Evo: trans leak ? ?

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Jan 17, 2011 | 01:28 PM

ptb_ptb

Thread Starter

Stage III

Joined: Jan 2011

Posts: 3

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Evo: trans leak ? ?

just joined this site this morning, after having researched "trans leaks" for an hour or so. Santa Claus brought us a 96 Heritage, this is not my 1st bike but it IS my first HD. didn't take long to start finding things "wrong" with it. she was a little low on trans lube, so i topped her off. Then i noticed the leak which appears to be the primary housing gasket. however, if it did not start leaking until after i added trans lube, that's telling me that not only is the primary cover gasket shot, but the trans is leaking as well. so I googled "harley evo trans leak" and ended up here. seems to be a fairly common problem, and i am confident that I can make her right again without resorting to taking the bike in.

I don't have a service manual yet but will soon. i just called the local "Hundred Dollar" shop, they have the primary gasket in stock for $30.40. should i go ahead and change that gasket today, which would give me the chance to have a look around "under the hood" and possibly locate the trans leak? from what i read this morning it sounds like there's a handful of potential leaks all within a few inches of each other. i'm looking forward to bonding with the machine mechanically, but want to do it right. any suggestions would be appreciated, and i would guess that i'll be coming here regularly for tips/advice.

thanks . . . . . ptb

Jan 17, 2011 | 02:07 PM

89FLHT

Stellar HDF Member

Joined: Oct 2005

Posts: 2,379

Likes: 227

"If" you like the bike and want to keep it a long time and are going to do your own wrenching, picking up the factory parts manual and factory service manual should be at the top of the list.

Most times, if it is leaking from the tranny while the bike is on the stand, it is the main seal and or the quad seal that are leaking on the tranny...

Basically, you pull the outer primary off, then the clutch / primary chain / compensator and the starter off as well. Pull the inner primary off and you be right where you want to be. Pull the front tranny pully off and get the H-D kit which includes a new quad seal and a new main seal along with a new pully locking plate and lock nut. Install it and then replace the three seals on the inner primary while its all apart and bolt it back up. If you have all the parts and supplies ordered up front - it will be a saturday's worth of work in the garage to get it all repaired.

Once it's fixed right with quality seals , it will last a long time and a lot of miles...

96 is a good year for the tranny, the motor and the clutch, they are all refined designs that evolved from the ealier year Evo's and sure you'll have a few leaking gaskets or seals to address, but overall, a little work to get it up to snuff and you'll be out there ripping around and having a lot of miles to enjoy.

Jan 17, 2011 | 02:29 PM

RidemyEVO

Stellar HDF Member

Joined: Apr 2009

Posts: 3,039

Likes: 11

From: Northern Ontario

Welcome to the site and the wonderful world of EVO's.
If you have a bike lift you can get the bike in the air and see if theres oil behind the front pully, also from the bike on its side stand look to see if the shifter seal is leaking. Shifter seal is an easy fix if your going to have the inner primary off. If the mainshaft seal behind the pully is not leaking it is more than likely the shifter seal. Is the drive belt showing any oil spots on it at all?

Jan 17, 2011 | 06:03 PM

#1rocketman

Road Captain

Joined: Mar 2009

Posts: 734

Likes: 0

From: Southern Missouri ( ozarks)

go on ebay,get yourself a manual,usually can find a real good used one for 1/2 price or less. get a motorcycle lift,plenty of places for them Harbour Freight,Sears,etc.I bought mine mine a couple years ago from Sears,It was on sale,had it shipped to the local store so there wasn't any shipping fees.Read up on these forums,there's a ton of information on here and guys that know what the hell they're talkin about.Talk to the guy that you bought it from,maybe he knows exactly what was leaking and it may not be as bad as you think.If ya take something apart and there's seals ,gaskets involved, REPLACE those...ya don't wanna do it a second time. EVOs...let em warm up before you go hittin 70-80 outa your driveway.As for "toppin off",how old is the fluid? Not sure where you live but late winter is usually when most guys will change out all their fluids for spring riding season.Find out what kind of fluids he used,just so ya know whats been put in there. There's a ton of "oil" topics on here but the top 2 used is Mobile I Vtwin and Amsoil. The bike needs to be "straight up to check levels....make sure the clutch inspection cover gasket(rubber) isn't leaking,if that is outa place, it'll drip on you.Clean under the tranny and around the drain plug and then check(aftet it's been ran,etc to see if it's leaking around the drain plug.You might get lucky and it's simple little things to replace.

Jan 17, 2011 | 06:16 PM

darylnj

Cruiser

Joined: Aug 2006

Posts: 177

Likes: 14

From: Freehold NJ

trans leak

make sure you did not over fill the trans. if so it will blow out the vent,looks just like a leak
like the bro's say, get the service manual
good luck

Jan 17, 2011 | 10:26 PM

topfuel7

Cruiser

Joined: Dec 2010

Posts: 110

Likes: 1

From: central NC

The Tranny vent is a J shaped hose right above the the drive pulley on the primary. If you over fill, it will blow out on the back of the primary. Mine was doing the exact same thing. Mine leans over on the stand a little more than most so I think it has the fluid at an awkward level. If my bike is leaned over on the stand for a few minutes and I am revving the motor while adjusting something it will puke out the vent. I added some hose to the existing vent hose and took it up slightly and across the tranny to the other side. It does not do it with the added line.

Last edited by topfuel7; Jan 17, 2011 at 10:34 PM.

Jan 18, 2011 | 06:29 PM

ptb_ptb

Thread Starter

Stage III

Joined: Jan 2011

Posts: 3

Likes: 0

yes 89, i am keeping the bike . . . . she's my first Harley. maybe when the loan is paid off we'll upgrade to a newer Heritage, but i will be wrenching on this '96 for 4 years.

haven't had it up in the air yet but i poked around after work today and found the tranny vent tube is dry. this weekend i will pull the primary cover off and have a look inside.

rocketman, thanx for the suggestion on ebay for service/parts manuals . . . . i hadn't thought of that but will definitely check it out. i'll keep y'all posted on things . . . . . thanks again