Botched oil change
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2nd Gear
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 6
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From: Greenville, SC
Botched oil change
So I did my first DIY oil change on my 2016 iron 883. I made the mistake of draining the oil without letting it run at least a short while so I guess what happened was I drained the oil tank but there was still a decent amount left in the crank case. I put 2.5 quarts in and was going to check the level. I did and it looked good. Decided to ride it around the block and then recheck it again. I started it up and the oil light was on and stayed on, total run time maybe 30 seconds. I turned it off and got off, immediately noticed a large amount of oil on the ground. The oil was leaked from the oil filter, so not knowing yet that I had over filled it with oil I tested the filter to see if it was tight enough. I could get it to turn slightly but did not want to over tighten in, so no tool was put to it. After opening up the oil tank and seeing it was over filled I drained the tank again and am going to get more oil to refill it tomorrow.
My question is should I also replace the filter since the excess oil must have caused high oil pressure causing oil to leak from the oil filter gasket or should I be fine to still use the same filter?
Thanks for any advice, feel like an idiot. I've done several oil changes on cars and a couple other bikes and I've never had this happen.
My question is should I also replace the filter since the excess oil must have caused high oil pressure causing oil to leak from the oil filter gasket or should I be fine to still use the same filter?
Thanks for any advice, feel like an idiot. I've done several oil changes on cars and a couple other bikes and I've never had this happen.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 21,180
Likes: 12,757
From: South Carolina
I think just about any spin on filter you can find with the correct threads will work ok on any Harley....
Almost all filters have the same bypass pressure settings.
I left an oil filter gasket on the engine on a Crown Victoria (4.6L V8), holy $hit, it dumped out about 4 quarts of oil in about 20 seconds, what a mess in my driveway...
Almost all filters have the same bypass pressure settings.
I left an oil filter gasket on the engine on a Crown Victoria (4.6L V8), holy $hit, it dumped out about 4 quarts of oil in about 20 seconds, what a mess in my driveway...
Last edited by Dan89FLSTC; Jul 16, 2020 at 03:32 PM.
Thread Starter
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2nd Gear
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 6
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From: Greenville, SC
So for those interested, I indeed overfilled my oil but I actually think what caused the leak was the filter not on tight enough 
. I'm always so concerned with not over tightening things, stripped an oil pan one time, not cheap, that I didn't want to put a tool on it. Plus with where it's located I couldn't really get a great grip on it. So I went back and bought one of the K&N filters with the hex on it and used my wrench to get it just snug. Saw the gasket seat and then maybe another quarter turn, again super careful not to really wrench on it. Put oil back in and she fired up no leak. Thanks for your replies.
. I'm always so concerned with not over tightening things, stripped an oil pan one time, not cheap, that I didn't want to put a tool on it. Plus with where it's located I couldn't really get a great grip on it. So I went back and bought one of the K&N filters with the hex on it and used my wrench to get it just snug. Saw the gasket seat and then maybe another quarter turn, again super careful not to really wrench on it. Put oil back in and she fired up no leak. Thanks for your replies.
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,649
Likes: 443
From: Indianapolis
I would not worry about the filter.
If your oil light stayed on, that indicates there was not high oil pressure at the filter mount.
If you ran the bike for a full minute, it would have pumped less than half a quart or so from the tank into the filter mount.
(Might be a little over half a quart depending on your idle speed)
Install new oil filter. Screw filter clockwise onto adapter until gasket just contacts the filter mount surface.
Then hand tighten an additional 1/2-3/4-turn to secure the oil filter.
If your oil light stayed on, that indicates there was not high oil pressure at the filter mount.
If you ran the bike for a full minute, it would have pumped less than half a quart or so from the tank into the filter mount.
(Might be a little over half a quart depending on your idle speed)
Install new oil filter. Screw filter clockwise onto adapter until gasket just contacts the filter mount surface.
Then hand tighten an additional 1/2-3/4-turn to secure the oil filter.
Last edited by shanneba; Jul 16, 2020 at 05:12 PM.
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Joe Kucinski
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 21,180
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From: South Carolina
Tighten the filter at least 1/2 turn after the gasket makes contact, if you can`t get it by hand don`t be afraid to use the wrench.
Make sure you lube the gasket.
Dry gasket on oil filter is why they stick.
Make sure you lube the gasket.
Dry gasket on oil filter is why they stick.
