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I think a mechanic messed up my bike...

N

Neverender

New Member
I own an 883 sportster, '87. Things older than me but it's my first so i love it. Recently it has been giving me some glitches because i layed it out next to me on the side of the road one day while driving from a friends house. Anyways, So i take it to the shop because i was able to straight'n out most of the problems, but not all of them.

When i brought her back home i decided to change the oil and such, and when i took out the drain plug and the oil filter it drained about... a quart. So i take off the oil cap and look inside to see a weird.. film looking thing inside the tank. When i couldnt pull it out with the needle nose i took a wire hanger and unwound it into a small hook and ended up pulling out, chunks by chunks some weird... clothlike-paperlike cleaning sheets.

Its late and my brain isnt working well so forgive me if im not explaining it well, but its kinda like a dollar bill material. more importantly, i think some of it shredded off into one of my tubes because when i removed the big chunks it still wont drain anymore, even when i run it fora sec. Any suggestions would be great, thanks guys.

Also, The reason i have'nt pulled it apart and all that good stuff is because its my main mode of transportation to work, besides my overgrown truck that eats gas horridly. So yea thanks for any information, i dont wanna blind-shot this tryn to fix it myself, and i dont want to take it back to the mechanic if i dont have to.
 
I don't think it's going to take a mechanic to tell you something ain't right. I'd take it back pronto to the dealer. Sounds like who ever worked on your bike lost a cleaning cloth. Ya know, like leaving a sponge inside a patient after surgery. I'd also tow it in, don't run it. A few extra bucks for gas in the truck will be cheaper than repairing the bike.
 
Got to go with that advice take it back and ask them what the heck have it towed or tow it your self
 
Yep, take it in and demand they make it right. I'd keep every shred of the material you're pulling out, too - probably has DNA evidence on it!
 
on that age of sportster to drain the oil the oil tank drain pipe is secured to the underside of the battery tray
oil pipe pushed on to a boss on the fender end of the battery tray
held in place by a simple spring clip
remove the pipe and the oil should drain through it from the oil tank
be aware on this age of sportster the battery tray is bolted to the oil tank by 2 bolts and the oil tank is secured to the frame by 3 rubber mounts there is one additional rubber mount under the battery tray when this gets week with the weight of the battery the mount points of the battery tray to oil tank can break due to the weight of the battery and at worst rupture the oil tank
from 94 onwards the oil tank battery tray and oil piping were modified an upgrade kit was available for the earlier models this would have the oil tank drain pipe plugged to a boss on the frame on the right side of the underneath of the frame just to the rear of the engine
the oil drain plug you have removed would be the transmission drain plug 32 to 38 fluid oz of sport trans fluid and not the engine oil drain you will need a special tool to unscrew the primary transmission plugs to get oil back into the transmission

hope these ramblings help

Brian
 
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I can't see a mechanic,no matter how desparate for business sabataging a bike like that.You sure the previous owner didn't wrap a little graphite in a rag and drop it in the tank to quiet things down?
 
Yep Brian is right NO Oil Drain Plug - that's why the oil is still in the tank - don't know what the paper is but you better find out before you run that bike again.

UD
 
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