HarleyTechTalk

gona change oil in primary & tranny on this 2000 FLHTC i just bought, looking for ideas on  good non synthetic fluids, i want the tranny and primary to be different colors so it is easy to tell which one is leaking (if a leak happens), thanks

Out of curiousity, why "non synthetic"?

Skip

Well, I like Harley Formula +, but it is not colored.  It just looks like regular light brown oil.  I guess you could use dye.  Anybody know if food coloring will dissolve in oil?

Could drop a few drops of AC dye they use in car air conditioners,its green and can be seen with UV glasses , others might  chime in with others, cheers Barny

Some guys use B&M trick shift ATF in the Primary (Blue ) and Redline shockproof tranny fluid ( Red ) And Amsoil in engine (gold)

this is my 17th harley in 31 years of riding ,first twin cam, tried synthetic 2 times ,instant leaks both times

How many miles are on the bike?

The TC's are known to have the shifter shaft seal fail where it goes into the tranny. It's a $6 part (buy one from Cometic, it's much better) and you have to pull the primary off to replace it. I got to do this job last year on my '06.

I've mixed ATF with regular primary oil for a slight red tint. I'm a big fan of Mobil One gear oil in the tranny. Gear oil smells very sulfury anyway, so I'm hardly worried about mixing up the primary and tranny oil. I just banish everyone from the garage while I'm working.

Belray is a good non syn choice for the tranny

I use Redline heavy duty shockproof(looks like Pepto Bismol) in tranny and ATF in primary

I put Valvoline 4 cycle 20-50 in primary and Valvoline 85-140 gear lube in tranny a few days ago. Shifting smoother. It could just be the fresh lube. Time will tell.

b&m trick shift in primary,red line shockproof heavy in tranny, mobile 1 v-twin syn. in motor, all diff. colors. The wal-marts here in ut. quit selling mobile 1 v-twin, but autozone still carries it, slightly higher price.

bought bike with 10000 miles on it,no leaks now,just looking ahead.  what kind of ATF do most use ( dextron, type F, etc.)

Type F seems to be the most recommended.

I am not clear why you want to avoid syn.

Redline Shockproof Heavy in the tranny. (Someone mentioned it looks like Pepto. I always thought tomato soup made with milk).
Redline MTL in the primary. Both are syn and widely used, and the others mentioned are also widely used. I wouldn't be afraid to use any of them.

You won't have leaks at the drain plugs if you always torque them and don't reuse damaged o-rings. I have 50k with no leaks. TC motors are very tight.

Been using RL Shockproof Heavy in the trans and their MTL in the primary for last 30k, and have had 0 problems/issues from either.

If the prev owner used syn, I would stick to it.  If not, I could see why one might not want 10 yr old seals to just now be exposed to syn, which might slip through and find a place to leak.  Frankly if it were me I'd go syn, as the benefits outweigh the poss cons.

Quote from: trück on July 14, 2010, 07:53:16 PM
Type F seems to be the most recommended.

I prefer a dexron type,smooth engagement and positve lockup.Sometimes get stuck in traffic,so synthetic is what i use.