Oil leak... oh what a shock... not.

[che]

I have an oil leak, on the PAN, pretty sure it's coming from where the main drive shaft enters the inner primary. In the work shop manual it says there should be a 'main drive gear oil seal' and a 'cork oil seal washer' can anybody tell me if there is a 'tip' for stopping this oil leak, ie: cork washer doesn't stike me as a very efficent oil seal. TA.

PS. let me know when your fed up of me asking all these questions. kim

[kiwidave]

Kim that is the one guaranteed leak on any 4speed Big twin up to 1986. I have read from experts that once there is a certain amount of wear, any ''fixes'' are a bandaid. It is a virtual design fault on the trannies.

On my final-year four-speed I have replaced relevant spacer, oil seals, doubled the number of oil seals and used a Supernut <TM> and have had a pretty good result.

Some silicon, a new spacer and seals sure will not hurt though. Do a web search for James Supernut....but I am unsure if it is a Pan fitment.

the approved Panhead owner response is to just lean on the bike outside the bar, chew on a ceegar, take another swig, and tell the FNG's: ''yep, on this baby, when it don't leak oil I know I am in trouble cos I ain't got none left!''

<practise yer laconic grin>

Dave

[Noddy]

Hi Che and all...

This is not a direct answer to the various questions asked, but another place to look for the answers. It is the MSN Harley tech site. Its fantastic, ask a question and you get answers from all round the world. There are areas for Knuck's Pan's, Shovel's, Evo's etc, etc.

Look at ,
http://groups.msn.com/harleytechtalk/panhead.msnw you will just about find the answer to every question you have ever thought of......and many you have yet to think of.
I hope it helps.

[che]

Thanks guys. Noddy i will take a look at that website... spread the load.
Dave, does this 'super nut' (sounds like a cartoon hero) go on the primary side of the main drive shaft.. do hope so. kim.

wah hell if that aint a mighty purdy bike, dog gone shame it's covered in black gold. If that ain't lower than a rattle snakes belly in truck rut.

Something like that dave old chap?

[Cloudy but dry]

Greetings che.
When I bought my pan 23 yrs ago , old chopper corney told me" for every hour you spend ridin you'll spend 2 hours weildin' the spanners"
Sounds like your finding that out too!
Where exactly is the leak? is the clutch covered in oil? if so gear oil gettin down the clutch pushrod. The tapered cork seal may seem a bit pony but is easily replaced, they perish and split specially if the bikes been laid up awhile.Check the spring and washer inside the clutch hub nut, this keeps thecork seal pushed up snug against the taper on the gearbox mainshaft.

Are you running tin primary,s ?

[Phil]

The main cause of these leaks is wear in the Main Drive gear bushing, which goes between the main drive gear & the main shaft.
A new bushing has to be pressed in & honed to fit, use a Super nut, which is way superior, should then last for years.
Wear in the bushing allows the Main Drive Gear to `wobble` about slightly on the mainshaft, making any attempts to seal it doomed to failure eventually.

[che]

Thanks guys.. fitted Super Nut (still sounds like a cartoon hero) now, those super nut aficionados will know there is a dual rubber seal that fits tight around the main shaft, this causes some drag on the main shaft making the bike harder to wheel back and forth, will that bed itself in, or is something wrong?

I've doubled checked the fitting and it seems correct, though 'Super Nut', unlike '8 stone weakling standard Nut' is twice as thick, not that that should effect anything. Does that all sound in order?

[Phil]

It will `bed in`, should not make it a `lot` harder to wheel aroung though.

[che]

Spent a day trying to sort out a problem... 'super nut' is too thick, it was binding against the back of the clutch hub, have i been sold the wrong 'super nut?' as mentioned in previous post it is twice as thick as standard mainshaft nut, that was causing the drag. Put standard nut back on and everything was fine, back to leaking tranny oil i guess.

[lordmartin]

what primarys have you got on your bike? supernuts wont clear some.- as you found out.
plus if things are worn then every supernut I know or have seen fitted didn't make much difference.
next time you have the clutch off see if you can move the mainshaft up and down. it shouldn't. All depends on just how much as I say things are worn. It doesnt take much for oil to escape.
If you get it all down again clean everything up with a good degreaser and especially the slots in the main drive gear (4th gear, where the sprocket goes on, a cotton bud in dipped in thinners is good to get into the slots ) and get it oil free and dry then apply some silicone to each slot recess before fitting the sprocket. Not too much, just enough to fill the "holes" and stop oil from migrating along there and out. Dont forget the "L" shaped key which fits in the main drive gear slot and the spacer. Fit sprocket and tighten nut properly, not with a hammer and chisel/screwdriver as seems to be too common. If the nut isn't tightened correctly it'll leak too.