As some of you already know I recently inherited a 76 FXE. This bike is a mild custom and I'm new to Harley's so I'm not completely sure whats stock and whats not. It's a belt drive primary, and the clutch is the type that uses bolts with springs instead of the studs with springs that I am seeing in the manual. Oil is leaking from the bottom of the primary cover and out the derby cover. It appears that their is not supposed to be any oil in the primary case, there are no oil lines runnig to it, and with a belt drive I would assume it should be a dry setup. I pulled the outer primary off and it appears to be coming from behind the motor sprocket and is definately motor oil and not trans fluid. I've got the cluth basket taken apart and am ready to pull the basket out all together. I didn't have te right bolts for my puller so that will have to wait for tomorrow. The way I see it, is I have to get the clutch hub and basket out, then I can take the inner primary off. Once the inner primary is off I can use a jaw puller to taker the motor sproket off. Is this correct or is there something I'm missing. Once I get the motor sproket off, where do I go from there? Also, what is the purpose of the saftey wire that is strung betwwen the two bolts directly behind the motor sprocket? I'm not new to wrenching, but I am very new to Harley's. I'm trying to get this bike ready for Bike Week, and I will greatly appreciate any help I can get with this.

 

Well I see no replys,,,,,,,,stuff can get longwinded trying to explain on a keyboard,,,,,,get you a OEM H.D. service and parts manual,,,,,they are as important as your tools and tell you how to do the job and where the parts gowithout saying a word,,,
good luck

 

the safety wire is there to prevent the bolts from loosening off. as far as the oil in the primary, if it's coming from behind the motor sprocket, it's most likely the mainshaft oil seal. your manual should tell you how to change this. you should also check to see if your crankcase breather has been routed away from the primary... this could feed oil into the primary as well. good luck.

 

i just got finished doing exactly what you are doing. i can almost garantee that the oil is coming from your engine shaft seal in the left engine case. I just changed mine. You will need to get the engine sprocket and clutch hub and basket off as an assembly. then you can finish taking the inner primary off. the safety with on the two bolts in the inner primary that bolt the inner primary to the engine leftcase is very inportant. make sure you get the proper STAINLESS STEEL safty wire to use to re-saftey wire it when you put it back together. dont over torque any bolts when you put it back together. espessially the ones that go into the engin case. dont use locktite on the bolt that hold the iner primary to the engin case (4 of them). put a good amount of silicone gasket sealer on those bolt threadsbefor you put them back in. That will keep from stripping threads if they back out from vibration later on. dont move the transmission unless you have too or you will have to re-aline it with the engine when you put it all back together. while you have the inner primary off. change the shift pawl springs in the transmission shifter and the two other springs in there next to them in the shifter mechanism. you wont be taking the inner primary off a lot so you wanna change those springs while it is apart. they do eventuallywear and break. you might also wantto change the pawls. oil and/or grease everything good.follow the directions in your manual. factory harley manuals are the best... you will need a puller and possobly an impact to get the clutch hub off, there is a puller you get from the local bike shop just for that purpose, $25. that puller will also help you get the alternator rotor and motor sprocket off if ya need it. you might alsoneed an impact to get the motor sprocket nut and clutch hub nutoff. take it all off as an assembly and put it on that way. remember, the clutch hub nut is left hand thread. there is also a keyway and key on the tapered shaft that the clutch hub is on. you will have to get that key out befor you can get the inner primary off that shaft. take your time..there might be 20 little bearings (if stock) on the clutch hub where the clutch basket rides on the clutch. make sure they dont roll everywhere when ya take the basket off. use a ton of high heat grease to hold them in their cage when put it all back together. there might be a friction disk rivited to the back of your clutch hub. near the bearing surface. make sure thats not loose.
look where the inner primary connects to the engin case. there is a place where a rubber o-ring go's to seal the connection. there is a lip on the case that the oring sits on. be carefull, dont crack that lip when reassembling. while you got it all apart, you will find an altinator stator behind the alternator rotor. it has a couple wires that go to a plug that sticks through the engine case. make sure those wires have no wear at all from the rotor hitting them. you might want to change the stator just to be safe. if you do, make sure you put that little plastic piece on that hods the stator wire close to the case and keeps the plug in. dont strip the little holes that the little plastic piece screws too. when you change the sprocket shaft seal, you will see that its hard to get anything under it to pull it. remember: there are the main engin bearings behind it so you dont wanna get any metal pieces in that bearing. when i take my seal out, i take a 16 nail and sharpen the end of it and i use that to poke a hole in the seal. i then tap a seal puller in that hole and pull the seal. the seal insidewill ride on a spacer that spacer needs to look perfect. but i promise, you will want to change that spacer anyway. dont take any chance's or the new seal will leak. they are $14.95 at harley davidson. some guys like to put that seal in backwards. thay say that keeps it from leaking. i just put mine in the way it i

 

Thanks for the advice guys. I have to manuals, a harley one and a clymer, however neither one is very detailed. Coochie, thank you for all the info. The problem I'm having is that the bike has an aftermarket belt drive and clutch. I can't see how to take the motor sprocket and clutch hub off as one unit. There is almost no clearance between the outer lip on the motor sprocket and the primary case, and there are no threaded holes on the motor sprocket that I can run bolts into for a puller. With a little persuasion and a lot of patience I managed to get the clutch hub and basket off (it's all one piece). It looks like I can get the inner primary off and then use a jaw puller to get the motor sprocket. I've got as far as getting the inner primary loose but I haven't unbolted the starter and pulled the inner primary off yet. Do you guys think it will work this way or do I need to backup and start again. Thanks again for the help.

 

Good thing you have manuals... Bad thing is the clymer.. those are useless.
If I may suggest, I have a 83 Shovel and am new to this as well. I use this website on shovels. Everyone is very helpful and very knowledgable. They will solve and or help you in any way anyone can. Here is the link. http://shovelhead.us/

 

I was always able to just pull the motor sprocket off by hand after using an impact or breaker bar to loosen the nut.

 

whats wrong with Clymer's panhead 1948-1965 service-repair-maintenance manual ?

 

that front pully should come off without a puller. maybe if you jiggle it around a little, it will come loose. otherwise, you should be able to pull the inner primary off with the pully on. the outer diameter of the pullly should be smaller than the hole in the inner primery. you will have to get it off eventually. be very carefull using any automotive type pullers on that front motor sprocket shaft. make shure there is protection on the shaft. i think you should just undo the starter and pullthe inner primaryoff at this point. you need to get it all off so you can start inspecting things. taking it apart is the easy part.

 

Ok I got it all apart. You guys were right, the motor sprocket came off without a puller. It had a cap over top of it. One smal tap with a rubber mallet and the cap fell off, then the sprocket came off easily with a little wiggling. I went and got a seal and spacer today, and I'm getting ready to put it all back together. I'll let you guys know how it turns out. Once again thanks for the help.