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[zeflash]

Hey everyone,

I've recently changed mechanic (closer to my home) and after he did some maintenance on the engine, I'm starting to wonder if he didn't mess up a bit.
Under the engine, I see 3 screws (see the pic) - I know 1 & 2 are respectively to drain the transmission & the engine oil, but what about 3? Given the amount of oil I can see around there, and how clean the engine oil drain plug is, I'm pretty sure he didn't use the proper one.

Can someone tell me what screw n°3 is for?

Thanks a lot.

[trippy]

Hi,
If your talking about the plug just above and to left (in the photo) then that is called the "pipe plug", its not generally used in normal servicing, however
I use it to do my oil changes, using a system by "Rouge chopper", it enables me to change the entire oil, and not leave about a Quart of old oil to mix with the new.

[zeflash]

Hi,
If your talking about the plug just above and to left (in the photo) then that is called the "pipe plug", its not generally used in normal servicing, however
I use it to do my oil changes, using a system by "Rouge chopper", it enables me to change the entire oil, and not leave about a Quart of old oil to mix with the new.

I've numbered the plugs on the picture, can you tell me which one you are talking about?
From the service book;
plug 1: transmission
plug 2: engine
plug 3: ? that's the one I'd like to know about

[Doc 1]

I've numbered the plugs on the picture, can you tell me which one you are talking about?
From the service book;
plug 1: transmission
plug 2: engine
plug 3: ? that's the one I'd like to know about

#3 is to drain the crank case. You should only see about 4 to 6 oz of oil from this drain.....if you have more than 6 or 8 oz you could have a problem with the oil pump.
Doc

[zeflash]

#3 is to drain the crank case. You should only see about 4 to 6 oz of oil from this drain.....if you have more than 6 or 8 oz you could have a problem with the oil pump.
Doc

Excellent, thank you very much. I'm guessing that the oil I'm seeing everywhere under that part of the engine might come from a leak there. Damn. Gotta clean that up it's messy.

[North Georgia Hawg]

Excellent, thank you very much. I'm guessing that the oil I'm seeing everywhere under that part of the engine might come from a leak there. Damn. Gotta clean that up it's messy.

That plug only drains the cam chest sump, not the entire crank case... thus the small volume of oil that will (should) come out when you remove it.

I wish there was a plug to drain the entire crankcase, but the Scavenger by Rogue Chopper mentioned above by trippy will allow you to exchange out all of the dirty old oil when changing it. I use it and it works great.

Ken

[mgreen3940]

That plug only drains the cam chest sump, not the entire crank case... thus the small volume of oil that will (should) come out when you remove it.

I wish there was a plug to drain the entire crankcase, but the Scavenger by Rogue Chopper mentioned above by trippy will allow you to exchange out all of the dirty old oil when changing it. I use it and it works great.

Ken

I second that as I just started using the Scavenger and am impressed at the results from previously not changing all that old oil.   

[North Georgia Hawg]

I second that as I just started using the Scavenger and am impressed at the results from previously not changing all that old oil.   

Yeah... The Scavenger will enable the pumping out of around a quart of old dirty oil from the crankcase and the oil cooler. It's the best way to change your oil and ensure that ALL of the oil in the system is indeed new.

I usually also remove that bolt #3 as well, to see how much oil drains from the cam chest, as I drain the main pan.

Ken

[Doc 1]

Sorry to tell you but that plug drains the crank case NOT the cam chest, it ends up in the cam chest going to the oil pump but the pump is sealed from the cam chest (the pump has two scavenging ports, one in the crank case, that is sealed from the cam chest with a yellow ''0'' ring, and the other in the cam chest). If you have a quart of oil in your crank case the flywheels will have a hard time turning with the paddles on the left wheel.....it's like you running in a swimming pool, you don't go very fast.

