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[grinner]

My 2010 SESG has what I consider extremely high oil pressure (6th gear, 2600 rpm's, one dot away from 60 which is a total peg out on the gauge).  I bought it in early August, have put about 3600 miles on it, and already took it back for the 1000 mile checkup about a month ago.

This being my first Harley, I took it to the Dealership and had two mechs drive it and see the pressure.  One said the gauge might be bad, the other said I probably have a full crankcase.  Both said high oil pressure is good, but a friend of mine said that high of pressure puts a big strain on the motor. 

Me, I'm totally clueless here and need your feedback.

[sadunbar]

My 2010 SESG has what I consider extremely high oil pressure (6th gear, 2600 rpm's, one dot away from 60 which is a total peg out on the gauge).  I bought it in early August, have put about 3600 miles on it, and already took it back for the 1000 mile checkup about a month ago.

This being my first Harley, I took it to the Dealership and had two mechs drive it and see the pressure.   One said the gauge might be bad, the other said I probably have a full crankcase.  Both said high oil pressure is good, but a friend of mine said that high of pressure puts a big strain on the motor. 

Me, I'm totally clueless here and need your feedback.

Whatever the cause of the problem - something needs to be diagonsed and corrected.  Do either of these "dealership mechanics" intend to fix it, or were they just offering suggestions?   

[mjb765]

Did you double check the oil level on the dipstick??

[grinner]

The mechs didn't seem too concerned and did not offer to take it back in the shop for a closer look at that time.

Dipstick looks normal - doesn't appear to have a "full crankcase" as I was told.

I am taking it in for some repair work next week due to a slight spill last month and I'll be sure and make them notate the issue for the record.  Should I be concerned?  Can this high pressure put more strain on the engine - blow a seal or gasket somewhere, etc?  I just rode it to Memphis and back in a couple of days (from North Georgia - about 800 miles roundtrip) and no issues along the way but steady high pressure.

[Diamondback]

 

No it is not right and should be fixed.  Bad gage or whatever.

 

 

[grc]

The simple answer to your question is, YES, you should be concerned!

First, let's get the description of those two clowns straightened out.  They are in no way, shape, or form qualified technicians or mechanics.  No qualified person would give you the BS answers they did.  I wouldn't let them change the air in the tire of my wheelbarrow.

Second, what is the gauge reading when the oil is cold?  If it's reading 50 - 60 psi hot, it should be pegged when cold.

Third, is this a relatively new issue or has the pressure been high since day one?

The gauge should be checked to make sure you don't just have a bad sending unit or gauge.  This is very easy to do, by installing a certified mechanical gauge where the sending unit screws into the engine case.  If the mechanical gauge indicates the oil pressure is within proper tolerances, then obviously the gauge or sending unit are defective.  No big deal, test each part and replace the bad one.  If the mechanical gauge indicates you really do have high pressure, then you need a real technician to find the restriction (bypass valve, passages in the cam plate, passages in the cases, etc.) that is causing the high pressure.  Worse case scenario would be a blocked oil passage that isn't allowing oil to flow to certain parts of the engine.  That's why you should be concerned.  Lack of oil flow does very bad things to engine parts.

As for the "high pressure is good" statement, the highest pressure is attained when a constant volume pump is trying to force a fluid into a totally blocked passage.  Just a little food for thought.

Jerry

[sportygordy]

Have them check the camplate pressure relief pop off spring pressure. The spring needs proper spring rate to control the pop off pressure and oil flow in the camplate bye pass port. In most cases depress gets caught up in the spring which will cause either high or low oil pressure. Also there is possibility of oil pump failure, which seems to be common with the new bikes. As others posted, check the easy things, over filled oil capacity will cause high oil pressure.

[Diamondback]

 

Get this fixed.

 

[04se103]

Grinner  what dealership do you use? Sounds like the one i have used in the past.

[dartman]

Me, I'm totally clueless here and need your feedback.

Your not the clueless one, get away from that dealership and get that condition checked by someone competent to do so.

[DICKW]

Get this fixed.

 

[Texas 103]

Ditto on what everyone said...On second thought...l just put some SYN 3 in it , it will drop in half and rattle so you;ll know it OK... 

[mjb765]

Ditto on what everyone said...On second thought...l just put some SYN 3 in it , it will drop in half and rattle so you;ll know it OK... 

If he did it at the dealer, he is probably already running SYN 3

[grinner]

I bought the bike at Earl Small's HD in Cartersville, Georgia.  I have also had it serviced there and that's where I got the two opinions.  I will say the two opinions came from the service desk and not from the garage, so maybe I need to actually let one of the mechanics look at it?  I would hope the desk is as knowledgeable as the garage in diagnosing issues for potential repair?

[grinner]

I bought the bike at Earl Small's HD in Cartersville, Georgia.  I have also had it serviced there and that's where I got the two opinions.  I will say the two opinions came from the service desk and not from the garage, so maybe I need to actually let one of the mechanics look at it?  I would hope the desk is as knowledgeable as the garage in diagnosing issues for potential repair?

And it is running synthetic oil installed by HD.