Oil pressure problems

[SthrnSqrl]

Ok, today's lesson is in thoroughness. My bike has been down for over a month now. Remember when I had the bearing troubles? Well, I did the valve shim work on the spare engine, got it all cleaned up, and re-installed into the bike.

Once things were hooked up, I fired the engine up...fired right up on the first try. One problem...oil light was on. Immediately shut it down. loosened the banjo bolt at the bottom of the pressure tube, just to make sure I had oil pressure...nothing.

At this point, I was disgusted enough that I left the bike sitting since that day. Figured my oil pump was bad, and the weather has been crappy anyway, so why bother, right? Leave it as part of the winter overhaul project. That was fine until the beautiful weather we've had this week. Luckily, a couple of friends told me to come down, pick one of their bikes, and go riding with them. I've been on their little Shadow 600 VLX all week. Nice bike, but a little weak in the power department.

Today, it's sunny, temps near 60°F, and I'm in short sleeves. What better time to tear into my engine, right? Drained the oil out, pulled the pan, pump, and filter. When I checked the pump, I was miffed...the damn thing works flawlessly. I pulled the plugs, put the kicker on the shaft, and laid down under the bike, and watched as the drive gear turned like it's supposed to when I turned the engine over. WTF?

Ok, so I have the filter cover draining, and pull the bolt out and check it out....yeah, you got it...the check valve was stuck this whole time. Remember the copper flakes I found in the other engine? Yep...I used my bolt and filter cover from that one, and thought I had it cleaned thoroughly. When I cleaned it today, 3 (yep, three) tiny little flakes of copper washed out in the solvent. After a good blow dry, it seems to be fixed now.

So this afternoon, I take the Shadow home and tomorrow, I am going out on my XS...anyone in my area wanna ride tomorrow?

[mro]

Oil pumps

Think your supposed to prime the XS oil pump when you re-install it.

mro

[SthrnSqrl]

Yep, already did that. Just had to run out and pick up a new filter and oil. Gonna sit here, warm up a little, have a cup of coffee, and go out and finish it up.

I just hope tomorrow is as nice as today was.

[petejw]

hi SthrnSqrl,
thats not the first time ive heard
about the oil filter bolt and check valve,
i think it was on the uk site a while ago
from memory, what a pain, glad u got it sorted tho.

[mro]

What did you do to repair the broken float pin post on carb 1?

mro

[TopCatGr58]

A few other thoughts!?

Hey SthrnSqrl,

I would not be so sure that what you found is the true culprit. You stated you have the OEM filter cup/bolt assembly. Not wanting to sling aspersions on your mech skills or knowledge, but the check ball should NOT impede the flow of oil, whether it's stuck or not.

The oem design uses a spring and washer inside the filter cup to keep the filter up above the holes in the bolt next to the head of the bolt. This directs the oil flow THRU the filter and the other holes in the bolt closer to the engine ABOVE the check valve in the bolt. ONLY when/if the filter gets too clogged to flow oil, then the pressure will build up below the check ball valve pushing it up allowing the oil to flow thru the UNFILTERED access holes close to the head of the bolt bypassing the filter to keep the engine at least lubed in the case of catastrophic filter failure. IF the ball valve were partially stuck open, it would just allow the unfiltered oil to flow up the bolt, more so than the filtered oil, but would otherwise not impede the oil flow or prevent it from developing oil pressure.

So....even though the drive gear spun, and the pump gear spins, they may have NOT been messed correctly when assembled. The pump gear mounted on that shaft, it's also the shift fork shaft, and the "C" clips have been known to come loose on the gear shift side, allowing the drive gear to slide out of position, and the gears to NOT mesh, no pumping action, no oil pressure.

So...I'm just suggesting that you have ensured the proper positioning of the OEM filter, spring/washer in the cup assembly...they are often missed or lost by P.O.'s unfamiliar with the design, the washer often sticks to the old dirty filter and is accidentally thrown out, etc.. The order is CUP, spring, washer, filter. And also ensure that the shift fork/pump shaft is secured, not sliding too much sideways. Finally, there's a small O-ring between the pump housing and engine case, should be replaced as well.

T.C.

[SthrnSqrl]

As for the broken post in the carb, I just set those carbs aside and rebuilt the other set. Currently using them with no troubles.

As for the Oil filter bolt, it's not OEM. It was replaced before I got the bike. As far as I can tell, it was the problem. The filter was new. The oil was new. Washer was new, and spring functional. As soon as I popped the check valve down and reinstalled, everything worked perfectly.

I would have responded sooner, but with the weather being what it has the past week or so, and the bike running, I have been on the road. I plan to be on the road as much as possible this week too.

If I have any more troubles with it, I'll report back. Hopefully, all is well though. In just over 400 miles, no problems yet. :-D