Harley-Davidson Oil Change
I’m hoping to get your valuable opinion on a recent issue. I’ve got a 2005 Screamin Eagle Electra Glide. Last service, the dude left it low on oil, and in a rush, I mistakenly dumped an entire quart in it thinking it’d be okay if it was 1/4 quart too much. Well, I was wrong, because after a long-ish high-rpm ride, the back of the motor, brakes, rear wheel, etc were soaked.
So I cleaned everything and changed the oil (and filter) with four fresh quarts of Syn3. I thought the problem was solved, but after another ride, there was clean fresh oil making a puddle on top of the transmission case, and of course, the back of the bike (brakes, wheel, etc.) are soaked again. I even pulled off the air filter. There was a sheen from oil, but no real mess. I was under the impression that overfilled crankcase oil would come out the breather (which is fine), but now that it’s got exactly four quarts in it again, why is it still blowing out oil? Could I have ruined some seals or gaskets elsewhere? It’s a really nice bike… and now I’m nervous.
Thanks VERY much in advance!
Dave L
A: Dave, if you are still dumping four entire quarts into your bike; you may still be overfilling the system. You need to purchase four quarts of oil for a Harley-Davidson oil change on a 2005 Electra Glide, but rarely will you need to use more than 3 1/2 or 3 3/4 quarts for only an oil change. Usually, like you said, an overfilled system will leak from the top breather (or sometimes blow out your fill plug). As for where this oil is coming from, you are going to have to play a little detective. Remember: the oil will always be making its way from top to bottom and front to back. However, the first thing we would check is to see if your transmission is overfilled. An overfilled transmission will leak out of the transmission vent and will make the area you described wet with fluid. See if the vent line is wet at the end. Good luck.
Related Question:
Hi,
My 2010 Fatboy had an oil change done and has been overfilled by half a liter. I picked it up from the shop, went for a 300-kilometer ride, and when I got home to check it over, it was overfilled.
A: That is not really a big deal. However, it can be messy if oil begins to push by your oil fill plug while riding. Remove your oil drain plug and drain out what is necessary to have the correct oil level for your bike.
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Hi guys,
I recently purchased an ’07 Softail Deluxe. It only had 9,200 miles on it when I bought it, and now that I’ve put 800 miles on it, I decided to change my oil. I changed the engine oil and checked the plug magnet, which was clean, so I completed that change. I next changed the transmission oil and found it to be fairly clean with a little bit of cloudiness from what seemed like very, very fine metallic shavings. It wasn’t a lot, but just a bit of it in the oil and some on the magnet in the plug. Next, I changed the primary oil and found it to be the dirtiest of all the oils with some metallic shavings on the plug magnet. Again, not very much, but just clustered around the magnet. Also strangely, the primary plug magnet seemed to be chipped or corroded about a quarter of the way. I have heard that some ware is to be expected, but how much is okay, and when is it bad enough to do something about?
Thanks,
Tom R
A: Nothing you described is cause for concern. If you have chunks of steel or aluminum, you have a problem, but you would typically be aware of the problem before draining the fluid.
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