[Kainam]

I have 2005 FLHT and it burns about a quart of oil every 700 to 800 miles. Have been told by numerous HD dealers that the valve guides in the 05 are bad but there is nothing HD will do. I have rode for 30 years and this is first HD and I love it but the HD company is one sorry bunch of people. I will keep this one and rebuild as I will never buy another HD. I guess that is why they now have to advertise to sell new bikes. You would think they would recall the valve guides and correct their mistake.

Its not the valve guides that are bad, its the valve guide seals that are bad. Many '05 owners have had theirs replaced under warranty. There was a TSB dated August 10, 2005 that addressed this issue.

August 10, 2005
Valve Seal Updates
• 2005 models and early production 2006 vehicles use a one-piece valve seal and
lower spring seat design (p/n 18094-02) that can cause oil leakage between the
guide and the seal when side loaded or miss-installed. These can be identified by
the silver seal ring and black rubber material.
• A new version one-piece valve seal and lower spring seat design (p/n 18094-02A) is
being implemented into service parts to improve sealing properties and minimize
installation issues.
• The first batch of this new seal can be identified by a green seal ring as shown
below. Towards the end of the month 18094-02A seal kits will change to an orange
colored rubber material to improve visual identification of the new parts.
• Twin Cam 88/88B production will be moving to this design in the near future with
middle-weight powertrain and service parts to follow shortly thereafter.
• Please utilize this new design during any future top end services.
Warranty and Service Procedures
• Any individual 18094-02 valve seals in your inventory may be used on Middle-Weight
Powertrain repairs.
• Current engine gasket kits may be used on 2004 - 2006 Sportster and 2003 - 2006
Buell engines.
• Current gasket kits (top end p/n 17052-99B and engine p/n 17053-99A) may also be
used on 2004 and earlier Twin Cam 88/88B engines without any special steps.
• When using current gasket kits (top end p/n 17052-99B and engine p/n 17053-99A) on
2005 and 2006 Twin Cam 88/88B models discard the 18094-02 valve seals included
and use part number 18094-02A in their place, and the included seal protector during
installation.
• For warranty repairs that involve the use of these engine gasket kits (p/n 17052-99B &
17053-99A), you may also claim 1 valve seal kit p/n 18094-02A as part of the repair.
These additional parts will only be allowed on MC warranty claims filed against your
existing inventory of gasket kits used to repair 2005-2006 Big Twins.
• Future kits will have the new valve seals included so additional parts should not be listed
on warranty claims.

Valve guide seals run ~$20 for a set of 4.