Oil leak in 1996 Harley Davidson Sportster 883.?

Question

oil in the air filter. blow back? Dealer can not fix it. What could it be?

Answer 1

Haven't you read the posts from Harley advocates...any Harley built after AMF never leaks.

Answer 2

its old it should leak!

but take it in to a harley store and they will help you!

:0

Answer 3

It's a 12 year old Harley ! They leak !

Answer 4

Most dealers only work on bikes 5 years old or newer, you need to find an independent V-twin shop.

It could be as simple as vaporized oil at the head breather. If so there is a vent assembly that can be installed between the head and air cleaner.

The term you're looking for is "Blow by" and comes with higher mileage. short of a rebuild on the top end , the solution is the same , that vent assembly.

Answer 5

go online to [e-mail] they can help you there.  

Answer 6

blow-by oil in the aircleaner is normal for a sportster. that don't mean it's not a pain in the *** though. when sportsters were chain driven we used to re-rout the crank case breather tube to drip on the chain. self-oiling right? cool! now-a-days lots of folks just let it end under the bike. go to the yahoo sportster owner's group or sportster.org for more environmentally friendly ways to keep it out of your AC.

Answer 7

Try running about 1/4 of the way below the full mark on the oil dipstick.  Your umbrella valves in the heads are not sealing off like they should.  If your not riding the bike frequently (2 or 3 times a week) oil can sump in the crankcase and when you start the bike due to having the oil tank full already the motor can't evacuate the oil fast enough and will blow the oil out of the head breathers.  

Answer 8

try a new air filter and or add a oil breather.. dealer is full of it... something like this will fix it not sure if this is the one you need i just did a fast search for one.... but a new air filter and one of these will help 2000 883 over 72,000 no leaks

Answer 9

its a harley. do i need to say more?

Answer 10

I don't know how much oil you are talking about, but the diagnosis from the other posts is probably right on. Make sure you aren't overfilling the oil tank, and that you follow the instructions when you check it. Make sure you have the correct weight oil in it too. That's just something to check.

My Buell Cyclone has approximately the same engine as yours. I have a Forcewinder intake on it, so I have the breather tubes routed to an aluminum catch can that I got off ebay for about $15.00. The oil breather lines rout into the can and there is a vent tube that then goes to a filter just like the other poster mentioned. The whole set-up was under $25.00 and took maybe 1/2 hour to install. I empty it every week or so, and there isn't usually more than a fluid ounce in there.

It doesn't sound like you are leaking oil at all. It's probably just the oil mist and water vapor that all bikes have in the crank case and valvetrain area. As an engine wears, there is more pressure in the case from piston blow-by, but it's still normal. If that is a big worry for you, have someone perform a compression test to see if the engine is within specs.

Good luck!  

Don't listen to the haters!

Answer 11

Walter F. covered most of it. The truth is sportsters have a habit of blowing oil at the air filter. It dosn't hurt anything. My recommendation is to run an after-market filter that needs to be oiled. That way the problem will supply a cure.

Answer 12

You can buy a kit  that runs the oil out under the bike in stead of back through the heads. Make sure you put a filter on the end of the line because it blows out and sucks in both. They originally went from the heads back through the air cleaner. The dealer can fix it, but it has to do with emmissions so he doesn't want to fool with it.

Answer 13

i have the Doherty Power Paccs    they is nice!!!