Small oil leak

[nhk750]

Well, I talked to my buddy that rides a Road Glide and he says I shouldnt have an oil leak with this new of bike. I dont have a manual with a schematic yet and cant download one from this site yet (need 150 posts, almost there). The oil leak is comming from the top of the motor on the back head. I belive that is a valve cover? How hard is it to change the gasket? I hate oil leaks...

I guess the correct nomenclature would be "Rocker Cover"?

 

[Bodeen]

Your other post states you have 5K miles on the bike. If you bought this thing new, I would take it to the dealer and have them fix it at their expense. No reason for it to leak that soon. My .02

Bodeen

 

[nhk750]

It is just 2 months out of the warranty...I have been doing some reading and it doesnt look to hard to fix. I just need a (EDIT) manual. 18 more posts and I can get there...


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[Jack Klarich]

unusual for the polished/chrome rockers to leak - its usually the black powder versions that dribble, basically you need to get the dealers to replace the rocker gaskets its normally found on the 883R but my nightster leaked a little on a good run on the front rocker and the buell if i looked closed leaked on the rear but my 06 1200R seems so far to be ok

The manual will be a big plus The MOCo wants you to disasemble the rocker covers in a sequence so they dont warp and re torque them so they dont leak

 

[nhk750]

The leak is definitely coming out of the left (rear Cylinder) top rocker cover. From the reading I have done on this, it is a common spot for the sporties to leak from. It is a seepage at this point and not leaking all that bad yet. So, I will have to get a manual or maybe find one on this site and work on it. I would rather do the job myself than trust the dealer or some other mechanic. I am one of those OCD mechanics that does the job right the first time and will research the heck out of it before I tackle it. I also am like a surgen and work on engines in a steril like fashon. My snap-ons are polished and ready to go!

I used to rebuild Diesel engines for a living...

 

[dbinbc]

Those sportster rocker covers seem to have a tendency to leak. I've seen new 'demo' bikes leaking up there. My son's '07 Nightster developed leaks on both cylinders. Easy to fix, be sure you have all the correct seals and pay close attention to the torque numbers. Its all aluminum up there and easy to strip.

 

[HarryB737]

My '07 XL had a small oil leak from the front cylinder. I ordered a set of replacement gaskets from "Cometic"... and the fiber washers that go around the bolts that hold the top rocker cover on. (Separate pn, not in the set).
You will find upon disassembly that these gaskets set in a valley around the middle rocker assembly. Take some folded gause or something to absorb the residual oil out of the valley. I liked the gaskets from Cometic, they seemed a little thicker than the OEM's. Take your time and re-torque gradually around the cover, and this project will turn out fine. If you're interested Cometic has a great website w/exploded pictures of each engine. I got fast shipping & reasonable prices from them. Good luck.

 

[nakkers]

When you are ready to do the work, might as well replace the front rocker gasket as well.

 

[nhk750]

Thank you, that was exactly what I was looking for. Nice website with lots of pictures and part#s.




I ordered some new gaskets from Comedic today. We had some confusion on the phone as to what the name of the gaskets were. Harley has changed the nomenclature a few times in the past years since they went to a two piece rocker housing assembly instead of a three piece one. The gasket was named lower cover gasket instead of upper or outside or whatever...very confusing and the comedic guy was confused too! I will see when I get the gaskets if they are the right ones...Also the fastener gaskets/washers are a neoprene type instead of fiber now? We will see...

After removing the upper rocker cover and inspecting the rubber gasket and mating surfaces, I could find no evidence of failure or any blemishes. It all looked good and cant find a reason why it leaked. I did observe before disassembly while running it, it was leaking like a sieve. It was actually leaking very steadily from one spot and getting worse. I did a visual for cracks and the cover looks solid. If it leaks after reassembly, I may need to magnaflux the cover to look for cracks...we will see...

I dislike oil leaks! :bigsmiley19:

 

[nhk750]

June 3rd, finally got my gaskets from Cometic. It didn't take too long, but there was a holiday in-between so it slowed the shipping down.

Got the bike together and rode it for a while then filled with fresh gas then rode some more.

NO LEAKS! Cometic is the way to go with gaskets. They were just a little bit taller than the Harley OEM gaskets. I am happy with the repair, we will see how it holds up.