Hey all,

To start off my father's bike has developed a leak on the seal between the engine and transmission. At the 2000 mile service which i performed, i switched over to Mobile 1 75W-90 GEAR in the tranny and 10W-40 auto Mobil dino in the primary, along with 15W-50 auto Mobil 1 in the case. Well my father brought in his bike to the stealer to see if they would cover a bad seal (it drips 3 or 4 spots a day on the floor). They asked him the oil weights he was running and were appauled at what we are both using. (his words are they were rolling their eyes and telling him he's wrecking his motor/tranny/primary) Of course he is upset already. Next the dealer calls Harly to ask about this and they tell him that his warrentee will be void immediatly if they were to have given his vin because he is using such incorrect weights in the primary and tranny, and not using their Syn3. When he got home and was very unhappy as i had suggested these oils to him from my research here and on other forums. But its my understanding that the 75W-90 GEAR oil is roughly the equvalent of a 20W-50 ENGINE oil by SAE specs and there should be no problem. Im going down first thing tomorrow morning and wanted to know if anyone has any helpful advise on how i can convice the dealer to fix this under warentee, as i feel the bike had a bad seal from the get go and not have to see my dad shell out 300 bucks to pay for this fix. I dont think any of the fluids that i used were whrong. And infact my bike which is identical to a T and has more that 1500 miles more than my fathers on the same oil has no leaks whatsoever.

Finally for my benefit when telling these mechaincs tomorrow, what is the equicalent weight of the oils that come stock in the 06 TC's specifically the tranny and the Formula + in the primary...cant seem to find anywhere.

Thanks for any help or advise you can share.

Best,

MaineHD

 

Also, does anyone have the SAE chart showing the gear oil to automotive oil conversion equivalents so that i can sho w my stealer tomorrow. Im still searching but havent found one yet.

Thanks

 

Since you seem to be crossways with the dealer anyway, ask him to show you in writing what voids a warranty. Examine that closely. I dont believe you will find that what you have used will void the warranty. Assuming i am correct go back and tell the dealer you expect him to fix it or he will gwt a call from your attorney.

 

I can tell you that dealers play on the ignorance of the general public of their rights under the Federal Law to void Warranty claims. What i am refering to is the Magnuson Moss act. It states that if the oil conforms to the oil spec listed in your owners manuel then the dealer has to prove that the oil was the cause of the failure before they can void your warranty. I am not sure why you would use dino oil in one place and synthetic in the other or why you would use oil formulated for automotive use when Mobil makes Mobil 1 V Twin formulated for use in Motorcycle engines. There is a difference in the formulation. As for the 75w 90 gear oil in the trans. There is nothing wrong with that weight or the fact that it is gear oil. Gear oil is formulated with EP additives that improve the performance of gear boxes. I know of only one recommendation as to weights other than Harleys and that is AMSOIL'S.
They recommend 20W50 in the motor 10w40 or 20w50 in the primary and 75w90 gear oil in the trans.

In my humble opinion the thing you have working in your favor is the Magnuson Moss act. The things that you have working against you are the fact you are useing Auto oil instead of MC oil for one. I don't know how the trans and primary are assembeled but if there is a common seal seperating the two then they could argue dino on one side and syn on the other may have effected the seal.

By the way 75W90 gear oil is a pretty standard weight in everything from over the road tractors to motorcycles and everything in between. It is certainly far better thatttn Syn 3.

Hope this helps.

 

The auto oils you used are fine for use in the HD. Quote Magnuson-Moss to them - if HD says you gotta use their oil, they gotta give it to you, free! Do a search for info on it. I'd send you a link, but I'm on a new 'puter and haven't gotten everything transferred over. The gear oil-engine oil is posted at the top of this section.

 

hmmmm

 

You could always drain the fluids and put in the harley recommended fluids and take the bike to another dealer and just play dumb. Then switch back after they fix the problem. This would probably be alot less hastle than dealing with the first dealer unless you are up for a good fight and alot of aggravation.................BG

 

here's the link to some warranty info: http://www.sema.org/main/semaorghome.aspx?ID=50096

You'll find that the dealer is probably trying to blow smoke up your dad's butt. After this episode, I'd get another dealer if I absolutely had to use them for something. Otherwise, it's indy shop and online ordering time!

 

I would take the bike to another dealer,why fight with the other one.
Tell the new dealer you have not serviced the bike.Did the original dealer do the 1K service?

 

Let us know how it turns out man.