I posted this under General Harley Davidson Chat and got 108 reads and no replies. So I will ask in here also and see what happens.




Probably a general question but kindly allow me to ask.

This is on a 2012 Road Glide with a stage 1, open breather and HD Fatshotz slipons. Current mileage is 30,600 miles.

I have been running a HD Ventilator open breather with HD filter for about two years, installed at 19,500 miles. About 2,000 miles ago I changed to a K&N filter.


Over the last few weeks I notice I am blowing oil out of the filter. It is streaking on the bags, side cover, cam cover and rear exhaust. Today I noticed a few spots on the tourpak speaker boxes. I doesn't get on me but if I had a passenger she would have it on her pants leg.

This doesn't happen every ride, but does seem to blow more after an interstate run. I saw it today after a commute and total interstate miles on my commute is maybe 10 miles, so not like an all day high rpm run.

Air temps are mild, always under 90 degrees, this morning it was around 60 degrees so good cool air. It puked the bag streaks in the cool air.




I have wiped excess oil from the filter and housing and that works for a ride or two but I am not seeing an excessive amount of oil in the pleats, nothing anywhere close to pooling, and none on the back plate. I do see some at the bottom of the back plate at the sealing surface and on the filter rubber seal.
The throttle body butterfly is a little sooty looking but not wet with oil, more of a oily smudge. Wipes off easily.


I did recently change oil and filter, adding my usual 3 quarts Syn3. Oil reads half way on the stick just as it has for all of the 30k miles. I am not losing enough oil to notice on the dipstick.


I have looked at the pushrod tubes, rocker boxes, sealing surfaces, etc. and do not see a leak. I am fairly confident it is blow by thru the breather.


One puzzle is that I took a four day trip last fall when the K&N was newly installed and noticed nothing. That consisted of all day interstate runs on each end of the trip and East Tennessee mountain riding in the middle.


Today I switched back to the HD filter and I will see if this changes anything. Not a lot of confidence it will but its an easy experiment.


One thing worth noting.
I read a recent thread from another rider and he mentioned his K&N rubber outer sealing band had turned hard and oil was seeping past.
Worth mentioning, the HD rubber seemed a little softer than the K&N. Not a great deal softer but noticeable.


Any ideas on why it suddenly decided to puke oil?
Has there always been that much inside of the filter and it has been going thru the engine until now?
Do I suddenly have an excessive blow by problem or more of a sealing issue?
And, and...do they all do this.


I am open to suggestions of a cause and a fix.


thanks,


update:
I rode to work today with the HD filter and am seeing no oil. Only about 40 miles total, 20 each way, so it may take a few rides to seep out.

 

You have the same issue everyone has, or had before changing the crankcase vent to drain in a separate filter, or on the ground. It's more noticeable after a highway run because the engine is revving higher for an extended period of time.
You wont see it with the stock filter yet, because it is not saturated with oil this early on.

Look up breather bypass, myself and others have started threads and added pics of how we did it.

 

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/softa...r-cleaner.html

 

^This^.... and a 1/4" Y from Home Depot.

 

As others stated, search crankcase breathers, some bikes do it more than others but the fix is venting the heads to the atmosphere or a catch can. I vented mine 2/weeks ago

 

Holy Snikies, All that for a simple oil fix?

 

Too much oil, cut it back half a quart. When you change your oil don't put 4 full quarts in.

External breather like everyone else above said.

 

Others have nailed it for you. the oil level should be half way between add and fill on the stick hot. The warmer temps and higher RPM running will do exactly what you are describing.

 

Mine stopped the drip when I reduced my oil to half way up the etching on the dip stick. I run the A/N Big Sucker with their "K/N Like" Million Mile Air Filter.
I have not seen a drop in over 2 years.
If you have easy access to, you could do a compression test, just out of curiosity...
Some folks may only find relief by going the hose/container route. I had a 700 HP Chevy Engine that the blowby was incurable. I finally had to add "Huffing Tubes" from vents on each valve cover down to beneath the frame. Guy's gotta do what they gotta do...

 

I don't run a external breather, and do this, have no problems,