| Author | Message | ||
     Deltacruiser |
My transmission breather line recently has started puking a lot. (You know the line that comes up and runs up the left side of the bike, under the ECM and end inside the right side of the seat frame.) I've put over 6K on the bike before this without anything puking out, but it now started puking more. I haven't done any recent services or overfilled the primary, etc. I read the service bulletin on the X-1 files about this situation. It recommends routing the line up the left side of the frame. I didn't think that looked real clean, so I just routed it into the catch can I already have installed for the head breathers. I know it is tranny oil, because you can smell it. Even the full synthetic stinks some (Mobile 1 synthetic). I think I have the problem of making a mess solved by routing the breather line into a catch can, but I just want to make sure this isn't some symptom of a bigger problem. Anybody have any idea why this might be happening all the sudden? | ||
| Patrickh |
puking breather=compromised crank seal. check the level in your oil tank, if it is low then the seal which keeps your engine oil seperate from your primary oil has let go. It is a rather common problem. Unless you overfilled your primary recently there is no other reason for the puking, and even then is sould spitting tranny fluid not puking it. Gear oil has a stronger smell than engine oil, and when mixed it does not suprise me that you distinctly smell the gear oil. BTW, I would consider "puking oil" to be signifigant amounts of oil, not just an ounce or so over the course of a 100mi ride (Message edited by patrickh on January 30, 2006) | ||
| Deltacruiser |
Patrick, Thanks for the response. My engine oil hasn't been low at all. Just to clarify, I just routed the primary breather to the catch can yesterday, after my last ride. Only the head breathers were routed to the catch can before that. I would get only a tablespoon from the heads, but the primary was routed to its stock position under the seat and spewed a lot more than a table spoon. It made a mess along the whole right rear of my bike. My engine oil actually seemed to be a little higher than it should have shown on the dipstick. Does that mean I'm getting gear oil into the engine oil? Thanks, Brett (Delta) | ||
| Reepicheep |
It's more then likely the crank seal. It's not a big deal to replace. PLENTY of tips in the knowledge vault. The two easy mistakes to make are seating the new seal too deeply, or mangling the sealing surface of your cases getting the old seal out. Neither error is hard to avoid. | ||
| Patrickh |
The compression in the motor would not allow primary fluid to enter the flywheel side of the case. If your oil level seemed high, it is possible that you are just blowing more oil than you normally do. Did you change the oil before you rerouted the breather? I normally run the oil at the lowest level of the dipstick when the motor is at operating temperature. I think it is very unlikely that the power pulses of the motor are causing the head breathers to "suck" gear oil from the primary, but I'm sure someone here will correct me if I'm wrong. | ||
| Deltacruiser |
The head breathers are working fine and not sucking much oil at all. I get maybe a tablespoon at the most of spoog every 100-200 miles. Engine oil is normal, not overly high, just above the lower level. I also usually run it at the lower level on the dipstick at operating temp. I may have filled in a bit high a few weeks ago though, when I added some oil. I had it up to the upper mark at operating temp. Hopefully that didn't contribute to a seal blowing on me. The primary just started spewing the last few rides I made. I hadn't changed anything for months before that. I only rerouted the primary breather after it was spewing as a temporary fix. The good news is that now that the primary breather is routed to the catch can, I should be able to tell a lot more accurately how much fluid is being kicked out. | ||
| Buellistic |
What "i" have found is that you'll do is you over fill your oil tank and the excess oil has to go somewhere, ie: out the head breathers and pass the crank shaft seal into the transmision ... And if you put more than 28 oz. in the trans. it is too much ... You check the engine oil after a a hard ride(all BUELL rides are a hard ride)with the engine running on the side stand ... You can only put 2 1/2 qts in a 2 1/2 qt oil system !!! | ||
| Patrickh |
I would run the bike up to operating temp and siphon off the oil with a turkey baster so you get down to the lowest level on the dipstick. Disconnect the head breather from the catch can and let her run. If she still blows oil and the oil tank level goes down, then you got a crank seal problem. IMO the upper mark is way too high, I just touch the bottom of the stick. (Message edited by patrickh on January 30, 2006) | ||
| Deltacruiser |
Thanks for all the suggestions. I knew the upper mark was way too high too and usually keep it at the lower mark. Problem is I was being a dumb ass and not just draining some of it off after I added too much. My brilliant line of thinking was, "Oh well, I have a catch can anyway. I'll just ride the hell out of it and then empty the can." I figured the excess would just shoot out the head breathers into the can. The crank seal didn't even enter my mind. Hopefully, I haven't just learned the hard way that too much engine oil can blow the crank seal. I'll cross my fingers, follow your suggestion, and see what happens. Thanks all for the advice. | ||
| Deltacruiser |
Thanks Buellistic, Patrick, Reep for the advice. I think (fingers crossed) that I got lucky on this one. I drained the oil back down to where it was supposed to be and now there is no more oil spewing. I haven't ridden a lot since, but no spewing in the past 30 miles or so since I did this. Once I get a chance to go for a longer ride tomorrow, I'll probably know for sure. Moral of the story #1 - Don't be an idiot and ride the bike anyway even when you know you overfilled the oil tank. #2 - Make sure to check the oil with the engine warm and the bike running on the sidestand. I have been doing it wrong for the past year, until Buellistic straightened me out on this. I thought I was doing it right with the bike warm and on the sidestand, but somehow I missed the part in the past about having the engine running. That makes a huge difference. Hopefully, some other Bueller will read this and avoid doing the same dumb thing I did. Ride safe all, Delta (Brett) | ||
| Deltacruiser |
Crap, Took a longer ride today of about a 100 miles. Had 2 ounces of oil in the catch can afterwards. Looks like I will be replacing the crank seal. | ||
| Buellistic |
Make sure you pass CHECK YOUR OIL 101 first ... Some times your just putting in too much oil and it has to go some where as the engine seeks its HAPPY OIL LEVEL ... | ||
| Deltacruiser |
Henrik or anyone else, Anyone still have the photos & info Henrik wrote on how to install a crank seal. I'm getting ready to do the job and could use all the advice I can get. I tried to get to it from a link from the Badweb Knowledge Vault, but couldn't get the link to to work. I've been inside the primary before, so this doesn't look too hard, but I always feel better getting tips from those that have done it before. Trying to go by the manual alone can be a true test of reading comprehension. If anyone has it and could send me a copy I'd really appreciate it. Also, anyone have any tips on where to find the seal installer tool. I haven't been able to find one for sportster motors anywhere. All I seem to be able to find is the Jimms one for big twins. Thanks in advance all for your time. Ride safe, Deltacruiser (Brett) | ||
| Patrickh |
a link to a service manual is somewhere around here. if you have a fax I would send you the correct pages. read them and you should be ok. not a hard process at all...really... do you have a complete set of hand tools? |
