I have a 2006 xl883 and it leaks oil from the breather bolts is there any way to stop it? It gets all over the bike and on my pants and it needs a new filter but i am afraid that it will get soaked with oil like the one I have on it now.

Question edited for clarity.
Question moved from MISC to category.

It will take a while to clear as there is oil up there that shouldn't be. Videos that may help.

https://www.google.com/search?q=2006+Harley+Davidson+Heritage+Softail+oil+blowing+from+breather

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Oil coming out of the breather is natural and normal, with basically no way to stop it. There is about 1/2 qt of oil in the bottom end of an engine, as the pistons travel downwards, the air that is under them is being pressurized and is vented out of the engine by a rotary breather valve in the case. The air picks up a small amount of oil from the bottom end as it leaves, then the air/oil mist is vented either into the air cleaner (EPA Regulations) or best if vented to the atmosphere. NOTE: WORN RINGS ALLOWINGS EXCESSIVE COMBUSTION PRESSURE BLOW-BY WILL MAKE THIS SITUATION EVEN WORSE. When it\'s vented into the air cleaner, some if it recirculates into the engine and out the exhaust, the rest saturates the air filter and then eventually gets blown all over the side of the bike. The best way to vent it, is to route a hose from the breather system down to the frame between the engine and trans, run it under the bike on the right side, point the hose down to the GROUND and zip tie it in place.



To stop the leaking breather BOLTS...remove them, and use brake cleaner to completely remove all oil from them, the washers, brackets and threads in the head. Use liquid teflon thread sealant on the bolt threads, and a light film of black rtv on the faces of all the washers and brackets, install everything, let sit for 24 hours, then ride.......if done properly and rtv is CURED, it won\'t leak.

Also note that most HD\'s with the oil tank mounted under the seat and are left sitting for a couple months will PUKE oil from the breather, this is due to the gravity....the oil will slowly seep through the oil pump and collect in the bottom of the crankcase and get blown out the breather when the bike is started.



Also:

The HD engine design is a dry sump engine, but there is always a small amount of oil in the bottom end....THIS IS WHERE THE OIL MIST COMES FROM......it is "possible" for too much oil to give your symptoms, if you have too much oil in it, the oil tank is vented back into the cam compartment, causing excessive oil build up in the bottom end, if this were the case, the oil would be PUKING from the breather, because the oil pump does not have the ability to scavenge that much oil back to the tank that quickly, which in this event, the tank doesn\'t have the room to store any way.

But even so, this is an all too common question and the symptoms are seen on almost every HD on the road.....could it be possible that EVERY HD has too much oil??? In my answer, I tried to explain WHY this happens.....even with or without too much oil.....this will still happen.

check oil breather pipe which should go into airbox, often gets blocked

Oil coming out of the breather is normal on these engines by the way of design, with basically no way to stop it. There is about 1/2 qt of oil in the bottom end of an engine, as the pistons travel downwards, the air that is under them is being pressurized and is vented out of the engine by a rotary breather valve in the case. The air picks up a small amount of oil from the bottom end as it leaves, then the air/oil mist is vented either into the air cleaner (EPA Regulations) or best if vented to the atmosphere. When it's vented into the air cleaner, some if it recirculates into the engine and out the exhaust, the rest saturates the air filter and then eventually gets blown all over the side of the bike. The best way to vent it, is to route a hose from the breather system down to the frame between the engine and trans, run it under the bike on the right side, point the hose down to the ground and zip tie it in place...Be sure to point the end of the hose down & away from the tire.
If your breather bolts start to leak oil...remove them, and use brake cleaner to completely remove all oil from them, the washers, brackets and threads in the head. Use liquid teflon thread sealant on the bolt threads, and a light film of black rtv on the faces of all the washers and brackets, install everything, let sit for 24 hours, then ride.......if done properly and rtv is CURED, it won't leak...
Also note that most HD's with the oil tank mounted under the seat and are left sitting for a couple months will PUKE oil from the breather, this is due to the gravity....the oil will slowly seep through the oil pump and collect in the bottom of the crankcase and get blown out the breather when the bike is started ...

Good luck...i hope this helps

Since 1994, Harley engines have been called "head breathers". This means that the crankcase overpressure is vented through the head where in years past, it was vent out of the crankcase down lower on the engine. The EPA made Harley change the crankcase ventilation system so that any overpressure was rerouted through the engine via the carburetor instead of simply being blown out on the ground.

If you'll look behing your breather, you'll two large bolts that screw in the heads, one into each head. These bolts are hollow and the crankcase pressure is relieved through these bolts directly into the breather.

If you're getting some oil in the air filter, this is normal. But, if you're a LOT of oil in the breather, you have either overfilled the oil tank or the "umbrella valves" in the center rocker box section may be bad. Since these "umbrella valves" are made of a rubber type substance, heat and age make them become hard and brittle. When this happens, they don't function as they should.

They're not difficult to replace. Simply take the tanks off your bike and take the six screws out of the rocker box cover. Lift the top and center section off. You'll see the umbrella valve at the inner right corner of the center section. Pull the old one out and pull the new in just like the old one was in there. Put the rocker box cover back on and do the rear one. Put the tanks back on the bike. No problem.

Good Luck
steve

Rick, since 1994, Harley has used what we call a "head breather" system in that the crankcase breathers are located in the heads. This was done in an effort to reduce the amount of oil that gets into the air filter. In earlier case breather model engines, the oil would pour into the air filter if the bike had been sitting for a few months. Prior to that, the bike would "puke" what looked like a quart of oil on the ground below the bike when first started after a long period of sitting.

If you'll remove the air filter cover and element, you'll see that the large bolts that hold the breather onto the heads are hollow. Inside the rocker boxes, there are small rubber "umbrellas" that are opened and closed by crankcase pressure. These are designed to allow your engine to breathe without an excess of oil being blown out. Still even though this system is better, a little oil still gets into the air filter. You can either keep this cleaned out or you can replace the "head breather" systems with an aftermarket system that changes the location the system exhaust crankcase pressure from. Also, you can change the "umbrella" seal and put in new ones. It isn't that difficult to do on the front head. The rear head can be tricky since there isn't much room to get to the bolts to take the rocker box cover off. The umbrella seals are located in the center section of the rocker box cover.

Good Luck
Steve

Well, what kind of oil does it seems like, a thin oil or thick oil?
Have you clen the bike and see where it might come from. By description, can not be pinpoint source location, have you check your fork, oil cooler connections, or even your LH engine to trace it's source?
Because if you are riding and oil splashes onto your pant legs can be caused by air pressure blowing a leak onto your legs. Hunt the source fisrt then wil try to fix it.

a small amount of oil from the crankcase vent hose under hard acceleration is most likely normal.American bikes don't leak oil,they mark their spot!

The worm clamp proly did choke off the breather. Usually when oil comes out of your breathers it means there is to much oil in your oil tank.