Oil pouring out of air breather

[Deadwood62]

I have an ‘06 Deluxe, took it down to the car wash to clean it up & when I got there had a steady stream of oil coming out of the air breather. I’m a newbie to these motors and troubleshooting them. But something isn’t breathing properly and/or circulating like it should. Awhile back I pulled the dipstick on a cold motor and oil wasn’t touching added a quart & still not touching added a 2nd quart and brought it up to full cold. The girlfriend has put about 200 miles on it. Today after I pushed it home from the car wash pulled the dipstick again and oil not touching. I know it’s not burning it but where is it going???? Any help appreciated!

 

[dolt]

Happens to many softail owners that aren't familiar with the oiling system.

The oil tank is above the crank case and while parked, gravity takes over and oil will slowly drain from the oil tank to the crank case. A concientous owner checks the oil level before a ride, seels oil level is low and adds oil. On start up, all the oil that has drained from the oil tank to the crank case is now back in circulation and oil level is over full and the excess gets blown out via the breathers.

The OP needs to fire up the motor and let it idle for a while to get all the oil in circulation; at least five minutes. Better yet, after idleing for a couple of minutes, take the bike for a short spin through the neighborhood. Park the bike, check the oil level on the jiffy stand and adjust accordingly. If over full, use a turkey baster to suck out the excess, if the level is low, ad oil to full mark.

Some softail owners that don't ride their bikes daily use a pair of hose pinch off pliers to prevent oil from drainng from the tank. I don't ride my softail daily; having three bikes, it can sit for weeks betwen rides. I just start up, let the motor idle for a good five minutes or so before checking oil and riding. I don't subscribe to the "half a quart low" crowd either. I believe the MoCo knew what they were doing when the put the FULL mark on the dipstick.

Now for the disqualifier. What the OP is describing is a very common occurance among new softail owners and the recommended approach to solve the issue excludes the possibility that something else may be causing the oil blow by but I doubt it. The OP should try to resolve the issue as decribed above and, hopefully, that solves the problem. However, since we don't know how many miles on the bike, whether or not there have been any modifications, etc., there could be other issues. If so, I hope the OP will give the above solution a shot and come back and report.

 

[Deadwood62]

Ok thx for the tip! Much appreciated! I do have a question though, why didn’t we see oil coming out of the air breather somewhere in those 200 mi. that it was ridden after me adding oil? The bike has been sitting for at least the last month before going to the car wash today and this happens ‍

 

[dolt]

Ok thx for the tip! Much appreciated! I do have a question though, why didn’t we see oil coming out of the air breather somewhere in those 200 mi. that it was ridden after me adding oil? The bike has been sitting for at least the last month before going to the car wash today and this happens ‍

Honestly, I can't give a definite answer and can only make assumptions which are dangerous. How long had the bike been sitting when you checked and added the two quarts? It could be that the oil level was actually low. It could be that the girl friend didn't spin the motor up enough to build up enough crank case pressure to push the oil out; don't know.

To figure this out, more information is required. How long have you had the bike? How many miles on the bike? Is it stock/
When was the last time you checked the oil hot? Do you check the oil on the jiffy stand? When was the last oil/filter change? Who did the last oil/filter change? How cold is it where you live as that will have an impact on how long it takes to warm up and circulate the oil through the system?

If the bike sat for a month before the trip to the car wash, I can guarnatee that all the oil, full or not, was in the crank case. If you started the bike and took off before a five minute or so warm up, puking oil out the breathers/air filter is going to happen.

If the motor is not consumng oil and there are no oil leaks on the garage floor, there are only two places the oil can go. The most likely is the crank case but if the crank main bearng seal is leaking, oil can get pulled into the primary. If the motor was consuming that much oil, you would know it; smoke out the exhaust and oil grime all over the back of the bike; don't think that is the problem. You can check the primary by removing the derby cover and if oil has been escapting inot the primary, the excess will most likely run out.

What you need to do in order to identify the problem, you need to verify that the oil level in the motor is correct. You can do that by following the instructions in my previous reply. Get the motor hot and check the oil hot, on the jiffy stand and you can make adjustments from there. Once you have verified that the oil level is correct, never, ever, check the oil cold on a softtail. Get some pinch off pllers to prevent the gravity flow of oil from the tank to the crank case. Or, always warm up the bike befor e checking the oil and don't bother adding any oil until a quart low. That way you can monitor the oil level and if it is dropping youj will at least know that gravity is not the offender and you can look elsewhere. Comprende?

 

[Deadwood62]

Ok I’m learning lots here, thank you for educating me!!
First of all I was under the assumption that you always check the oil cold like on your car, pickup, tractor, dozer etc. so I guess that’s my first bad. I don’t remember how long it sat before I added the oil.
The bike was bought new in ‘06 by the girlfriend. She always took it to the local independent bike mechanic to do the maintenance and upkeep. It has 53k on it and had a stage 1 mod installed new. Last oil change was at 50k with Amzoil 20-50 V-twin full synthetic.
Always check the oil on the kickstand but always a cold engine. I’m going to follow your advice and do things properly tomorrow. And yes I’m starting to comprende’ haha!

 

[Breeze3at]

Solid advice from Dolt. Worth printing out.

 

[dolt]

[QUOTE="Deadwood62]Always check the oil on the kickstand but always a cold engine. I’m going to follow your advice and do things properly tomorrow. And yes I’m starting to comprende’ haha![/QUOTE]
The gravity drain from the tank to the crank case can vary from model to model. There a "back flow" feature but it's primary function is to prevent rapid flow out out of the tank; like when re-fueling. However, if a softail sits for more than a day or so, there will be some loss of oil from the tank to the crank case which is why you never check oil cold on a softail.

At 53K miles, I don't see consumption being an issue but once you sort out the current problem, you can monitor and check consumpiton, you just need to establish a base line.

I see you are a new member. Donlt be a "hit and run" poster. Come back and let us know how things are going. BTW, a girlfriend that buys a new Harley is a keeper; hold her close.

 

[joel]

This is as dolt stated, the why I check my oil in everything I have.
Assuming you have added oil after draining it.
Some manufacturers require a waiting period after shut down, GM states 10 minutes.
( Get the motor hot and check the oil hot, on the jiffy stand and you can make adjustments from there. )

 

[Deadwood62]

Ok I fired it up and let it set and idle 7-8 minutes in the driveway then went and putted around the neighborhood for 10-15 minutes during which time I wiped up oil drips twice. I got out on a main drag and gave her the onion a little right before I pulled into a C-store. More drips, shut it off, had it on the kickstand & pulled the dipstick. I’m guessing it’s about a quart over full
So now gotta go buy an elcheapo turkey baster and get the excess out. One thing that puzzles me is why didn’t we see this earlier somewhere during the 200 miles it was ridden. The only thing different is the weather is 15-20 degrees cooler.

 

[dolt]

I’m guessing it’s about a quart over full
So now gotta go buy an elcheapo turkey baster and get the excess out. One thing that puzzles me is why didn’t we see this earlier somewhere during the 200 miles it was ridden. The only thing different is the weather is 15-20 degrees cooler.

Sorry, got no answer; I can speculate but, as Hilllary once said; "at this point, what difference does it make?" You have found the problem, know the solution and what to do going forward. So, call it a win and move on.