| Author | Message | ||
     Smokeman71 |
I have an oil leak from the top of the rear cylinder. It's not huge, but enough to leave a quarter sized spot of oil when I park. I haven't had a chance to take anything apart yet, but from what I can see it looks like it is coming from the Positive Crankcase Vent. Is it possible for these to crack/fail and leak that amount of oil? Are there any other known issues with the top of the cylinders? | ||
| Hughlysses |
Yes, the PCV valves can be a source of oil leaks. You can pull the outer air box, the inner air box, and the base plate to gain access. The PCV valve may have popped out of the grommet in the rocker cover, the hose may have come off of the PCV valve outlet, or the hose may have pulled out of the air cleaner base plate (assuming you haven't already done a catch can modification). If all these are OK, odds are you have a rear rocker box gasket leak. The gasket usually leaks at the rear edge of the rocker cover, which is pretty difficult to eye-ball. A flashlight and patience will help you verify it. Changing the gaskets is a big, but not terribly difficult job. You have to rotate the engine to gain access. If this is the source of the leak, odds are your cooling fan will also be drenched in oil, which collects dirt, which impedes fan rotation, often leading to the fan failing. So if you find a rocker gasket leak, you should at least have a spare fan on-hand in case you have to change it in the near future. Let us know what you find. | ||
| Uly_pirate |
How many miles are on the bike? I had the exact same issue and it turned out to be the rocker box gasket. For me it was early on, about 20k miles. (65k now). It is a PITA to change since, as Hughlysses mentioned, you need to rotate the engine. But once you commit you will find it's not that bad. The good news is that, at least for me, the replacement seal has not leaked oil since. | ||
| Nillaice |
Keep an eye on your fan. The oil mist does bad things to it | ||
| Smokeman71 |
Well, it is definitely the rocker box gasket and there is oil all over the fan. Not to overwhelmed by the engine rotation, just have to find a big chunk of time to get it done. Also found that my battery has started leaking. New battery ($100), new fan ($150), lots of time for engine rotation. Ouch... | ||
| Xbimmer |
Save yourself some of that $$, ETX-14 Deka is a superior AGM for much less than OEM:  http://www.dekabatteries.com/assets/base/0278.pdf http://www.dekabatteries.com/default.aspx?pageid=843 New versions are 220 CCA and available at PartsMaster stores, also sold under various other labels such as Big Crank. $150 for a fan now? Man that sucks for such a specialized part that's needed... | ||
| Smokeman71 |
The local Harley / Buell dealer (Eastgate Harley Davidson in Cincinnati) had the full gasket set in stock for about $30. Not bad. The manual does not recommend any sealant for the install of these gaskets. Any thoughts on that? Can't decide if I should use RTV. I'm doing all three rocker box gaskets while I have it opened up (inner, lower and rocker covers). | ||
| Blake |
No sealant needed, just ensure that all surfaces are bone dry. No oily residue. | ||
| Swampy |
That rotation goes fast when going back together, coming apart is slow for the first time but not bad at all. | ||
| Pontlee77 |
I think you just need to change the rocker cover gaskets there is a new version of the orange ones that are taller than the older ones those should seal much better. | ||
| Smokeman71 |
Did the engine rotation this weekend. Time consuming, but not overwhelming. |
