This morning on my way to work I stopped at a set of red lights and noticed my oil pressure light flickering. I immediately checked my manual gauge which verified that I had no oil pressure at idle. When I drove to where I could stop and check things out the most pressure that I could get on my manual gauge was 8 psi. It was a cool morning, about 36 degrees, and was only about 3 minutes away from home. I did an oil change (HD 20w50 and HD filter) 2 weeks ago and it has worked great until today. The oil level was correct. After work I got my wife to come with the truck and give it a ride home so I could tear into it. The only damage I found was to both cam tensioner pads. The secondary one was quite worn, and the primary one had obvious signs of wear already. All the o-rings appeared to be in great condition. When I disassembled the oil pump everything looked fine, there was a gap of .002" between the inner and outer georotors on the scavenging set and .0025" on the feed set. I tried to remove the high pressure relief valve, but am unable to get it out of the housing so I will get my dealer to do that when I have them replace the secondary cam tensioner for me. If this valve had been stuck closed at it appears to be, that would have caused excessive pressure if anything. Does anyone have any suggestions? My latest thought is that maybe the oil filter collapsed. I have seen this on semi's before. The bike has approx 18,000 miles on it. I am going to install new o-rings everywhere when it goes back together, as well as a new wave washer in the oil pump.
Low oil pressure 03 FXDWG
- Thread starter JeromeyS
- Start date
Re: Low oil pressure 03 FDDWG
Well, I got it up and running again. It appears that it was just a sticky high pressure relief valve. The dealer told me I didn't have to worry about that when I asked them to remove it for me. So I figured screw them and did it myself. A .35 cal. boresighter rod from a Bushnell boresighter kits works great. It has an expanding collett at the end which fits nicely inside the plunger. I am thinking that there was a small piece of a tensioner shoe stuck in there as it was quite sticky. Anyways, there was no damage to either the plunger or the bore and after I cleaned it out and put some fresh oil on the plunger it slid in and out easily. Went for a 300 mile run in the rain yesterday and everything is as good as new.
Well, I got it up and running again. It appears that it was just a sticky high pressure relief valve. The dealer told me I didn't have to worry about that when I asked them to remove it for me. So I figured screw them and did it myself. A .35 cal. boresighter rod from a Bushnell boresighter kits works great. It has an expanding collett at the end which fits nicely inside the plunger. I am thinking that there was a small piece of a tensioner shoe stuck in there as it was quite sticky. Anyways, there was no damage to either the plunger or the bore and after I cleaned it out and put some fresh oil on the plunger it slid in and out easily. Went for a 300 mile run in the rain yesterday and everything is as good as new.
Doc 1
Member
Re: Low oil pressure 03 FDDWG
I have seen the plunger stick before, there is an explanation for what happens to cause this but it's way too long for me to type out now. Bottom line is if the plunger is stuck you might be better off with a new cam plate because there are going to be micro groves in the pressure relief bore and it will get hung up again. The oil pressure builds up then pushes the plunger back to open the feed oil port...if the plunger isn't clear of the feed port the pressure and flow will be down.
I suggest getting a Baisley LMR#2 oil pressure spring, this spring will give your 15 lbs more pressure (which means at hot idle it's 15 lbs), it will push on the plunger straighter to stop the micro groves from reoccurring, it won't let the plunger get hung up in the bore at low rpms, and it will keep the lifters and piston cooling jets happy all the time.
You can get the spring at Baisley Performance for $12.50.....the number is 503.289.1251
Good Luck
I have seen the plunger stick before, there is an explanation for what happens to cause this but it's way too long for me to type out now. Bottom line is if the plunger is stuck you might be better off with a new cam plate because there are going to be micro groves in the pressure relief bore and it will get hung up again. The oil pressure builds up then pushes the plunger back to open the feed oil port...if the plunger isn't clear of the feed port the pressure and flow will be down.
I suggest getting a Baisley LMR#2 oil pressure spring, this spring will give your 15 lbs more pressure (which means at hot idle it's 15 lbs), it will push on the plunger straighter to stop the micro groves from reoccurring, it won't let the plunger get hung up in the bore at low rpms, and it will keep the lifters and piston cooling jets happy all the time.
You can get the spring at Baisley Performance for $12.50.....the number is 503.289.1251
Good Luck
Re: Low oil pressure 03 FDDWG
Yea, I have plans to change the plate at a later date. Need to save up some $$$ first. Would like to do the plate, 510 gear driven cams, Feuling oil pump, adjustable pushrods, ported heads, and a clutch once I do enough side jobs. I don't ride it a whole lot right now as I have a new family so hopefully I won't have too many more issues. Wish I would have known about the spring a bit sooner, the OEM one does look quite mickey mouse.
Yea, I have plans to change the plate at a later date. Need to save up some $$$ first. Would like to do the plate, 510 gear driven cams, Feuling oil pump, adjustable pushrods, ported heads, and a clutch once I do enough side jobs. I don't ride it a whole lot right now as I have a new family so hopefully I won't have too many more issues. Wish I would have known about the spring a bit sooner, the OEM one does look quite mickey mouse.
Doc 1
Member
Re: Low oil pressure 03 FDDWG
You can pick up the new SE billet cam plate and new style HD pump as a kit, this pump is every bit as good as the Fuelling pump and the best part is you get the cam plate and pump for the same price as the Fueling pump alone.
You can pick up the new SE billet cam plate and new style HD pump as a kit, this pump is every bit as good as the Fuelling pump and the best part is you get the cam plate and pump for the same price as the Fueling pump alone.