| Author | Message | ||
     Scrappy |
Hey all, I have been prepping my 09 1125cr for riding season and I noticed a very slow fluid leak from a bolt / screw directly above the gear shift lever and below the belt drive. It's got some oily fluid leaking out of it with some white squishy material between the bolt and the thread (probably a thread sealer?). Has anyone had this problem? I'm not sure if it's dot 4 or motor oil. My sense of smell has been messed up by allergies! Has anyone had experience with this problem? Can anyone fill me in on the bolt and it's purpose or a possible course of action to eliminate the leak? | ||
| Jaimec |
Common problem with the 09s. Check the knowledge base. | ||
| Scrappy |
Thanks for the reply Jaimec. I want to be clear that this is not the "clutch weep" problem. I've pointed directly to the area that is leaking on this image from the factory service manual.  I'll post a picture of my bike later for additional clarity. | ||
| Zecca |
take a look http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/290 431/670468.html the seal of drive pulley was damaged and leaking! | ||
| Scrappy |
Thanks Zecca. I'll give that a read. | ||
| Scrappy |
It's hard to say if it's the same problem. I'll take a closer look when I get home and upload some pictures. I checked the drive pulley and it doesn't show any signs of leaking. I would think there would be an oil trail from there all the way down if that were the case. The screw / bolt that the arrow points to above seems to be where the oil trail starts. I've gotta say I love how easy it is to get this bike taken apart.  | ||
| Rogue_biker |
It's putting it back together that's a bit tricky. LOL! | ||
| Scrappy |
Hehe. So true Rogue_biker. I like to use labels and a pen or color coated dot stickers to make reassembly a snap. I found the exact part where the leak is coming from:  It's the neutral switch (number 2 in the above image from the electrical service manual) I'm thinking maybe it needs to be removed and sealed with some thread locker and reinstalled. Any ideas on this one? I'm still researching so I'll post back whatever solutions I find too! Also, pics of the actual part coming later today. * EDIT * See last post here: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/290431/589701.html?1282836424 Someone else has at least hinted at having this problem. (Message edited by Scrappy on March 26, 2012) (Message edited by Scrappy on March 26, 2012) | ||
| Scrappy |
The award goes to Jaimec. After a few searches on "neutral switch oil leak" I found this: http://badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/290431/ 390274.html?1219945778 Apparently the white gummy stuff is Teflon tape and the switch is made of plastic (d'oh). A quick search on google for "neutral switch oil leak" reveals that many other motorcycle makes suffer from this problem. Looks like a simple fix. I'll post back with additional info. It's really REALLY nice to know what the doo-hicky is called. Makes diagnosis so easy and hopefully this thread can help other n00bs later on. Pics and fix documentation still coming. | ||
| Scrappy |
Here are pics of the leaky area on my bike: It's between the gear shift lever and the idle pulley retaining bracket.  image hosting jpg  hosting images Just have to find the time to get the part and replace it now. I'll post back with my experience after that. | ||
| Nillaice |
great follow-thru. good to see youv'e found the source, and you went so far as to post detailed pics of it | ||
| Pmjolly |
My '08 has been seeping there since I have owned it. It is never very much. Every so often, I wipe it off. It just seeps a little. It doesn't drip. If it is really easy to fix, I might do it. If it requires a new switch, I might just live with it. I just changed my oil and used Amsoil. I don't want to dump it out. | ||
| Scrappy |
I would think that it wouldn't dump oil if it were removed since it's located near the transmission and not the crank case it seems like it's something that would leak when running. I haven't even started my bike yet this year so I have no way of knowing yet. I plan on replacing it within a week so I'll let you know if it causes a gusher. Perhaps after I'm done with this I can do a quick write up of the problem and a fix for it and get these images on a more permanent image host. Buellers have to stick together! I was told by my local Harley dealer the other day that the oil drain plug washers aren't even in the computer any more. They did have them in stock but it made me think a few years forward to when I'll be on my own doing this stuff. Teach a man to fish, and all that. | ||
