Leaking Gasket

[ISP-FL]

Went to my local dealership for a new front tire yesterday and they did what no one wants to hear "come on back here, the mechanic wants to show you something"......crap!

He pointed out where my lower gasket had been showing signs of leaking. I had noticed some discoloration on one side the last time I did a 3-hole change but thought maybe I had just gotten a little sloppy with the oil. Now it looks like it has started to fail most of the way around.

I wouldn't think much of it if this was the original gasket because my 2019 is just closing in on 61,000 miles. However, my motor was completely rebuilt 19,000 miles ago. I called my buddy in KY because he had his motor rebuilt at the same dealership (Four Rivers) as I did. He said he can see signs of his gasket failing also. I'm guessing they got a batch of bad gaskets because we each had different mechanics rebuild our motors out of that shop.

Anyone else experience this gasket failing?

Anyway, they assured me their guy could easily handle replacing the gasket so I left them to it. Good thing is my extended warranty is still running.

 

[Old Road Dog]

"I called my buddy in KY because he had his motor rebuilt at the same dealership (Four Rivers) as I did. He said he can see signs of his gasket failing" Captain Kangaroo would call that a clue.

 

[Gorilla]

Joe did they have you bring it back after the rebuild for a retorque of the bolts? If not that MIGHT be why its started weeping now.

I'm not positive but I thought that the retorque was suggested.

 

[ISP-FL]

Joe did they have you bring it back after the rebuild for a retorque of the bolts? If not that MIGHT be why its started weeping now.

I'm not positive but I thought that the retorque was suggested.

I was told that there was no follow-up needed. Actually when I picked it up after the rebuild I asked about a break-in period. The mechanic that built it told me that I could ride it as hard as I wanted but just not to get on the interstate and run the same rpms for long distances. He said they had it in the dino booth for a couple hours for the tune and ran it pretty hard. I'm just guessing they went over the torque after that, but maybe not.

Over probably a two-year period, three of us had these rebuilds done on our trikes at Four Rivers. Each build was slightly different, but all utilized the T-Man kits. Two of us started with the bottom ends being done up at Dark Horse. This dealership has two of their mechanics that build a lot of custom motors, which get sent all over the U.S.

Unfortunately, even though my local dealer down here had the gasket they are replacing in stock, the upper head gasket has to come from T-Man. They couldn't get it overnighted so it looks like I will be waiting until next week to get my trike back.

 

[Old Road Dog]

"He said they had it in the dino booth for a couple hours for the tune and ran it pretty hard." Annnd...there it is boys and girls. Another Dynometer induced disaster. This is ancient history...there was a time if the MOCO found out you put your bike on a Dynometer they would void your warranty. Not just the motor but from headlight to taillights and everything in between. What changed? This shit right here $$$$$$$. HD realized how much money they were losing and completely changed their tune. Remember when the MOCO was against using synthetic oil? I do. Xin Loi.

 

[ISP-FL]

I seriously doubt that running my bike in the dyno booth 2 years ago (over 20,000 miles ago) after the new engine was built had anything to do with the bottom end seal failing. I am certainly happy with the HP and torque numbers they were able to provide.

 

[Dan SC]

If you are talking about the oil pan gasket, the 2019 (probably other years also) model year machines called for a check of the torque on the bolts at one of the service intervals.

A newer version of the oil pan came out mid year 2023.

Link to Service Bulletin

 

[ISP-FL]

Not the oil pan gasket. It is the gasket below the cylinders that goes all the way around. At least I don't think that would be referred to as the oil pan gasket.

I suspect it was not a good gasket or possibly the adhesive wasn't applied just right. I'm not saying it wasn't an issue with certain bolts not being re-torqued after a break in period, I'm just thinking it could be any number of failures and there really isn't any way to tell.

 

[Dan SC]

Ok, I see now you mean the Base Gasket.

 

[ISP-FL]

Ok, I see now you mean the Base Gasket.

Yep, that base gasket would be the one.
I just picked up the bike a couple days ago. Even though they had the base gasket in stock, they didn't have an upper gasket in stock because it was a Dark Horse gasket, plus after honing the cylinders new rings were needed so those had to be priority mailed. The last day it was in the shop the tech wanted to do several heat tests so that added another 24 hours.

I have rode a couple of times for maybe 100 miles total and all is good. I haven't twisted the throttle all the way yet but it feels strong. True to their word the dealership stuck with their estimate very closely. Warranty covered the gasket replacement and all that involved, they only charged me $100 for flushing the hydraulic and brake lines, but they did charge $380 for replacing my front tire.

These front tire replacements are getting expensive. I might have to start driving down to Ft. Myers and using a metric shop that is down there for my future tire replacements.

Anyway, I'm thrilled to be back in the saddle so I can get some miles on before heading out on a 2 month trip June 8th.