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2013 FLHR: With this most recent cold snap, I think the bike is going to sit for a while. I decided to change fluids tonight so that it doesn't sit with dirty oil in it. Engine and trans oil still had a nice amber tint to it, but the primary oil was black and had a little bit of milkshake appearance. I did get stuck in a rain storm a couple months ago. Is it common for water to seep into the primary? How concerned should I be with the black oil? Full synthetic all 3.
milkshake could be from dissimilar lubes rather than water, the bike would have come with primary+ in it.
water will sink to the bottom if left to sit, you could pour some in a glass container
primary lube gets dark from the clutch
mike
Been thinking on this. The bike is just over 7,500 miles right now. I bought it new, had the factory fluid switched out for SYN 3 at 1,000 miles. That seems plausible that there was maybe some residue left in there. There was no sitting water in it; I watched it drain, and as soon as I pulled the drain plug it was instant black oil. Also, the milkshake appearance seems to settle toward the top of the oil, not the bottom of the oil. The appearance is very slight, and not a "chocolate milkshake" like I have seen on some cars that have bad head gasket leaks, more of a slight milky white appearance. For the most part, the oil is black.
There was a tiny bit of metal on the magnet. It was a powder consistency. The magnet was still clearly visible, just a small ring of powdered metallic in a ring around the outside edge.
Last edited by jayhawkclint; Jan 7, 2014 at 01:34 PM.
when draining fluid from the primary, about 4 to 6 oz will be contained in the clutch...unless you go through the process of removing it. ( with bike on jiffy stand, I zip tie the clutch lever overnight, and in the morning start the bike to spin lube out of the clutch basket)
the magnet is there to capture some of the fuzz and contain to keep the lube from becoming an abrasive.
the clutch works on friction, friction will make fuzz and clutch parts eventually \wear out
normal.
think about primary+ rather than syn 3.
syn 3 is no longer spec'd for primary and tranny.
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