1946 Chief 1st gear grinding

[pisten-bully]

...at around 35 minutes into this well done Kiwi video, Mike Tomas presents an argument for sharing oil between primary and gearbox...FWIW!

[PRG]

Howdy Harry,

Soooo, now that one has separated their trans from primary you are more free to run the level you want in the former. Run a shared too high and you generally will have it coming out of an un - seal converted generator drive shaft as the scroll gets a bit overwhelmed. On the other hand - and admittedly I don’t care about lost efficiency in fluid drag - a sealed trans permits me to run a higher level such that the routinely noisy 1st and 2nd are constantly bathed in oil and to my much abused hearing sound a bit quieter. This level is higher that the layshaft and there are no leaks as Mobil 1 hypoid is not prone to frothing.

On 80 inchers they have a level plug behind the primary and not very accessible. From very sketchy memory at this point, just as your 346 has a boss on the trans top where it was drilled and tapped for a fill plug there is, I believe, a flat on the trans case where a level plug hole can be drilled and tapped for a 1/4 inch plug like you would find on your engine case.

[PRG]

Howdy Eric,

whoopsy, forgot to mention what that trans top plug thread was to match your primary fill to to keep a semblance of stock appearance like the 80 inch Chiefs. Believe it or not I got this tap from Poland and it is a 3/4 24 NS GH 3, HS. Know you are a skilled machinist but if u can’t locate one or not justifiable for one time use I can FedEx mine to u. You’ll want to put a slight flare on the top as, obviously, with fine threads, it can be a bit of a challenge to start your plug and easily cross threaded when only about 5-6 there for full purchase.

[pisten-bully]

Howdy Harry,

Soooo, now that one has separated their trans from primary you are more free to run the level you want in the former.

...yeahbut Peter, how does one know how much oil is in the gearbox without drilling/tapping another hole for a level check plug, somewhere accessible? Gets pretty oily on the chain side sometimes, is that sprocket driver seal leaking?

[PRG]

Howdy sir,

Have not bothered with level plugs on these conversions….lazy? We southernurz have been known for that occasionally. Shine flashlight down fill hole, run level a bit above cluster gear shaft. You will need to move your slider fully over towards the right side of the box to expose the shaft. No leaks from sprocket driver seal and as I run my engine vent hose back to the right side axle slipper and project outward it is far easier to track any other superfluous leaks for which there are none.

[tomfiii]

I tried the Sport fluid in my chief and no difference with that and 30w non-detergent.

[exeric]

I tried the Sport fluid in my chief and no difference with that and 30w non-detergent.

Tom, was that with modern Kevlar clutch material? What is the preferred clutch today?

[agreeneone]

Hi,
I would like to update that I changed the primary & transmission oil to 30W non-detergent and lowered the idle. I took the idle down to almost a stall and adjusted from that point. After 50 miles of riding the clutch is doing much better and hardly grinding any when firmly shifting into 1st gear. I also fixed an intake manifold leak and the bike is running much better.
A big thank you to everyone who took the time to help me sort out this problem. I really appreciated it!

[Skirted]

Hi,
I would like to update that I changed the primary & transmission oil to 30W non-detergent and lowered the idle. I took the idle down to almost a stall and adjusted from that point. After 50 miles of riding the clutch is doing much better and hardly grinding any when firmly shifting into 1st gear. I also fixed an intake manifold leak and the bike is running much better.
A big thank you to everyone who took the time to help me sort out this problem. I really appreciated it!

Glad to hear the bike has responded to simpler adjustment. At least now you can get some time in the saddle and that will reveal any deeper issues that might need addressed long term.

As far as the separated primary/trans, I will preface by saying I don't have near the experience you other gents do but here is my 2 cents anyway. Certainly I can see advantages to separating; however, I'm not sure under normal riding style the way most of us do that those advantages would have any measurable impact on reliability. In part because there can be many variables in each application. If running it hard, abusive riding style, or racing, absolutely that would be the way to go.
I like to keep it simple when there is no smoking gun justification (relative to my riding style) for making it more complicated.

On the clutch I paid up for a Qua, https://quainter.home.xs4all.nl/ I am running 12 springs instead of 16 with zero issue. Is Qua necessary? I don't know. Would other brands perform just as well in my particular application? I don't know. I do know the Qua install was simple and it has performed flawlessly under ALL conditions in ambient temps from 35 degrees to 90 degrees, riding 2-up here in the Laurel mountain of SW PA. Feels like it has a complete release. It is really smooth and 100% predictable even when feathering such as when pulling out in a tight or off camber turn where you don't want the speed of full engagement. I'll engage it part way and take my foot off the clutch to drag on ground if needed while creeping along

[exeric]

I certainly appreciate everyone's input on clutches, and the controversial isolation theory Sorry to horn in on your post, 'agreenone' but glad things worked out on your Indian. Sure is refreshing to see something other than the knucklehead fetish

[DEEBS47Chief1991]

I have run my Chief with the tranny sealed from the primary and also the stock version. Both versions worked well as long as you use the correct fluid. At present the primary and transmission are sharing Harley Formula + primary/transmission fluid. The trick to shifting into first is to get the idle down with the throttle closed and the timing retarded all the way down. Put a slight pressure (without hearing a grinding sound) on the shifter moving forward toward first gear and using your right foot which is on the ground (your left is obviously on the clutch pedal) to push the bike slightly forward at the same time. She will "Click" into gear with minimum grinding. The hotter it is out the better this method works.