OK, so I feel like an idiot. A friend helped me change the motor oil in my 2008 Road king a couple of weeks ago. However, instead of the motor oil he drained my transmisison oil...It looked like oil coming out so we figured we were right...When trying to add the motor oil we "removed" it didnt take the amount of oil that it should have...Being in a hurry i figured we had the bike uneven on the lift and the oil was not able to drain properly.. well I drove the bike to work and back a couple times and the only indication that there was a problem was that it would whine in 5th gear... The fact that the bike would not accept the motor oil I tried to put in it really stuck in my mind, so, I finally figured out what we did wrong and replaced the tranny oil that i drained (it was dry).. My question is how do I determine if i have done permanent damage to my tranny?
Help! Rode My Road King with no transmission oil
- Thread starter msprouse
- Start date
D
dbmg
Guest
Dump a quart in of good quality trans oil and see what happens..
I don't know how far it is to work, but there are bearings and gears that could be damaged. Have you had the bike out since you added the trans fluid? If you have I would drain the trans into a clear container and see if there are any metal shavings or metal bits. There will probably be some metal on the magnetic drain plug. Let us know what you find. Do you have a manual?
BUBBIE
Well-Known Member
What oil was IN the tranny to start with?
IF Redline shockproof Heavy, You might be ok..(but you would of NOT missed it, as it is Pink)
Now IF sin3, i'd bet it toasted it.
Gear oil, you Might get by... hopefully you used a good gear oil.
Many things you don't offer is How Far Is The Ride before it shuts off and HOW many times each way??
these are very important thing for Me to see and understand..
GEAR LUIBE will stick to the gears better and LESS damage can be done.. Trannys can Hold a good amount of lube in/on the moving parts but Not for long hot rides.
ME, I would Drain like HDDon says and Look at the metal on the magnetic plug... IF not much, I would count my blessings... I would put in Redline Shockproof Heavy as it will MASK the damage best until you decide Where to go with this...
You only have to TRY and see Unless you want to spend $$ to tear it down.. Mine,,,,,, I would do as I suggested...
Report back at the questions we are needing to help out a diagnoses..
signed....BUBBIE
IF Redline shockproof Heavy, You might be ok..(but you would of NOT missed it, as it is Pink)
Now IF sin3, i'd bet it toasted it.
Gear oil, you Might get by... hopefully you used a good gear oil.
Many things you don't offer is How Far Is The Ride before it shuts off and HOW many times each way??
these are very important thing for Me to see and understand..
GEAR LUIBE will stick to the gears better and LESS damage can be done.. Trannys can Hold a good amount of lube in/on the moving parts but Not for long hot rides.
ME, I would Drain like HDDon says and Look at the metal on the magnetic plug... IF not much, I would count my blessings... I would put in Redline Shockproof Heavy as it will MASK the damage best until you decide Where to go with this...
You only have to TRY and see Unless you want to spend $$ to tear it down.. Mine,,,,,, I would do as I suggested...
Report back at the questions we are needing to help out a diagnoses..
signed....BUBBIE
I assume you drained the engine oil out when you pulled the filter. I am not sure how much you got out without draining the tank properly. You may want to start over on the engine change and use a good Syn 20-50, the new filter should still be good but make sure you pull it again to drain the case. I do not know about the tranny condition, but the posts so far sound like good advice to me. I have seen a hundred posts here about the first tool we all need, yup a manual. Good luck
J
Jack Klarich
Guest
How many miles? Fill it up and listen for any noises and ease of shifting, like Don and Bubbie said look for metal on the magnet, I personally rode a 4 speed about 25 miles with no lube in it these trannys are pretty stout and if you had a quality lube in there hopefully the bearings are OK:s
Thanks to you all for your replies...to answer what i neglected to post,
1. Jack, I dont have a manual yet...but i am doggone sure to get one.
and I probably put 300 miles on it!!! (27 Miles each way to work before I shut it off) after I put in the new oil I cannot hear anything unusual and the whining stopped.
2. Bubbie- The OIL that was in it was the same gear oil HD puts in thier new bikes (hadnt changed it out) Not sure what they use..But I know it wasnt pink
After I discovered my mistake I put in bel ray gear saver 85w 140 from the Harely dealer and it took the whole liter. My trip to work is 27 miles one way.
I will look at the drain plug as suggested... and thanks again. If any of you have any ,more questions or advice after reading my answers.. please send!!
1. Jack, I dont have a manual yet...but i am doggone sure to get one.
and I probably put 300 miles on it!!! (27 Miles each way to work before I shut it off) after I put in the new oil I cannot hear anything unusual and the whining stopped.
2. Bubbie- The OIL that was in it was the same gear oil HD puts in thier new bikes (hadnt changed it out) Not sure what they use..But I know it wasnt pink
After I discovered my mistake I put in bel ray gear saver 85w 140 from the Harely dealer and it took the whole liter. My trip to work is 27 miles one way.
I will look at the drain plug as suggested... and thanks again. If any of you have any ,more questions or advice after reading my answers.. please send!!
The Tourist
Banned
It's probably toast.
Your only recourse is to sell the bike to me at an incredible loss.
One thing I've learned over time is to relax even in the midst of a crisis. Worst case scenario, a trained mechanic rebuilds the transmission and checks the driveline for other damage.
Don't buy trouble. Do the right thing, check out the situation, take a deep breath, and move on. It's just a piece of metal with holes drilled into it. The world will still spin.
Your only recourse is to sell the bike to me at an incredible loss.
One thing I've learned over time is to relax even in the midst of a crisis. Worst case scenario, a trained mechanic rebuilds the transmission and checks the driveline for other damage.
Don't buy trouble. Do the right thing, check out the situation, take a deep breath, and move on. It's just a piece of metal with holes drilled into it. The world will still spin.