Breather setup

[RAHRAHJR]

I am looking for input. The M8 motors that are oil cooled feed the oil from the heads back into the system at the back of the motor thru a tube. The water cooled have the same port but has a cover plate over it. I was considering buying that tube and feeding the breather into it. My concerns are feeding that hot air/oil back into the oil re circulation system, and what would the pros/cons be.

opinion?

Also which is better if I go the normal route , the breather filter or a catch can?

Thanks

 

[FuzzyWuzHe]

I would go with a breather catch can or filter ... not sure I'd put what I've seen on the filter on one bike or the catch can on another, back into the oil system. Also, wouldn't you need a check valve to keep the oil from going back into the air breather? I'm not sure why, but, my fuzzy sense says your plan is fraught with danger. I could be wrong ... it's happened before.

 

[Jack Klarich]

IMO, Fuzzy is right, not to mention the condensation in the oil. That is what you DO NOT want in your engine or your intake

If you have the Screaming Eagle back lpate on your Trike you are still routing that mess thru your throttle plate\

You can still reroute the oily mess out of there and down the back and out the bottom of your Trike

You can put a filter or a catch can on the hose if you like, tho a filter is not really needed, the venting is just that it cannot suck back in the engine with out a vacuum

I routed mind down and under the Trike using a catch and a drain

 

[RAHRAHJR]

Kevin also replied in a message with a picture of the water in the oil at the breather. I never thought of the water content. Will NOT consider running the lines back into the system. Thanks guys for the replies. I will modify my backing plate and run the hose to under the motor, probably try to follow the fuel tank hose out the bottom. I just need to figure out whether to use a can or filter.

 

[FuzzyWuzHe]

If you can route it away from heat to under the bike, I'd go with a filter. They can be hosed off when you wash the bike with some soap and your done. I went with a can, because the thinner hose I found was hard to route like I did on my tri. Not to mention, I was able too do a short run and it looks kewl. Just made a loop under the air cleaner and kept it there.



Just as a warning, be careful to keep it high under the bike if you use a filter ... I crushed my filter going into a driveway after HD mechanics rerouted my hose when they replaced the O2 sensors..

 

[Old Road Dog]

Official NASA Mars Rover catch can

(1) NASA approved Wally World pharmacy empty pill bottle.(1)Length of Mars environment resistant clear aquarium hose.Drill hole in bottle cap so hose fits tightly. Drill second 1/8"hole as vent.Remove 2 into 1 breather hose at tee.The one stuck into back of air cleaner.Replace with clear hose and crimp in place with a piece of mechanics wire.You won't belive the water vapor and snot collected as you explore Mars.Ship contents to NASA for study.

 

[Old Road Dog]

Oh-stow bottle in air cleaner cover to rear of filter. Plenty of room.

 

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Here's the can installed.

 

[TGCarol]

I bought one of these catch can assemblies a while back. I was really looking forward to not having all that mess going through my engine. The dealership talked me out of installing it. I was really embarrassed. They made it sound like I got “taken for a ride” and that I would have oil all over the side of my engine. I know this isn’t true. None of it, but it’s still uninstalled

 

[FuzzyWuzHe]

I bought one of these catch can assemblies a while back. I was really looking forward to not having all that mess going through my engine. The dealership talked me out of installing it. I was really embarrassed. They made it sound like I got “taken for a ride” and that I would have oil all over the side of my engine. I know this isn’t true. None of it, but it’s still uninstalled

On the DK website they have an article about what happens to the engine when the oil and hot gasses go back to the engine. Interesting read. I'm guessing your dealer wants to do engine rebuilds.

 

[TGCarol]

Yes. I have read it. That’s why I bought the breather to begin with.

 

[Jack Klarich]

Yes. I have read it. That’s why I bought the breather to begin with.

Put the breather set up with the catch can as soon as you can

Your engine will thank you with years of service. You will be running your engine a bit cooler without that mess thru the throttle plate

As far as a HD tech talking about a mess on the engine, HAAAA you could get that with the stock breather

This is 1 of the first things to do on a stock HD engine IMO All my new bikes get this after the 1K break in

 

[vito]

Put the breather set up with the catch can as soon as you can. Your engine will thank you with years of service. You will be running your engine a bit cooler without that mess thru the throttle plate ….

One of the first things the EPA mandated was the PCV valve. Made it neigh impossible to tune carbureted hi-performance motors. H-D's vent into the breather is the equivalent. Thwarting it is very likely against the law, and surely nobody here would do something illegal just to have a happier, longer living engine …. would they? For decades motors had simple vent pipes. The bottom was slash cut with the long part forward in the wind to aid extraction.

 

[Jack Klarich]

One of the first things the EPA mandated was the PCV valve. Made it neigh impossible to tune carbureted hi-performance motors. H-D's vent into the breather is the equivalent. Thwarting it is very likely against the law, and surely nobody here would do something illegal just to have a happier, longer living engine …. would they? For decades motors had simple vent pipes. The bottom was slash cut with the long part forward in the wind to aid extraction.

HD head breathers give HD a 2 for 1

Not only do they act as a PCV system, they also relieve the crank case pressures

If they did not have this set up the crank cases would rob power with the internal pressures of the downward stroke of the pistons

Pre TC engines used an internal breather gear for years

Against the law to tamper with or remove this system on our new engines YOU bet ya

However, if we are bypassing the oil to a catch can and not burning unspent gasses mixed with oil and water vapors to me is MORE pollution

A cleaner burn should in theory give better power with less fuel and less pollution

JMO

 

[Zammy]

Carol, definitely put the can on in my humble opinion, I did mine last month and the motor is happier. Here's a link to the install:

https://www.triketalk.com/forum/thr...C-install-From-DK-Customs?p=576183#post576183

 

[DakotaTG]

I've had the EBS on my Tri Glide for over a year and there has never been any oil on the bike. I do clean out the catch can about every 1500 miles or so and I can tell you that it is a brown watery sludge in the can. Wash out the filter, let it dry and reinstall. Nothing hard about it at all.

2016 Jade Green and Black TG. A whole lot of DK Customs parts on it. Comfort Lift, Tour-Pac relocation brackets, External Breather System with catch can, oil filter relocation kit, tank lift kit (front and back), deflector wings.

 

[DK Custom Products]

I bought one of these catch can assemblies a while back. I was really looking forward to not having all that mess going through my engine. The dealership talked me out of installing it. I was really embarrassed. They made it sound like I got “taken for a ride” and that I would have oil all over the side of my engine. I know this isn’t true. None of it, but it’s still uninstalled

And there you have why following the advice of "techs" at dealerships is like going down a rabbit hole.

Not directed to you Carol...there's been a few other threads of folks listening & buying into dealership "techs" who are not mechanics and don't have the most basic understanding of how the engines they work on function.

Kevin