My 06 1200 and 883 HD Sportster's are burning oil. What can I do to stop it?

[LC]

Chris it is all about crankcase breathing and crankcase pressure. Filling the tank to the of the line places to much oil in the system and then it is forced out the crank case breather which sits behind the air cleaner.
It's a bit more complicated than that. I will try to explain best I can.
The oil tank is vented to the the case using a stand pipe in the oil tank. When the tank is slightly over filled it will be fine until the oil starts to get warm and expands, raising the level in the tank until it flows down the vent tube and into the case. The excess oil in the engine is blown out the breather (which vents through the heads.)
Do not try to fill the oil tank to the "FULL" mark on the stick, always run it with the oil level just below the full mark and above the add mark when the oil is hot. (not just the bike)

 

[Chris B.]

Ok now that it is at the full line I'll let it burn off and leave it a little low. Do you think 1/8th inch below the full line is good while the oil is hot or even llower like 3/16th inch below the full line?

 

[LC]

1/2 way between the full line and the add line.
Is were I would run it.

 

[bonnie john]

fill it to the top line


any oil expelled into the aircleaner is a result of excess crankcase pressure. this should settle with running in, if not, you may have warranty issues


fill it to the top line. the design engineers know so much more than you or i ever will. they didn't put the mark there by throwing a dart at it blindfolded

 

[LC]

Chris,
What does it tell you in the owners manual?

 

[Chris B.]

I'll check the book and post back.

 

[Master ACiD]

take the 06 back to the dealer, its still under warranty. no engine should burn oil even if it is new.

 

[Chris B.]

The book says if the oil level is at or below the "add line" to add a full qt to bring it up to the full line. That is all it says and that is pretty much what I have been doing is keeping it at the "full line". With that said here are a few pictures of my air filter.

This picture is of the top of the filter:

This is of the bottom of the air filter and it does have some oil in it along the bottom:

This is the inside of the air cleaner box and it has a litle oil residue in the bottom:

Here is the intake and it is spotless with no oil in it so hopefully it is ok. It appears that oil was dripping from what ever part I circled on the right, what is that and what does it do?:

 

[LC]

You have it right Cris. The oil is coming from the part circled. Those are the engine Breather passages the one on the left and right. They were placed there to keep the EPA happy. It is normal to have some trace of oil but it should not be so much as to be absorbed into the filter. Clean it all up real good. Your bike and filter are fine. Run the oil at the 1/2 mark on the stick and check your air cleaner box again after a couple days of ridding.

 

[Chris B.]

quote:

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Originally posted by LC:
You have it right Cris. The oil is coming from the part circled. Those are the engine Breather passages the one on the left and right. They were placed there to keep the EPA happy. It is normal to have some trace of oil but it should not be so much as to be absorbed into the filter. Clean it all up real good. Your bike and filter are fine. Run the oil at the 1/2 mark on the stick and check your air cleaner box again after a couple days of ridding.

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Thanks! It's due for it's 2,500 mile service so I'll get a new filter this week. I cleanedup the air box so as soon as I get the new filter I'll recheck it and post back. If the dealer fills the oil up to the "full line" like they did before I assume I'll need to drain some out.

 

[cfromc]

Chris, this is one reason why it is better to do the maintenance yourself. Like I said earlier, every vehicle I own (5), except my Sporty, plus my lawnmower, get the "up to the full line" treatment, including my Road King. All without problems. I ran my Sportster for about 3 years with it up to the full line and always had the problems you describe, especially after long trips on the highway. When I started talking to Harley techs and hitting the net I discovered why I was getting so much oil in my cleaner-the oil was too high. Once I started filling the oil halfway between the two lines the problem was 95% cured. It still has a slight amount of oil, but very, very little.

As long as you have oil over the bottom line, your engine is protected. Check the oil about 1-2 minutes after shutting down the engine when the engine is hot. The cold reading is not accurate. Filling half-way will probably solve the oil comsumption problem also.

The reason I fill up the Road King is because it has a different type of crankcase ventilation system and when I checked my air filter at 5,000 miles there was only a small amount of oil.

Like you said, the owner's manual just says to add 1 quart if the level goes below the bottom line-it doesn't say to keep it at the top line. Idealy though, keep it as close to the middle as possible. That's what I've been doing for seven years now and no problems. Remember, it's a dry sump system with the feed at the bottom of the oil tank. I've had it a little below the bottom line once and it still had oil pressure.

Sorry for the long post but don't let anyone tell you that it needs to be run "full". That just doesn't apply to this engine line. I know from personal experience. I've had two Sportsters and know several friends that have/had one.

P.S. Have you paid the Harley tax yet?

 

[tacoman]

Chris- cfromc is 100% correct on this. I have a 2005 Sportster. I also run it about half way between the full and low marks. It does not burn any oil and the air filter stays dry.
By the way- if you change your own oil in the future, put in exactly three quarts total including prefilling the filter. It will be perfect. The manual says 3.6 quarts but some oil stays in the engine when you drain the tank.

 

[Chris B.]

Thanks for the help guys! This is my 1st bike and don't really know how to work on them yet. I plan to learn to maintain them(my wifes 883 and my 1200) soon. I'll have the dealer do the 2,500 mile service this week and by then next oil change/service I should learn enough to start maintaining the bikes my self.
I think I know how to change the oil and tranny fluids but I still need to learn how to adjust the clutch and chane and blet ect. I need to buy the shop manuel! Thank again!

 

[cfromc]

Chris, check on Ebay. I got a manual on CD for my RK for cheap vs. the $60+ for the paper one from the dealer.