The mother of all leaky shifter seals.

[Fudd]

I can remember a couple years ago, seeing about 4 or maybe 5 drops of oil under my shift lever and freaking out.  I made haste to replace the offending part in short order and regligated the incident to a nearly forgotten memory.

Then last night, I responded to a call saying that my nephew's rarely ridden garage queen Valkyrie had an oil leak.  Really weird, this bike that has sat peacefully in a corner of a carport just starts leaking oil PROFUSELY!  Not a soul has touched it in a month.

When I got the call, the puddle was reportedly no more than a few inches in diameter.  Then I get there to see what all the fuss is about, and find that half the carport is covered with oil!  At least two quarts on the floor.

For some reason, I thought that the shifting mechanism was fed oil under pressure from the oil pump.  That was my assumption anyway. 

So I'm wondering, has anyone ever burned up an engine from oil starvation from a gear shifter seal failing catastrophically?   
 

[The emperor has no clothes]

Something doesn't add up. I can't imagine that much coming out the shifter shaft.

[sandy]

Does he have Harley friends playing a prank on him?

[Tfrank59]

Yeah I don't think even with no shifter seal would it pour out that much oil – but who knows.  Sounds like something else is going on there – time to get underneath and see where the real source of the oil is.  Let us know what you learn.

[R J]

I'd almost bet some one if playing with him.

Pouring a little oil on the floor for grins, and watching his reaction.

You said it was on a carport, so anything is possible.

[Daniel Meyer]

Maybe the crankcase is filling up with gas or something?

Shifter seal won't leak that much if all is normal...heck, it doesn't leak that much when it's removed!

[R J]

Grab the dipstick and take a reading of the oil level, smell it to see if you can come up with a gas smell, and or overfull.

If so, fix it before ya ride it.

[F6BANGER]

Get a clean oil pan and drain the oil into it. It there is 4 quarts, someone is messing with him and put the oil back in the bike. If there isnt 4 quarts, there is a problem. Also, like the rest said, smell the oil for gas.

[Fudd]

I just moved the bike for the first time away from the spill.  No oil on the dipstick.  No gasoline smell in the crankcase or in the puddle on the ground.  I can clearly see oil dripping from the shifter seal after I repositioned the bike elsewhere.

I have pictures on my phone, but I can't post them on here because of an email attachment downloading glitch.

[Farther]

Well, if it is the shifter seal then at least it is an easy fix.

[Punisher]

I agree, hard to believe that much oil would come out of the shifter seal unless something else is wrong.

Are you sure it's not coming from somewhere else and just happens to be dripping off the bike at the shifter shaft?    I know if you pull the water pump without draining oil first you'll have a big mess on your hands.   Clean it all good with a degreaser and then start watching for the oil trail.

[Firefighter]

Can't imagine that much oil, drain plug? Clean it and fill it back up and watch I guess?

[DK]

Is it possible that coolant froze during the winter & opened a crack somewhere in the case to allow the leak?

Oil is missing from the crankcase. Is coolant also missing?

Dan

[Pappy!]

I see you're from Louisiana.......probably one of those Nutros (big ass rats) you have down there making a  meal out of the seal !
Little levity there........

[DK]

Is the shifter shaft low enough for that much oil to drain out?

Dan

[Tfrank59]

I can remember a couple years ago, seeing about 4 or maybe 5 drops of oil under my shift lever and freaking out.  I made haste to replace the offending part in short order and regligated the incident to a nearly forgotten memory.

Then last night, I responded to a call saying that my nephew's rarely ridden garage queen Valkyrie had an oil leak.  Really weird, this bike that has sat peacefully in a corner of a carport just starts leaking oil PROFUSELY!  Not a soul has touched it in a month.

When I got the call, the puddle was reportedly no more than a few inches in diameter.  Then I get there to see what all the fuss is about, and find that half the carport is covered with oil!  At least two quarts on the floor.

For some reason, I thought that the shifting mechanism was fed oil under pressure from the oil pump.  That was my assumption anyway. 

So I'm wondering, has anyone ever burned up an engine from oil starvation from a gear shifter seal failing catastrophically?   
 

Did you ever find out what was going on with this?  I'm very curious.