Piece of transmission drain plug missing

[Steve]

I recently purchased a stock 49 panhead with 26,000 original miles. Thought I'd change all lube. Started with the trans - removed the drain bolt and noted that a piece of it was missing. Not sure if it recently broke off (pretty small). Thought I might have to pull the trans, open it up and flush out. Any other suggestions? I'll need gaskets if I do take the trans out and I'm not sure who to go to for parts/gaskets. Thanks for suggestions and help. Steve

[fourthgear]

steve
If you want to pull the tranny to make absolutely sure that piece is not in there , go for it . I would think it may have been missing for a while and maybe even drained out with your fluid or another prior fluid change . I would purchase a magnetic drain plug and return it into service and check later on . Fluid changes are inexpensive and so is one of those magnetic drain plugs , which is a smart install any way. You will be surprised what one will pick up.

You can get gasket kits at one of your local shops or through ,JP cycles , Jireha cycles, NOS parts and the like ,through the phone or internet.

http://www.jpcycles.com/vintage.aspx

[Steve]

Thanks fourthgear for the advice, I was hoping I could get away with not pulling the tranny. I did check the fluid for any metal and didn't find any and true, it could have been missing for awhile. Just concerned that the piece (if whole) could mess up a gear or something. I will get a magnetic plug - do you think a harley shop would have something like that or a local auto parts? I also thought of snaking a magnet in the tranny but not sure if possible... Thanks again Steve

[fourthgear]

Snaking a mag. in there would be some what difficult because it would lock on to any of the metal components in there . You could flush the trans . , some use kerosene and use cheap oil as a last flush ,refill ( I use synthetic 70-90 gear oil in my tranny's ) , then run for a little while and change fluid again . That's still not a guarantee it will come out, if it is still in there , if you have some sludge in the bottom of the trans.,it will stay there if the flushing does not clean it all out . There are no guarantees here .

I think the plug is 1/2 x 13 TPI.( I no longer have a tranny on the bench to check ) , but don't quote me on my memory . If you have a thread gage ,check the thread pitch or take it to the HD dealer / napa and see if they can match it .HD may have one in the same pitch and size for some thing else , Sporster ? Have them look around and pull a bunch of diff. ones .You might get lucky , they do sell mag. drain plugs .

[john HD]

my trans tried to eat part of the oil deflector in the kicker area.

i was able to successfully remove it by flushing out my trans with a gallon of kerosene.

plug, fill, drain, repeat... worth a try anyway.

john

[Steve]

Thanks again for the suggestions! I'm thinking I'll flush it a bunch, get a mag drain plug and ride it!! Steve

[Cotten]

Steve!

Since there is a casting wall between the kicker filler plug and the gearcase itself, it is a lot to expect of a flush. There is is only a ~1/2" hole connecting the two.

I would suggest not only pumping your solvent in with a turkey baster (pulsing it madly), but blasting it ferociously with compressed air as well.

Even then it is a gamble.

Can you post a pic of the mutilated plug?
If there are any machine marks as all, your worries may be mimimized.

...Cotten

[Steve]

Sorry I couldn't respond sooner, thanks for the advice cotten. I will try and post a picture this monday as I'm still out of town. I did flush but not with pressure, good advice. I found a magnetic plug and hopefully if there is metal it'll pick it up. Now to figure out how to post the pic...lol Steve

[Steve]

Sorry for the "guest" reply had not logged in. So I took 2 pictures of the drain plug hope it helps. Thanks again for the replys. Steve

[Cotten]

Steve!

It is hard to tell from the pics, but could it have just corroded away?

There is a very high probability that the box has been rebuilt since the plug was damaged. If it were mechanical and not chemical damage, it needed something large to hit it, and probably would have taken it all 'out of duty'.

For the case's threads sake, you will of course want to replace it!

....Cotten

[Steve]

Thanks Cotten for the reply. I did attempt to flush the tranny - probably not great but...I then cleaned up the threads in the tranny and put a new magnetic plug in. I'll probably drain the oil out after a few rides and see if I picked up any metal on the plug. It was weird to see the plug - don't know what it would have been hit with inside. Thanks again Steve