Primary overflowed
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Road Captain
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 743
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From: Morris, Il
Primary overflowed
So I'm riding bike feeling wrong, rough feeling shifting hard. Level bike on lift open derby to check primary fluid and it starts pouring out. Over filled but how. It was dark and gritty. Now I'm pretty sure I changed it last spring and sure didn't over fill, at least by that much. Where could it have come from. Could it be motor oil or from tranny. Has me stumped I know I didn't over fill that much. Book said 38 oz wet 42 oz dry. Was told should be 32 oz wet but even then shouldn't be that full. Any ideas! And the fix I may need
Thanks
Thanks
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 2,488
Likes: 30
From: Maryland near DC
its either coming from the engine or the trans...how do those levels look????
dark and gritty is almost normal for the primary...if its real dark i would think it came from the engine...either way its not good...
dark and gritty is almost normal for the primary...if its real dark i would think it came from the engine...either way its not good...
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 14,744
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From: Phoenix '53, '88, '09 Big Twins
check motor oil level- if low you may have a bad seal on the drive side - hopefully not a cracked or porous case.
filling the primary is not crucial.
jiffy stand level ground, fill until the bottom of the clutch plates are covered, then to about 1/4~1/2 " below lip
quantities on the specs vary as the clutch holds ALOT of fluid- and the manual can't tell if it is holding 12 oz or completely drained.
let's hope that it was overfilled
mike
filling the primary is not crucial.
jiffy stand level ground, fill until the bottom of the clutch plates are covered, then to about 1/4~1/2 " below lip
quantities on the specs vary as the clutch holds ALOT of fluid- and the manual can't tell if it is holding 12 oz or completely drained.
let's hope that it was overfilled
mike
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 9,980
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From: Michigan
With the hard shifting, I'd suspect that it is transmission oil.
Check the tranny dipstick.
Years ago my cousin's tranny on an '81 Shovelhead had a bad seal and it was leaking into the primary case.
Check the tranny dipstick.
Years ago my cousin's tranny on an '81 Shovelhead had a bad seal and it was leaking into the primary case.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 3,140
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From: Wisconsin
OP, it's obvious you didn't overfill, it's hard to get oil above the opening and then get the cover back on before it runs out (unless you freeze it somehow). That means it is coming from somewhere and that somewhere has to be the engine, trans or gremlins. I'm betting on a seal failure on one of the first two, as the others said, should be obvious when you check those levels. But, if it is the gremlins, please keep us posted, we want to know about those too! Good Luck!
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Road Captain
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 743
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From: Morris, Il
Can't be gremlins I have a bell. Unless its a immune gremlin. Problem is haven't checked primary fluid in a while (bad practice I just changed) so when I was low in tranny or oil I would top off and not think about it. Could of been over period of time. Will watch close next change and monitor. Changed oil and tranny few months ago levels are good checked this am thinking the gasket behind primary or the seal. May be beyond my skills. Will watch kind of wish for gremlins.
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Grand HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2007
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From: Bay Area
The trans and primary are not connected by any kind of seal that could transfer fluids, the seal at the crank where the compensator is usually the culprit. If you changed all three holes a few months ago and everything is fine, perhaps it was just overfilled. If you drain the fluid when its cold especially after starting the bike to move it, the cold oil will not all come out. So than you end up putting too much oil in it.
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