Primary Oil Leak Migration

[glider]

Many have stated that they have an oil leak dripping off the primary drain plug and ask what can be done to eliminate it.

If the "O" ring is OK on the drain plug of the newer model or the older type with the NPT thread isn't the problem, I would clean the inner primary area thoroughly and run the engine. Some times the leak is elsewhere but the plug being the lowest point on the primary will show as a leak source when it is actually coming from somewhere else and running down then dripping off the drain plug making it appear as that was the problem.

There are other sources for the oil leak in that area that would drip off the drain plug like the starter seal, the main shaft seal , the shifter seal and they would all drip off the primary drain bolt if they were defective and leaking.

Don't jump to conclusions here, clean it well and recheck for the source of the leak.

 

[TQuentin1]

And the infamous "J" tube vent line on the tranny top cover blowing a light oil mist on the back of the inner primary. I worked on that for weeks doing ALL the hard stuff first!! Simple fix once I realized what the problem was. But I was in the primary multiple times first trying to find the problem!

I just checked out an recent model year (96ci w/OEM 6-spd) RK, and noticed that the tranny vent tube on that bike is even worse than the one I had on mine! It is a small, short (about 2") piece of formed tubing that rises MAYBE an inch above the cover and then turns to vent ON TOP of the tranny case!! Any little burp of tranny gear oil or mist is gonna make a mess on the top of the tranny case that is hard to clean! I would definitely fix that on a proactive basis.

TQ