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[RoadKing04]

If you have a intake leak in your throttle body area what are some of the things that it will cause your bike to do?

 thanks.

[sadunbar]

If you have a intake in your throttle body what are some of the things it will cause your bike to do?

 thanks.

pop on decel... idle erratically...  run lean...

[grc]

Depends on where the leak is, before or after the throttle plate.  Can we assume from your screen name that we're talking about a 2004 Road King?  If so, since those don't have closed loop (oxygen sensor feedback), the bike won't automatically adjust the air fuel mixture so an intake leak after the throttle plate will cause the mixture to be lean.  This will cause surging, popping, pinging, poor idle, hot running, etc..

Historically intake leaks tended to be at the intake manifold to head joints, but you could also get leaks where the throttle body attaches to the manifold, or where various sensors bolt onto the throttle body.  The easiest way to find such leaks is with a pinpoint spray of propane or something like carb cleaner. When sprayed onto an area that is leaking (with the engine running), it will cause the engine rpm to increase.

What kind of problem are you having?


Jerry

[RoadKing04]

Hey guys thanks for the input,but let me finish telling you why i am concerned here.Yes my bike is a 04 and i was told to check this by way of telephone what you guys suggested with the carb cleaner and yes the bike did shut off twice. The person i was talking then suggested not to ride the bike until i took it to an experienced wrench to double check it to make sure and i did,i trailered the bike to the shop the next day and when this experienced wrench did his diagnostic it did the same thing shut off but he said he didn't feel it was a big enough leak to make it much of a difference in his opinion because the motor runs to strong but to me at idle its not a constant flowing sound out of the exhaust it erratic and yes it does run hot but he also discovered that i had no pressure in my fuel line when he put the gauge on under the tank it went to 60psi then immediately dropped to zero.The fuel line was fixed and the bike retuned,yes she did run cooler then before but the idle problem is still there and the bike shutting off from the carb cleaner has not been addressed.

So i need alittle more advice what to do next here.

[sadunbar]

Hey guys thanks for the input,but let me finish telling you why i am concerned here.Yes my bike is a 04 and i was told to check this by way of telephone what you guys suggested with the carb cleaner and yes the bike did shut off twice. The person i was talking then suggested not to ride the bike until i took it to an experienced wrench to double check it to make sure and i did,i trailered the bike to the shop the next day and when this experienced wrench did his diagnostic it did the same thing shut off but he said he didn't feel it was a big enough leak to make it much of a difference in his opinion because the motor runs to strong but to me at idle its not a constant flowing sound out of the exhaust it erratic and yes it does run hot but he also discovered that i had no pressure in my fuel line when he put the gauge on under the tank it went to 60psi then immediately dropped to zero.The fuel line was fixed and the bike retuned,yes she did run cooler then before but the idle problem is still there and the bike shutting off from the carb cleaner has not been addressed.

So i need alittle more advice what to do next here.

If there is an intake....fix it.  It's not a complicated process to remove and replace the gaskets between the throttle body manifold and cylinder heads, which is the common place to have a leak.  But regardless of the location of leak, if one exists...fix it...   

[grc]

..........................................this experienced wrench did his diagnostic it did the same thing shut off but he said he didn't feel it was a big enough leak to make it much of a difference in his opinion ..................................

So i need alittle more advice what to do next here.

My advice is to find a better "wrench".  I suppose a little bit of a leak is like being a little bit pregnant, don't worry about it until it gets bigger and harder to ignore? 

Get the intake leak fixed, and if he charged you to retune the bike he needs to retune it again on his dime after he fixes the leak.  It makes no sense at all to ignore an intake leak and tune the bike while it still has a known problem.


Jerry

[RoadKing04]

His exact words were "I'm just not convinced all the way that is what it is a intake leak"and he wanted me to bring the bike back tuesday tommorrow and keep it for a couple days and drop it off. He also suggested that i change the air cleaner cover from what i have on it now to a cover that you can get more air flowing through.

[Midnight Rider]

If you've got a bone stock air filter/backplate, then it makes sense to replace it with a higher flow version like the Screamin' Eagle, Ness, Doherty, etc.  But, you need to be certain that it is the bone stock version on your bike.  A LOT of bikes were fitted with the SE air cleaner kit back in '04 and the ECM flashed with a download you could purchase from the dealer for around a hundred bucks.  You can find pictures of the SE backplate on the HD website so you'll know what you're looking at.

[RoadKing04]

If you've got a bone stock air filter/backplate, then it makes sense to replace it with a higher flow version like the Screamin' Eagle, Ness, Doherty, etc.  But, you need to be certain that it is the bone stock version on your bike.  A LOT of bikes were fitted with the SE air cleaner kit back in '04 and the ECM flashed with a download you could purchase from the dealer for around a hundred bucks.  You can find pictures of the SE backplate on the HD website so you'll know what you're looking at.

I have the s/s tear drop cover.He suggested the same cover by them but with the one that has the cut out slots going all the way around it for to get better circulation of air flow.