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oil loss/leak through air cleaner

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artriden

New Member
i have purchased the Sportster XL883C in 2006 and since the first oil change there has been a continous slow loss of engine oil through the air cleaner housing

except for 1 mechanic at the dealer i get the run around that this is normal any help in identifying the probable cause and solution to this is greatly appreciated

getting tired of cleaning the oil off of the exhaust pipe, engine, and bike frame every couple of days

not to mention the oil stains on the clothes
 
This is normal. Im not sure on the 2006 sporty but every other sporty for sure up to 2003 has open breathers that expel oil into the air cleaner. You need to get either a after market breather and filter and cover. Or I believe Harley makes a breather kit for the newer sportys. It closes the breather holes from going to the air cleaner and sends it back into the engine. Check the screamin eagle parts from Harley. That will fix your problem. If I remember right the breather kit from Harley is about 150 bucks. easy to install. Good luck.
 
Before you go too nuts, check your oil level, you mention "since the first oil change". When they are overfull (above the full mark), this will happen. Some run the oil level down a bit from the full mark and it solves it too.

There are umbrella valves in the heads that should stop this and when they don't operate correctly, the oil bypasses them and this is the result.
 
ok i will check the repair manual and question the mechs at harley if thei swas caused by an over fill they did it and they shold repair replace these valves if they are damaged

i have 20k + on the motor it started with the 1st oil change that harley reqests after the break in period, and it doesn't matter if i use standard or synthetic oil
 
I had the same problem with mine sporty. It seems not too many of my models have my problem. In the begining they replaced the umbrella valve but the problem presisted. I had it in the shop last fall Oct, 2007. Under warranty work, they replace the valves seals and some gaskets. It seems to work fine so far. NO Leaks.... I had about 1000KM on it since the fixes. The weather is just getting nice here now. I am planning to put another 3000KM on it as soon as I can. My warranty will runs out at the end of July. If same problem comes back I am going to purchase the 5 years extended warranty on it. It was major works. If I remember it correctly, it was about $800.00 or more all under warranty billing. Good Luck!!
 
ok for everyone out there that has this problem heres the 411, found a good mechanic he retired from Harley Davidson he was one of their trouble shooters he would be sent to where the service department had the gnarly troubles.

the fix is this for some reason on some of the sportsters either the breather assembly or the valve guides go bad either poor design, bad parts or not installed correctly, also possible heat issues if the engine is idling for a long while like in a traffic jam.

anyway as one of the replies, yes my problem was the valves and valve guides i now have 1450 miles since it was repaired under warranty by harley davidson and no oil in the air cleaner.

if anyone is in the Baltimore Maryland area and needs work on your motorcycle i highly recommend either Charm City Choppers or the Harley Davidson store of maryland in Elkridge Maryland.

please please please avoid the service department at the Harley Davidson/Buell store of baltimore the service reps there really need to work on their customer service skills

thanks for all your inputs

Safe motoring
 
I had the same problem on my 2003 883XL. The dealer said it was common for the model. I changed the air filter and didn't have another problem - may want to give it a try for an easy fix.
 
I'm with Glider!!!

Check out your oil level. There are very specific instructions on how to check, and it's easy to over fill if you don't follow the procedure. Basically the procedure is to run the engine to operating temperature then check the oil. If you only check on a cold motor and then add because it looks low, you will be over full.
 
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