I'm ashamed to tell this...I broke my TG

[Skeet7373]

Yep, yes sireeee, she broke. Today was a beautiful day in Tennessee. The temps reached 84-86 today, soft white clouds but a few dark ones around. So, I loaded up a small cooler, a snack and I headed east bound on Highway 70 N. I like riding that way and thought I would see where Capt-Itch lives. But when I went past the marina near there home, I just continued on Hwy 53 toward Dale Hollow Dam/Lake. I stopped after the first few miles and eat some lunch. Everything seemed fine. I noticed a burning smell and didn't really think nothing of it. "Elvira" only has 300 miles on her so I thought things were breaking in. I should have used my gut instinct and headed back home. As I rode today, I got further and further from civiliation. Oh, I rode thru some very sleepy little communities. As the day wore on, I noticed the buring oil smell more and the tranny began to rattle. So, I headed home but I'm 100 miles from home. As I traveled closer to my house, I'm thinking, I have no one who can come and get me. I have no way of getting home if this thing quits. But she made it home for me. Now, I have oil on the garage floor. What do I do, I go and get my most powerful flashlight and crawl under to see what is going on. There is oil dripping from the tranny. I can't see where its primilary coming from. Oil is covering the entire bottom and up to the top of the tranny where I can see from the right side. Great, the dealer is going to love this.

I was trying to think if I ran over something that would have damaged the tranny but there is no damage to be seen. And the only thing I ran over was a black snake. The burning smell was long before that. The oil looks like its all around the main seal. Maybe the drain plug came loose, maybe the seal just started leaking with the heat. I have no idea. But I'm more concerned that the tranny is damaged since it was rattling.

There was no oil in my garage when I left home. So there was no leak before I left this morning.

I know, ya'll are thinking, this woman does not need to be near a 3 wheeler, ok, I'm thinking this TG is possessed!

To be continued after she goes to the dealer. On further investigation, there is oil pooled on top of the tranny, the oil does not run from the fill cap or the hex screw beside, but the oil does run up but no quite to the top of it. When I rubbed my finger along the fill cap, its clean, just a short distance below it there is oil. but that indention on top of the tranny is full of oil.

 

[screwball]

If there is oil on the top of our engine it could be blowing out of the vent that is inside your air cleaner. Is there oil on the Derby cover near your right foot?? My E-Glide did it once or twice, but neither trikes have .... yet. There is a check valve that is supposed to stop the oil burp that sticks now and then

Good Luck!

Do take it back to the dealer, it is THEIR problem! Look into the Tenn. Lemon Law, I got a new engine for my ski boat the 3rd time I took it in for engine problems (Arizona)

 

[trikermutha]

check the oil pans screws had oil all over the bottom on the trike..found the oil pan screws loose..

Its amazing what wind will do with hot oil and blow it all over the place..

what year Tri Glide do you have..

I had a 2010 with like 3000 miles before my pans bolts loosened up..had the same burning smell as you had..once you tighten them up they should be good..

I hope thats all it is..

 

[Skeet7373]

If there is oil on the top of our engine it could be blowing out of the vent that is inside your air cleaner. Is there oil on the Derby cover near your right foot?? My E-Glide did it once or twice, but neither trikes have .... yet. There is a check valve that is supposed to stop the oil burp that sticks now and then

Good Luck!

Do take it back to the dealer, it is THEIR problem! Look into the Tenn. Lemon Law, I got a new engine for my ski boat the 3rd time I took it in for engine problems (Arizona)

Hey SB, I totally understand the blow by, my old FXLR would put oil all over the side of the bike and my pant leg. I had to route a Y pipe out of hose from both heads and run it to under the bike so the oil would blow on the ground. We tried a filter at the end of it, but it just stayed clogged up. No, the TG has no signs of oil any where forward of the fill cap/top of tranny, not even near the clutch cover that the cable goes into.

