Oil in Air Filter
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 5,926
Likes: 138
From: NE Ohio
Put 3000 miles on bike in past week. "Misting" is pretty bad. "Misted" 1 qt. Took off curved vent hoses and put on longer hoses routed to under engine. No more problem with oil on me and bike but underside of bike is dripping oil from "misting". This is crazy. Really thinking of plugging vent ports. Can anyone see a problem doing that?
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 2,791
Likes: 690
From: Smalltown,USA
I am having the same issue. I am losing about a half quart every 3,000 miles.
this only started when I went to the stage one filter. dealer claims its piston
ring gap on the rings and is normal. I just carry a rag and wipe the breather out.
this only started when I went to the stage one filter. dealer claims its piston
ring gap on the rings and is normal. I just carry a rag and wipe the breather out.
Club Member
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 3,792
Likes: 6
From: North East Ohio
That's typical of HD saying that. I don't believe that for a minute that it is normal.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 38,414
Likes: 6,366
From: Honah Lee
My bike with 40K will have a drip from the stage one on there now especial if I let it sit a few weeks with out use but it consumes little oil. The SYN3 is near the top on the stick and it has 3164 miles on it. Changed it 6/15/10 .
Last edited by Jackie Paper; Sep 14, 2018 at 07:50 AM.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 5,926
Likes: 138
From: NE Ohio
The last bike I had which dripped was a 2005 Electraglide Classic with a Stage 1 air cleaner on it. The bike had around 3 or 4,000 miles on it when I started getting drops of oil on the cam cover. I took it to the dealer and the service manager said it wasn't normal and they would see what was wrong. Turned out to be oil pump alignment was off, they aligned it and I never had another drop after that.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 2,791
Likes: 690
From: Smalltown,USA
Thanks to all for the reply. Took it to a diffrent dealer, Got the call today and it has
the oil pump out of alignment.Maybe you guy's should open a dealership. Thanks to
all for the help.
the oil pump out of alignment.Maybe you guy's should open a dealership. Thanks to
all for the help.
Road Warrior
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,388
Likes: 1
From: Sarasota, FL
Let us know if that definitely fixes it. I'd be curious to pose that question to my dealer since they say "they all do that".
Club Member
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 3,792
Likes: 6
From: North East Ohio
Boom: I can tell you I have owned 4 new Harleys in the recent years and none of them used oil.
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,388
Likes: 1
From: Sarasota, FL
Me too Mike. And this is the first model for me that ever blew oil out the filter.
Road Master
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 899
Likes: 10
When Harley was forced to finally seal their V-twins so they were oil leak free (which began with the Evo motor) the last problem they had was what to do with the piston blow-by oil, the oil used to lubricate the rockers in the heads, and that mix of oil and water (from condensation) that makes that milky brown sludge. The main problem is the return oil system from the heads just isn't effective enough.
They could have designed a catch system you have to empty occasionally but spread across all model bikes that would have been too expensive. So they used the band-aid approach. Shove it all into the intake system to (supposedly) be burned. It made the EPA happy but think about what that oily stuff does to a carb, or an EFI system, and your spark plugs.
And no, you shouldn't seal the head breather holes to stop the leaks and misting. The fact the mist comes out from there is telling you the return oil system isn't up to the job of relieving all the head pressures. Sealing these holes would probably result in gasket leaks elsewhere.
The best fix is either (if you're Green) build a catch can system, or otherwise just run both head breather hosed into one hose that drains to the ground.
The amount of oil in the oil tank does matter, but it's more about the amount of empty space above the oil level in the tank. These oil tanks really need to be vented to outside air pressure but Harley was loathe to but another hole in the system that could leak oil.
Harley may never solve this problem without ditching the current push rod setup. And I think most of us are glad they haven't changed to an overhead cam setup for traditional and aesthetic reasons. But if you ever owned a Shovelhead motor this misting problem on Evos and TCs isn't really that big a deal . . . until you have to clean it up, LOL!
They could have designed a catch system you have to empty occasionally but spread across all model bikes that would have been too expensive. So they used the band-aid approach. Shove it all into the intake system to (supposedly) be burned. It made the EPA happy but think about what that oily stuff does to a carb, or an EFI system, and your spark plugs.
And no, you shouldn't seal the head breather holes to stop the leaks and misting. The fact the mist comes out from there is telling you the return oil system isn't up to the job of relieving all the head pressures. Sealing these holes would probably result in gasket leaks elsewhere.
The best fix is either (if you're Green) build a catch can system, or otherwise just run both head breather hosed into one hose that drains to the ground.
The amount of oil in the oil tank does matter, but it's more about the amount of empty space above the oil level in the tank. These oil tanks really need to be vented to outside air pressure but Harley was loathe to but another hole in the system that could leak oil.
Harley may never solve this problem without ditching the current push rod setup. And I think most of us are glad they haven't changed to an overhead cam setup for traditional and aesthetic reasons. But if you ever owned a Shovelhead motor this misting problem on Evos and TCs isn't really that big a deal . . . until you have to clean it up, LOL!