[dlaws01]

Sorry to tell you but that plug drains the crank case NOT the cam chest, it ends up in the cam chest going to the oil pump but the pump is sealed from the cam chest (the pump has two scavenging ports, one in the crank case, that is sealed from the cam chest with a yellow ''0'' ring, and the other in the cam chest). If you have a quart of oil in your crank case the flywheels will have a hard time turning with the paddles on the left wheel.....it's like you running in a swimming pool, you don't go very fast.

Hey Doc, it's good to hear from you.   

[North Georgia Hawg]

Sorry to tell you but that plug drains the crank case NOT the cam chest, it ends up in the cam chest going to the oil pump but the pump is sealed from the cam chest (the pump has two scavenging ports, one in the crank case, that is sealed from the cam chest with a yellow ''0'' ring, and the other in the cam chest). If you have a quart of oil in your crank case the flywheels will have a hard time turning with the paddles on the left wheel.....it's like you running in a swimming pool, you don't go very fast.

So Doc, you're saying that it drains the entire crankcase? I don't think so. If so, how come the Scavenger will pump out 28-32 more oz of old dirty oil? I've seen it pump that much old oil out, many times. It takes the Scavenger a quart and a half of new oil to get all of the old oil out. Where does all of that old oil come from, if it doesn't come from the crankcase and oil cooler?

In the old Shovel days they called draining the entire crankcase "the 5 quart oil change." There's a LOT of oil in there... a lot more than the few oz in the cam chest...

Ken

[Doc 1]

So Doc, you're saying that it drains the entire crankcase? I don't think so. If so, how come the Scavenger will pump out 28-32 more oz of old dirty oil? I've seen it pump that much old oil out, many times. It takes the Scavenger a quart and a half of new oil to get all of the old oil out. Where does all of that old oil come from, if it doesn't come from the crankcase and oil cooler?

In the old Shovel days they called draining the entire crankcase "the 5 quart oil change." There's a LOT of oil in there... a lot more than the few oz in the cam chest...

Ken

Ken
I don't know what your using to suck out oil nor do I care....the OP asked what the plug was for and it's a CRANKCASE drain. The Harley motor is a dry sum motor and if you're getting over a quart of oil out of your crankcase there is something wrong with your oiling system. I know nothing about the tool your using, where it hooks up, or where is sucks from but I do know the motor is a dry sump meaning there is NOT more that 4 to 6 oz of oil in the crankcase....

[North Georgia Hawg]

Ken
I don't know what your using to suck out oil nor do I care....the OP asked what the plug was for and it's a CRANKCASE drain. The Harley motor is a dry sum motor and if you're getting over a quart of oil out of your crankcase there is something wrong with your oiling system. I know nothing about the tool your using, where it hooks up, or where is sucks from but I do know the motor is a dry sump meaning there is NOT more that 4 to 6 oz of oil in the crankcase....

Doc, I understand that it's a dry sump system, and there is only a small amount of oil in the crankcase itself. All of the old oil left in the engine isn't all in the crankcase... but there is about 24 oz in the various passageways in the engine and in the cam chest, etc. - and more in a bike with an oil cooler.

The OP asked what the plugs are, so I assume he's interested in what they are there for, and what they do - and do not do.

You may not care about the device I mentioned, but others here might. The device I referred to is the Scavenger Oil Change System... http://shop.roguechopper.com/products/twin-cam-a-touring-kit. There is a video in this link that shows what it does and how it works. When used during an oil change, the Scavenger will exchange all of this dirty old oil in the engine with fresh new oil. You can see it all come out as the engine runs.

Ken

[Trimster]

From what I see watching that video, the scavenger pump fitting goes into plug 2. Doc is refering to plug 3.

[North Georgia Hawg]

From what I see watching that video, the scavenger pump fitting goes into plug 2. Doc is refering to plug 3.

Yes, that's true... but that wasn't what that post was about.

Doc is correct, and I spoke incorrectly earlier. I had thought that plug #3 drained the cam chest, but it doesn't. It drains the crankcase.

Thanks for the correct info, Doc.

Ken