Yah those were a pain , lot of trannys come through here missing those your right . I cheat Just use later style sprocket spacers and seals when I do a pre 78 anymore unless the owner say different .

 

And some early '78s had no key straight from the MoCo. Lots of strange configurations and no telling the why of lots of 'em.

 

Yes, mine is a ratchet-top and, no, I do not ever remember seeing any such key ! Hmmm. My spacer is new. Im gonna go check the parts diagram. I dont even remember seeing that animal.

Can anyone post a part number for that little begger ?

 

check the early posts I believe someone tossed that in already .

 

Ok, I did some research and the key thing does not go with my '78.

The little L key is part number 35175-38 and it fits into spacer number 35171-37 but both of these parts are specified for models up to early '77.

From late '77 to '79 the factory uses spacer number 35070-77.

35070-80 is used for '80 and '81.

35070-82A is used for '82 and '83 belt drive FXB models.

35079-82A is used for '82-forward except for belt drive models.

Nothing after early '77 uses the L key.

Im wondering now which spacer I bought. I assume it is the one specified for a '78 FXS, the 35070-77.

Im wondering now if the 35079-82A for '82-forward is what I need. Or, should I go back to the pre-early-'77 set-up with the L key.

Gets complicated.

 

Stay with the late model stuff the lip on the spacer is bigger , better support all round for torquing it down . Clean everything with brakecleaner and smear a light coat of permtex Ultra Gray around the splines where the spacer sits against the sprocket torque it and let it dry overnite , found that little trick and get you a reprieve for a while if a teardown isn't in the books for a while .

 

Complicated is an understatement. As TB said, stay with the late model stuff, unless you have the early stuff already. Check the spacer you bought and see if it is notched for the key. Though the part number says up to 77, they used it up to 1980 on some, not all ratchet tops that were used to exhaust remaining supplys Harley had on the shelf, mostly on the 74" motors that were produced through '81, even though the 80" motor started in 781/2. Harley mixed things up alot in the late 70's, and sometimes it is hard to figure out.

 

Nah, everything is correct. I guess Ive just got some wear that's letting the oil seep thru. I think next time I tear into it, I will smear the spacer up with some sealer and try that. If the sumbich leaks after that, I give up. lol

 

Thanks to a tip from here, I found

www.shovelhead.us.

Wow, that's the place for shovelhead info. Much, much, much more info on this leak issue and everything else.

 

A guy named Ray over on the shovelhead.us site has machined-up some spacers with a groove for an oring that looks to solve the oil weep from that location. You can order them for about 40 bucks from him. Great site. LOTS of info there.