09 XL1200C oil tank leak?

[Wiktor]

Well upon closer examination my bike is leaking oil out of the top vent of the late model 09 oil tank? I thought it was leaking out of the mount screws but it’s not. Any ideas and fixes for this leak? Oil is never over filled. It doesn’t leak a lot but after a while it makes a mess! Figure on replacing the tank? Thanks!

[harley506d]

Your breather valves may be shot.
Have a read through sportsterpedia, you should find some answers.

For e,g,.........http://sportsterpedia.com/doku.php/techtalk:refil20

[Wiktor]

Thank you for the help!

[rejeanprimeau]

Clean the tank with alcohol and glue it with JB Weld for plastic. That stuff realy sticks to the kind of plastic H-D uses. Plus the glue stay flexible.

[Folkie]

It sounds like oil is coming out of the pressure relief valve. Ie: the pressure relief valve is doing its job. The question is why? I can't see why the breather valves (in the rocker boxes) would cause that.

This is what it says about the new oil tank in the '2010 Model Year Technical Changes' document:



You say that "Oil is never over filled". Are you sure? How are you checking the level? Are you checking with the engine fully up to operating temperature, and the oil hot?

If you check with the oil cold, especially after the bike has sat for a while, some of the oil may have drained down into the engine. If the oil is then filled to the 'correct' level (correct for a hot engine, with no oil drained down into the engine), then the oil tank will actually be over filled. When the engine is started and gets up to operating temperature, oil will (and should) come out of the pressure relief valve.

If it's not that, what about the vent line being pinched or restricted?

[Hippysmack]

Have a read thru this thread.
http://xlforum.net/forums/showthread...626#post840626
I think we pretty much figured out this issue.
Plastic oil tanks have a crappy design internally that lends to seam leaks.
Pressure builds inside the left corner due to this.
OEM 09 tank does not have the relief valve.
The -04B I mentioned in the ops previous thread does.
If the op already has the -04B tank upgrade and oil is popping out of it, the relief is doing it's job.
I the op has the 09< tank, there is no way for it to leak unless it's cracked somewhere.
(if it's not cracked, look into whether too much oil was added to the tank, kinked vent hose or other.

[Wiktor]

Thanks again for the replies! Oil level is always checked hot after idling and on its side stand. So, not an overfill issue. I was surprised to see the vent on the tank so maybe bike was a late 09? Underside of frame over top of vent has oil on it too. Tank is definitely leaking on top and draining down. I’ll check the vent tube again but so far at it has looked good? Is some leakage from vent normal? Thanks!

[Folkie]

What does "hot after idling" mean? Do you mean that you start up the engine, let it idle a bit, switch off, then check the oil level? That probably won't do it. You need to go for a ride around, say at least 10 miles, to get the oil up to full operating temperature.

[Wiktor]

Thanks for the reply! Always checked hot after letting idle for a minute or two to let the oil settle down. I bought bike used a couple years ago, wondering if the previous owner changed out the original oil tank to the upgraded one? It looks all original though and has definitely been on there a while.

[Hippysmack]

The tank was newly designed for the 2010 models.
At the same time they made the -04B upgrade for 09< models.
So it is possible your tank had a factory -04B if it was a late model.
It's also possible that a dealer swap was done if yours was early.

We haven't seen a lot of traffic on the -o4B results. But from the link I posted earlier, you can see where the problem lies.
But I would think the -04B would help the situation tremendously although the design still needs improving.

If'n your tank vent is popping off, do you here it sizzle when it does?
I'm just trying to verify it is the vent. You should see oil droplets around the vent or on the bike if so.
Gotta a pic of the offending area? Maybe someone can see something not conveyed so far.
If'n everything is OK with the tank and the vent is popping off, you're building up pressure in the tank that should not be.
The vent popping off is a bandaid for an underlying condition.