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OK. Great. I know the factory service manual doesn't have details on everything, because it's mainly written for mechanics and not shade tree guys like us. But, if you look under the Transmission chapter at the exploded picture of the case, you can see where the drain plug is. I bet the Clymer's manual would have more pictures, but H-D manual is the most reliable one for torque spec, etc...
1. Your oil shavings is relative to when the last time you changed that tranny oil. If it was recent, then I would worry a bit, especially if you have noise or some tranny issue. It could be that they are shavings accumulated from thousands of miles. Could also be dependent on how you ride your bike too. So, when was the last time the tranny oil was changed? If you aren't having any issues, I'd clean it up and refill. The Harley 5-speed tranny are pretty solid stuff.
2. I put gear oil in my tranny. Specifically, synthetic or non-synthetic 75W90 in any brand. You can't go wrong with H-D tranny oil either. I personally run Mobil 1 Synthetic 75W90 bought at Walmart. That's just me.
Good luck.
Last edited by daven9113; Jul 24, 2016 at 03:42 PM.
Your 96 will do just fine on HD lube or any quality gear lube. Avoid the GL-5 syn in one that old. Additives in newer GL-5 syn were are not always kind to some of the brass used in some. And it is just not needed.
I will dig my 96 owners manual out but remember the part about transmission oil drain. It tells you where it is but does not show it. Some years back I was stumped by that for a bit.
Just over 50K on my 1996 EVO and it has never had any major work done to it. It will always be my second ride.
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96 fatboy transmission fluid change
