2. Buy a new derby cover and install. (mark the top hole on the new one as well so you don't repeat).

Oh yeah try going to 75w90 GL5 gear oil in the trans or 85w140 is good too. Post back and let us know the oil level in the trans.

 

If oil is blowing out the tranny vent tube, and the primary case cover, you have two separate problems. Stand the bike up-right and check the tranny fluid while it is still hot. Drain the primary oil into a clean container and then measure it, to see if you lost any of the oil. Checking both of them will tell you where the problem is.

 

OR, use different color oils in each. I use Redline Shockproof Trans oil which is pink and Redline MTL in the primary which is dark red.

 

is it this hose? if it is it's a vent. I had to find out also, that's why it says what is this

 

Okay, the hose is a vent. Fluid level in the primary is where it's supposed to be. The tranny fluid (at this point) looks level. Tranny wasn't shifting properly before I parked it last week. I figure I need to adjust the clutch or clutch cable. But that is a little above my skill level. I used to have a son-in-law that was my wrencher. He was pretty good at it, but he & my daughter couldn't get along.....so now he's my ex son-in-law. I don't hate him, I'm not happy with him, but I could tolerate him as he is a responsible guy (for the most part). Don't ask about my other Ex son-in-law.

Anyway, back to my King. I'm going to try adjusting the clutch cable first and see if that does anything positive.

BTW, I did check the fluid levels while I had my scooter balanced rather than on it's jiffy stand. I've had it about 8 years and it's got over 40k miles on it. Regular maint on the oil & filter, tires replaced before they were worn out....only had the 10k mileage checkup with a cert. HD mechanic. He replaced necessary fluids, etc., checked clearances, etc.

The primary chain appears to have the normal amt of slack & the oil seems to be pretty darn clean. My son-i-l (ex) put a new clutch in about a year ago. He's adjusted the clutch twice. Did it from HD Manual specs & instructions.

Thanx for suggestions & info.....don't want to look stupid, but sometimes you just can't help it. At least my knowledge of my scooter has increased over the last couple of days.

SB

 

I also have a problem with my 1995 FXDWG leaking oil out of the transmission vent hose behind the primary. It has gotten much worse. Looking at the manual, it seems the transmission and oil tank may share a common gasket (top cover) since they are attached together. If so, a bad gasket may allow crankcase pressure and oil to enter the transmission and blow out through the vent tube. the thinner oil from the engine may make shifting seem harder, as mentioned. Then lower gasket appears to be just for the oil tank and I don't think it would cause a problem. This is the only possible way I can see that I can be losing that much oil through the tranny vent. You might want to ask your local mechanic to verify this, since I haven't taken it apart yet. I would check the tightness of the top cover screws first, since they might be loose.