I would double check that it is, in fact the primary, and not the transmission output shaft. The pulley has been known to loosen up and it will cause trans oil to leak from what appears to be the bottom of the primary.

 

i came up with a slick trick when it comes to the primary gasket and bolts. i went to lowes and got a 4x8 sheet of the 1/2" rigid blue foam insulation. you can get the sheet for 3 or 4 bucks if it's got a corner broken off. that broken corner will not matter. i cut a piece of it big enough for the new primary gasket to cover it with a couple of inches to spare. then i laid the new primary gasket on top of this piece of blue foam and drew around the gasket with a sharpee including also marking the bolt holes in the gasket. after i did that, i took a number 2 phillips screwdriver and punched a hole where each screw goes in the primary cover. i then wrote on the blue foam the torque specs, and sequence. for an old twin cam this was really useful as there are different lengths of screws, and the torque sequence being numbered and right in your face made it much easier for me. the reason i punched holes with the screwdriver is that it gave me a place to put each screw when i removed them so they'd go right back into their original place. i know, it sounds confusing, but the reason i do it this way, is i don't have to have my service manual lying there with a 12" crescent holding it open and i sure don't need my reading glasses cause i can't write in "fine print" this is a tip i've used for years and for me, it makes it easier for me. numbering each hole i punched was for the torque sequence, i.e. 1, 2, 3,.........etc.

 

Nate,
Trouble finding neutral is pretty common, at least since 1936, and probably before that too. There are lots of threads on it. In summary, a properly adjusted clutch (follow the book), and ATF for primary fluid (I use Mobil 1 ATF) will help a lot.
I'm glad your problem appears to be the inner primary seal at the trans and not the motor. That's a fairly easy fix. Consider a new bearing while you're in there. They aren't too expensive.

 

Good tip Bro!

 

I know a lot of guys use ATF in their primary. In fact I read that one guy likes it because if he sees red fluid leaking, he know its coming from the primary. Maybe you could drain the primary and then fill it with ATF. If you then see red fluid leaking, you'll know coming from your primary. Just a thought.

Stan

 

So After a few small hick ups Ive got her all apart..found out it was actually the o-ring between the pimary and crank case. the fluid was running down the back side of the oil lines from my oil cooler to where it then ran down the transmission.

I ended up getting a gear puller and using 2 of 4 bolts to pull the clutch plate and taping a little and easing her off.

then getting the nut off to the drive shaft..manual called for impact wrench...air compressor out of service I got a thousand pound cable and ran it threw my chain so it wouldnt spin and bfw got her off.

Ill get some pictures tom.

 

Subscribed: Good post, when you don't know where the leak is coming from.

 

Good job. I had a leak there too, once. Biatch to find. Clean off EVERYTHING, start it up and let it idle, get under there and look for oil.

 

Not to hijack but there is an after market fix for barrel gasket leaks. It's a nipple type fitting that goes into the return oil journal at the base of the barrel and directs the oil past the barrel to case area into the sump. Can't recall the name of it but you could find it searching "Harley base gasket leak fix" most likely.

 

I had one I never could get a proper seal on, so I went to an enclosed primary belt drive that fit inside the stock primary. Had to use a sealed mainshaft support bearing, but the dry primary worked fine.