| Two_seasons |
Excellent post. Great shop manual picture with arrow and your personal photos. This is the kind of post that we need more of on BadWeb when troubleshooting. Oil drain washers are available from American Sport Bike. Before you use the last one, go to the hw store and fit up the ones you need, both the CU and the AL, write down the size, then put that info in to your PM information file. Looking forward to reading your follow up. Question: are you coming to Homecoming? | ||
| Daggar |
The washer info is located here. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/290 431/549656.html?1306771541 | ||
| Scrappy |
Thanks Two_seasons and Daggar for the information about the washers! Two_seasons, I hadn't planned on it but then I don't know what homecoming is either! Link me some info! Follow up on repair still coming. | ||
| Two_seasons |
Scrappy: Here's the info on Homecoming... http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/406 2/665650.html?1332740134 I'm trying to set up some "How-To" workshops out of my garage as I live about 20 minutes away from East Troy. I like to know more about my bikes, that's why I hang out here at BadWeb. And I like to share info that I've read about or done myself. Second to the last page of that thread is where more info is. | ||
| Scrappy |
Quick update. I've got pictures coming later but here's a description of my progress so far. I removed the neutral switch using a screwdriver. Since the threads had oil all over them I couldn't remove the contact at the end of the wire from the screw. I hated to put all that tension on the wire but it seems to have survived ok. Oil did come out but only about a quart or less. I was prepared with a drain pan so no problems there. Some of the oil did get on the gear shift lever (bearing case?) and I hope this doesn't cause me problems down the line. A word to the wise if you have this problem warm up the engine first and then drain the oil before removing this part. I would definitely remove the part AFTER the engine has been properly drained of oil to avoid spurting, though, since I did this on a cold engine it just poured out politely. The white gunk definitely looked like some sort of thread sealer. I'm not sure what it was made of but I'd guess it's silicone since oil and silicone don't play well. I'm not sure what kind of thread sealer to use at this point because the white sealer I found at the local auto parts store said it was for metal threads and I'm concerned that it might melt the plastic and damage the threads. Any input on that would be appreciated. I'm going to scour the factory manual to see if it has any comments on the subject. ***EDIT I found the procedure for servicing the switch in the factory service manual. It says to use Loctite 5331 which according to the Loctite MSDS sheet is Acetoxy curing silicone. Man. I can't believe there isn't a better way to do this given that silicone and oil don't like each other. I think this is probably something that should be checked at every oil change interval and serviced if needed. I'll be posting back with more info as I make progress. (Message edited by Scrappy on April 02, 2012) | ||
| Rogue_biker |
Thanks for the update. Very good info. | ||
| Scrappy |
Finding Loctite 5331 is going to be a challenge! It looks like I can get it from an ebay seller of loctite products. Ebay always seemed shady to me but what the hey. I'm getting some. | ||
| Scrappy |
The Loctite is on the way. Turned out that I had to get it from some place in the UK over e-bay for something to the tune of $50.  Oh well, I'd rather go by the book. The chances of me ever needing the stuff again is probably pretty low. | ||
| Scrappy |
 Well I finally got this in the mail! After waiting about three weeks this stuff had better be magical. At least the store I bought it from was kind enough to include a Cadbury white chocolate bar (no joke!). It's still scary that this is what is commanded in the factory manual but no one I talked to in 5 stores including hardware, auto parts stores and a Harley dealer knew what the hell it was! I'm off to the races to get this thing fixed. I'll post more when I'm finished. | ||
| Scrappy |
Ok. I gently cleaned off the threads on the sensor with a toothbrush and put a drop of loctite 5331 on the first 4 threads and screwed it back in by hand. Everything went well until I tried to tighten it down. The factory manual says 18-27 in-lbs. Odd, the thing never got there it just spun and spun and spun. I've got 24 hours for a full cure on the loctite so I'll fire her up in a day or so and see if the leak comes back. |
