Ok so I'm coming up on 2600 miles and I pull the wrong plug yesterday and out comes the primary oil ! Doh for me huh? So I go off to the dealer and buy the oil,one of the teks down there tells me to add 1.2 litres which is over a quart , and the owner's manual says 32 oz's. I put in 32oz's, but my question is...... how come the oil came out gray? I also noticed the primary cover bolts were really not tight , could there have been water mixed into the oil after a few washings and getting caught in the rain for about 20 minutes the other day?I really doubt gray is a normal color , i operate heavy machinery and have never seen the 80 /90 gear oil turn gray in a normal , healthy machine. That's why i'm asking the pros here @ HDforums!!!

 

It it was milky, it likely had water in it. If you are using HD primary lube, it is not a gear oil. It is basically a a 30 wt motor oil.

 

I had the grey looking primary oil the first time I changed, it is probably bits of the clutch plates getting broken in... I've changed it since, and no grey.

 

Agreed xxx but it does have that earthy gear oil smell..I can't beleive those idiots at the stealer didn't tighten the cover! I know they shouldn't be too tight,but icould have almost removed them with ny fingers.No resistance at all with ratchet and torx.

 

Gear oil has a strong smell from the sulphur in it. The smell from your primary oil is from the clutch plates....unless it smells like fish. If you ever have charging system problems, the first thing to do is take off the primary cover and stick your nose in. If you smell fish, your stator has just taken a crap.

 

I don't know how gray it was, but when I put in my HD oil into my primary the other day for the first time, it was definitely grayish...

 

The torque specs for the primary bolts are in the low inch pound rate - using a torque wrench to undo them, or even a long handled socket wrench, you would notice very little resistance due to the leverage especially if not Locktite was used If your primary wasn't leaking oil I would doubt water was entering from washing or riding.

 

I wouldnt worry about the greyish color. They all look like that when it's first changed, or you push the envelope too far and waited too long.
If it was from moisture introduced at a significant level to contaminate the oil, you'd have a fairly substantial leak to go along with it.

 

Cool i just emptied the remnants of the oil into another container and found no water so I guess all is normal. Now I tightened the bolts just a little more than they had and I think it should be ok.Cross torqueing the,of course,no arm just wrist but not as much as I could,just snug.