Dark Horse
Member
The Harley Davidson Milwaukee 8's issue of transmission fluid migration from the transmission housing into the chain case , in my opinion , is nothing new.
I have a 2013 Fat Bob (103 in³ ) and I started to experience this problem well over 18 months ago.
I checked my transmission fluid one day and it didn't even register on the dip stick. There were no traces of a leak on my garage floor or under the bike itself so I rang my local Harley Davidson dealership and told them what had happened . They advised me to bring the bike in so they could check the levels and top up accordingly (they did this free of charge).
They advised me to go away and bring it back 500 miles later .
After about 100 miles, I checked the transmission fluid and once again , it had dropped. I realised that I could not continue to ride until I had covered the 500 miles , so I topped it back up.
Another 100 miles and another drop.
All this time engine oil level remained normal so there was only one other place the fluid could be going !
I removed the chain case and a LOAD of fluid came out !
Next thing was to try and find out how it was getting in there !
I studied the illustrations in my manual and decided through a process of elimination that the fluid was most likely getting past the clutch pushrod.
I went for a long ride and checked the fluid when I had got home and after the engine had cooled , only to find that there had been NO fluid loss at all !
It was now obvious that the problem was occurring during the time my bike was in its shed .
Since I had another small bike to squeeze in the shed alongside the Harley , I would store the Harley with the steering turned fully to the left with the bike resting on the twistgrip against the inside of the shed.
The transmission never lost another drop of fluid after that day !
My assumption is that knowing the chain case relies on the clutch pushrod for vent to the atmosphere , by leaning the bike to the right instead of on the jiffy stand , the right hand end of the pushrod is immersed in the transmission case's lube oil. When the air in the chain case cools after a ride , it contracts and so creates a vacuum which in turn 'sucks' fluid through from the transmission ! The transmission case , as we know , is vented via its own breather pipe.
As weird as this sounds , I can't see any other explanation !
Regards.
I have a 2013 Fat Bob (103 in³ ) and I started to experience this problem well over 18 months ago.
I checked my transmission fluid one day and it didn't even register on the dip stick. There were no traces of a leak on my garage floor or under the bike itself so I rang my local Harley Davidson dealership and told them what had happened . They advised me to bring the bike in so they could check the levels and top up accordingly (they did this free of charge).
They advised me to go away and bring it back 500 miles later .
After about 100 miles, I checked the transmission fluid and once again , it had dropped. I realised that I could not continue to ride until I had covered the 500 miles , so I topped it back up.
Another 100 miles and another drop.
All this time engine oil level remained normal so there was only one other place the fluid could be going !
I removed the chain case and a LOAD of fluid came out !
Next thing was to try and find out how it was getting in there !
I studied the illustrations in my manual and decided through a process of elimination that the fluid was most likely getting past the clutch pushrod.
I went for a long ride and checked the fluid when I had got home and after the engine had cooled , only to find that there had been NO fluid loss at all !
It was now obvious that the problem was occurring during the time my bike was in its shed .
Since I had another small bike to squeeze in the shed alongside the Harley , I would store the Harley with the steering turned fully to the left with the bike resting on the twistgrip against the inside of the shed.
The transmission never lost another drop of fluid after that day !
My assumption is that knowing the chain case relies on the clutch pushrod for vent to the atmosphere , by leaning the bike to the right instead of on the jiffy stand , the right hand end of the pushrod is immersed in the transmission case's lube oil. When the air in the chain case cools after a ride , it contracts and so creates a vacuum which in turn 'sucks' fluid through from the transmission ! The transmission case , as we know , is vented via its own breather pipe.
As weird as this sounds , I can't see any other explanation !
Regards.