Ok, after a weak long process of getting my 74 back in shape, I am about ready to fire it up. I have a few simple questions though. On the bottom of the motor/tranny, there are 3 drain plugs. There is one right below the primary, which i believe should drain the tranny fluid, corect? There is another one directly across from that on the right side, which drains the oil. However, when i pulled that plug out, not much oil came out. I had already drained the oil tank, is there not supposed to be much oil sitting in the motor? Next there is a plug in the middle towards the front of the bike. What is that for?

My next question involves the tranny drain/fill. I spoke with piniongear about this and he took time to explain it, but I didnt really understand. No disrespect PG, just trying to get a better idea of what im doing. To drain the tranny, I pull the plug on the bottom left side of the motor, below the primary, correct? Where do I fill it at? There are to biiig plugs on the left side of the motor, one looks like a giant flad head crew and one looks like a giant phillips screw. Are either one of those the right place to fill the tranny? If not, where? Last, what type of oil should i use? Ive heard to just use the same oil i run in the motor, but my HD shop recomended a special type of tranny oil. How much oil does the tranny hold?

Onnne more thing, I have already filled the oil tank up, but i havent cranled the engine yet. Is there a way to prime the engine with oil, or will the oil quickly make its way into the motor? I need to pull the tranny drain plug, obviously, and also the one at the front of the motor because its dripping. When i do that, will i waste the oil i just poured into the oil tank, or will that oil stay in the oil tank until i crank it? Sorrrry for all the questions but im a newb trying to learn all the right stuff.

Please help me, im like a kid at christmas getting ready to fire this bad boy up, but I will be waiting on your answers.

Thanks a lot,

Todd

 

Hang on a minute Todd. and do not fire it up yet.
I will try to get some info together to help answer your questions shortly.
Meanwhile do not remove any of the plugs.
Especially do not remove the large plug under the crankcase. Do not try to tighten this either. That plug was put in by the factory to seal a hole needed for machining purposes. The threads are super weak and will strip before you can bat an eye.....so stay away from it!
If you strip it out it is impossible to repair unless you remove the engine and split the crankcases. A number of members here know about that plug only too well, I sadly have to say.......pg

 

Todd....
Here is the first info regarding where you put the oil and the location of the level screw. Make sure that the bike is straight and level and then just pour in oil until it drips out of this level hole.
There is nothing in the manual that shows the transmission drain plug and the other crankcase plug that I warned you about. I will try to photograph the bottom of my bike to explain this in another post to come.......pg


[IMG]local://upfiles/8331/C28FAB70E6C544EBB659F75598EF46F4.jpg[/IMG]

 

Thank you sir. So ive already removed the plug on the right rear of the engine, drained a little oil from the motor, put teflon tape on it and sealed it back up. Went in tight, all is good. Im assuming to drain the tranny i remove the plug on the back left of the engien, right? So the one your telling me to stay away from is the one towards the front of the engine? It drips a little bit of oil, thats why i wanted to remove it and seal the threads. Your saying dont mess with it and just deal with a drip now and then? For all i know t might already be stripped and thats why its dripping, but it doesnt drip to bad. If its easier you can email me with any more info you have, address is tmr931@yahoo.com if you dont have it any more. Thanks, i gota give it to ya man, your the most helpful person ive seen on any message boards. Its appriciated

 

oh yea, one more thing. The tranny oil level screw that you highlated, i dont have that on my bike. Ive got the big fill plug, the big plug that looks like a phillips head, and thats it. There are several allen head bolts that look like they hold the case on, but thats it. One of the allen head bolts is in approximately the same spot as the screw you highlited, should i just take that out and fill it till it comes out there?

 

Here is the best I could do using a 10.5mm fish eye lens. Tough to get the shot.
The camera is right against the front of the rear tire and facing forward on the first shot.
I have called out the primary drain (on your left) and the trans drain (on your right)
The plug you should not touch is in front of the trans drain. This plug is not on my bike because it is a 1971 model and they did not put the plugs on that model (Thank God!)

The other (see next post) photo is of the trans drain. This is located toward the rear of the case, where the forbidden crankcase plug is toward the front, just to the left of the oil pump.........pg


[IMG]local://upfiles/8331/3E0807808EA04F29ADC61BB7846EE4F6.jpg[/IMG]

 

Here is the shot of the trans drain plug only.....pg

[IMG]local://upfiles/8331/D1EE674794434E8093D1573C1E3100AB.jpg[/IMG]

 

hmmm ok i think the plug i pulled yesterday was the trans drain then. I was thinking it would drain the oil that was in the motor. Not much oil came out, maybe that was why. Is there a drain plug to drain the oil thats left in the motor?

This is a dumb question, but what is the primary? Should I drain and refill that also?

Would you pm me your number so i could call you instead of posting back and forth? If you dont want to give your number out i understand. Thanks

 

Ok, just try to forget draining the oil out of the engine. There is no oil there for all intents and purposes.
If oil does build up in the crankcase, it is because the engine has sat for a long time without running and with oil in the tank.
The ball check valve in the pump can allow oil to seep past it and collect inside the bottom of the crankcase. The way that you remove this oil is to start the engine. Two things happen then. The pump works hard to move the oil back up into the tank via the oil return line. Any oil that does not get picked up quickly with the scavenger section of the pump (it can only pump so much at one time of course) will be blown out the breather tube located beneath the generator onto your nice clean garage floor. This is how the crankcase gets emptied, and this is the only way.
Send me an email to update me as to where you are on questions and I can return the phone number to you. It sounds like you really need to get yourself a manual........pg

 

sent ya an email[sm=icon_cheers.gif]