I really believe its from the pan itself, maybe the bolts are loosened, but to have oil pooled top is a mystery. I know how a tablespoon of oil can look like a gallon. I'm staying calm and will send it to the dealer. One, I want to know where the oil is coming from and get that stopped. Two, the tranny was chattering so bad until I got it home, they have to check to see if the tranny is ok, or will need to be replaced.

I'll know more in a few days.

 

[THEREALTRIKKY]

Have you looked to see if the top of the case (where the swingarm shaft goes through) for damage? I have seen 2 wheelers, and 3 wheelers with the transmission casing broken at this attachment point. Typically it's because of a secondary issue, but may be worth looking? If this breaks, there is basically a hole for the oil to "splash" out from.

 

[rap47]

So, what was the level of trany fluid on the dipstick after this?

 

[Skeet7373]

So, what was the level of trany fluid on the dipstick after this?

Dealer picked the TG up this morning and bringing it back now. The service manager said the o ring at the speed sensor was the issue. As far as the tranny fluid, looked like about 2 oz had leaked out. But that doesn't explain the chattering when running, but would stop when I pulled in the clutch. I look at it this way, if its still giving the issue, then its back to the dealer. I'm not upset about it, just concerned that the tranny is ok. Because I plan on taking a trip next month and heading south for a few days.

 

[delta]

I know it's easy for me to say....but, I wouldn't even worry about it. The bike is under warranty for 2 years; and, if you bought the extended warranty so much the better. My riding buddy has broken down in different areas of the country and has never had a problem with warranty repairs. We tour without a worry in the world. Typically it's a 16 day road trip and about 6000 miles. HD has a great dealer network and will usually move you to the front of the line when you break down far away from home. The good thing is you now have a paper trail stating the cause.

 

[Skeet7373]

I know it's easy for me to say....but, I wouldn't even worry about it. The bike is under warranty for 2 years; and, if you bought the extended warranty so much the better. My riding buddy has broken down it different areas of the country and has never had a problem with warranty repairs. We tour without a worry in the world. Typically it's a 16 day road trip and about 6000 miles. HD has a great dealer network and will usually move you to the front of the line when you break down far away from home. The good thing is you now have a paper trail stating the cause.

I'm good with this. Your correct there is a paper trail now. This little thing caused all that trouble. The trike is back home, and she's clean. They even cleaned under the trike to get rid of all the fluid spread everywhere.

<img src="http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h295/sarge384/DSC03784.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket]

 

[jcolson]

I'm glad it wasn't major. Now you can get it back on the road again.

 

[screwball]

OUTSTANDING!

Outstanding that they found it so quickly and got it fixed
Outstanding attitude! I've had 2 flat tires out of state on a road trip. From the time my bike arrived at the Harley Dealer, I was out within an hour. Can't say enough about Harley service

Ride that thing, enjoy it! Things don't usually break, but sometimes poop happens

 

[rap47]

Glad it worked out for you. A couple oz of trany fluid is not enough to hurt anything. As far as the trany sounding noisey, these six speeds do make some noise when hot. They are tuff built and I think you will be fine.

 

[Skeet7373]

The guy who picked up the bike is a light mechanic, he watched the trike mechanic pull out the dip stick. the fuel mark was at the bottom mark of normal low. Also I was riding for a solid 6.5 hours with short stops. Elvira still got me home and except for the chattering, she ran strong. I'm not really worried, I got the warranty for 2 years and the extended warranty for another 5 years. We IS covered! This dealer worked really hard to get my business and apparently want to keep it for the fast turn around yesterday. No complaints here, lets go riding. Oh, raining today.

 

[roadrageisfun]

It's refreshing to hear that Harley owners are having good results with their interactions with their service departments. I have a great relationship with mine and know they are going to take care of me when I bring my bike in. They do have a great network and fortunately I have not had to use it for anything serious yet. Glad your oil problem was fixed now go enjoy riding.