Hey guys I have a 98 softtail has a growling when running in gear. Now I've never rode it it was handed down to me from my father in law. But I'm trying to pin point the issue. Pulled the primary cover and top cover off the transmission last night. Found good sized chunks of metal in the bottom of the primary. It also will not shift into third gear. Anyone have this issue? Thank you in advance

 

Good news, with chunks of metal in the primary.... your transmission may be OK

Bad news, you have chunks of metal in the primary.

Time to remove/inspect the condition of the guts of your primary. If you have chunks of metal in your primary, it should be easy to find the broken culprit...

Let us know what you find...

 

Yes once I seen that the chunks I knew something was off. I'm a mechanic just a new found Harley mechanic 😂. I planned to look over it tonight hopefully have a socket big enough for the bolts/nuts on the clutch an motor. Now what would be the cause of third gear "deadheading" when you go to shift into it. Like I said I haven't rode nor started the bike but I know how to problem solve. But it just didn't seem right when you shift through the gears.

 

Without riding it, you usually won't get it through all the gears. They don't shift setting still,but you can usually get through all the gears by rolling the bike back and forth while holding the clutch in and shifting.

 

If you are new to Harleys then make sure you get a service manual or read up on tearing down things before you get into it. The nut on the clutch drum is left handed, don't use an impact on the compensator, and stuff like that. You will need a few special tools as well.

It is a reach, but the inner race on the inner primary bearing can cause shifting problems if it is pushed on too for. Failures of those bearings are not really uncommon, so it could be a likely place to start looking. I think it is highly unlikely the inner race could move on the shaft after installation unless it is a catastrophic failure, but if the bearing is failing bad enough to make chunks it could be loading the inner race and putting pressure against the transmission.

Harleys are pretty simple for the most part. No black magic on the primary for sure. Just read up on it before you tear into it. There are some things you can damage in there.

 

You will probably have to take your clutch basket apart to see if there’s any metal in your clutch plates .

 

Yes the main Peace's of metal flakes I found were under the clutch pack now if that means that's what is wrong I have no idea but I sure will take a look at it

 

Most of the metal pieces will settle towards the rear of the primary, regardless where they came from. The primary slopes down towards the drain plug, which is under the clutch basket.

But if you've had metal flung around the primary, it could cause collateral damage to any part in the primary.

You'll want to remove, and disassemble everything, not only to find the source of the metal pieces, but to look for collateral damage...

Keep us posted... I, for one, am curious what you will find...

 

Look at the fingers that hold the large retainer ring on the clutch hub , is the retainer ring in the nice and flat or is it coming loose because of broken fingers .

 

It had more chunks before I had a chance to take a picture. This is what's left still in the bottom of the case.