So today I changed the oil for the first time myself instead of going to a shop. As I live on gravel parking I needed to invest in a jack and some concrete pads for doing changes. Got them and it went well with one exception. After I pulled the oil plug I noticed about 3/8 sludge on top of the plug. I've been running synthetic since I got it 8 mos ago. Have ran about 14000 miles this winter. Frequent oil changes at 3k. No deformities or metal in the used oil or sludge. Is this something I should be concerned with? Is my 96in twin cam sensitive if there's sludge? I flushed it with a quart of oil. Maybe the previous owner used non synthetic oil? Runs great and feels great. I keep it in top condition all around 24/7. Some tips would be appreciated and definitely food for thought. 2009 harley fxcwc rocker "c". Thanks 😊

 

Not sure what you mean by "3/8 sludge", a pic would have been nice.... but off the top of my head I would say just keep up with the maintenance, use a quality detergent oil, and keep an eye on it....

Could be prior owner had bad maintenance habits and you're cleaning out the engine.. hard to say... the absence of metal, IMHO, keeps this from an emergency of any kind...

Synthetic oil and dino oil mix well... there are many semi-synthetic blends available. Mixing oils, in itself, won't create sludge, like mixing glycol and silicone brake fluids will...

 

Nice bike BTW. If you're saying there was 3/8" of sludge on top of the drain plug magnet then I'm saying that's not normal.

 

Dont know if your bike has an oil cooler on it or not. If it does you are leaving close to a quart of dirty oil in your system every time you change oil. If it was me I would purge the whole system out at least once a year. It is very simple to do it on a softail and there are numerous video's on how to do it on U tube

 

I can't add anything to what has been said.

I do have a tip, though.... get your fingers out of the way when you take a picture.

 

Delboy's Garage has a good video on purging Twin cam oil systems. You'll be surprised how much dirty oil is left!

 

Better yet, disassemble and clean all the engine parts every 3,000 miles.

Seriously it is just an oil change, drain and refill, change filter, done.

 

Which drain plug had the sludge on it? If it was from the primary then it's pretty normal to have some "Grey goop" on the plug. Chunks of metal is another story. Engine plug should have very little Grey goop on it and the transmission should be basically clean if it's broken in...a brand new bike might have some small metal debri the first time or two. Pictures of the actual problem is a big help to.

 

Also if you have had a shop doing your oil changes, most likely they do not get the oil up to operating temps or even run the bike for a few minutes to get the oil out of the crankcase. Softails have a tendency to drain oil down into the crank when left sitting even for a short time. That is why your manual says never to check or add oil to a cold motor. If they do not warm up the oil or run it to get it back in the tank you would have a lot of dirty oil (up to half your capacity) left in your bike which could cause all the sludge. My advise is if you cant purge you oil or dont want to then warm the bike up, drop the oil, warm it up again and change it once more. This should get most of the old dirty oil out. Then continue doing your own oul chsanges and see if you get any more sludge. Good luck with your bike Nice bike by the way. OH and by the way, In my opinion you do not need synthetic oil in your bike, it is just a wasted expense. Read your manual it will tell you what oil and what weights to use at the right temperatures