Ironhead Upside Down Monoshock IH - A Longterm Project

[paulc]

Found out today from the dealer that the Techcycle starter has arrived from the US and is being shipped to me. That's the good news.

Not so good is I've been chasing an oil leak, or leaks, in this bike and think I've found the cause of at least some of the leakage:



It looks like a case bolt is missing! Wish I'd seen that when the motor was out of the frame. Don't fancy riding with a case bolt missing. It looks to me like I'll need to remove the oil pump to fit the bolt, and of course on a 75 motor I can't do that with the motor in the frame. Oh joy
Paul

[paulc]

I don't know how that bolt channel is set up inside the case, so don't know if oil should be able to drain out of that bolt hole but it certainly seems to be doing so.
Paul

[paulc]

Techcycle starter arrived. Have got it test fitted. Had to take some material off a few rear cylinder fins, and off off the sprocket cover mounting bolt ear on the case, to get it to fit. Techcycle do warn about that in the instructions so fair enough.
They also warn about oil tank brackets. I found that I won't be able to use the OEM bracket mounted to the bolts above the trans. Not a big issue, I can work something else out. They don't tell you the gasket needs trimming but that only takes a few seconds. Here is a picture of it test fitted - no gasket in place and bolts on top of the trans not sorted yet:



I'll start a new thread going through the techcycle starter fit in detail once I have things back together and running.

Took the motor out of the frame to fit the missing case bolt. I have removed the oil pump from the case to get to where the case bolt needs to go.
Something I'm not sure of: If I haven't touched the cam cover, just the pump body outside the case, do I still need to retime the oil pump?
I have the relevant flywheel mark in the right place, and if need be can remove pushrods & cam cover to time the pump. Just not sure if I need to do it or not as I haven't pulled the complete pump mechanism. If I do need to do it I guess it will be easier to wait until engine is back in frame?
Have to wait for some gaskets, a new circlip and some bolts to arrive, and some free time, so won't be refitting the pump for a few weeks probably.
Have never touched an IH oil pump before so any advice gratefully received.
Paul

[brucstoudt]

the oil pump shaft turns as its coming out and going in and has possibly turned some more moving to it's resting place.the only way to know if it's timed right is to remove the cam cover and check the timing marks. this isn't necessary with '77 up model gerotor pump.

[paulc]

Originally Posted by brucstoudt

the oil pump shaft turns as its coming out and going in and has possibly turned some more moving to it's resting place.the only way to know if it's timed right is to remove the cam cover and check the timing marks. this isn't necessary with '77 up model gerotor pump.

Ok thanks brucstoudt, that answers my question clearly. Can I fit it back together, put the engine back in the frame then time the pump then? Or better to do it with engine out or no advantage either way?
Paul

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[brucstoudt]

i do it before the motor goes back in.odds are against you getting it spot on the first attempt.if you're off a tooth or more the pump has to be dropped down and the shaft spun a bit compensate for the spiral in the gear teeth.

[paulc]

Originally Posted by brucstoudt

i do it before the motor goes back in.odds are against you getting it spot on the first attempt.if you're off a tooth or more the pump has to be dropped down and the shaft spun a bit compensate for the spiral in the gear teeth.

Thanks brucstoudt, I can do that if need be. One more question if you don't mind - when I pulled the pump, or thought I was pulling it, I only removed the body, not the whole pump or the shaft. This is how it looks at the moment:



I don't need to remove anything else as I have access to get the new case bolt in now. So with it as it is, the pump shaft not removed from cam cover, will it still be timed? I'm wondering if by accidentally not removing the whole pump and shaft together I've ended up leaving it timed?

Paul

[brucstoudt]

the good news is it's still timed.if you're able to reassemble it the way you took it apart.i've never seen it done like that.i've always removed the pump complete as a unit diassembled and reassembled and installed as a unit.that way would require re-timing.it's pretty standard procedure.

[paulc]

All back together but not for long!
Got the Techcycle starter all fitted, oil pump back together and got the engine back in the frame.
Turned the engine over a few times with the starter to get oil flowing round. Oil returning to the tank so all seemed good even though the oil light was not going out consistently.
Started first time, but oil light stayed on when running and flow back to tank seemed less than I usually see with a running engine. Shut it down. started up again and no flow back to tank this time so shut it down and left it off. Pulled oil line from filter and it was mostly full of air, not oil.
So I must have stuffed the oil pump somehow so the engine needs to come out again to sort that.
The good news is that fitting the missing case bolt seems to have cured the big leak that was coming from there.
This project doesn't seem to want to get finished!
Paul

[needspeed]

The question is:
Does oil not return to the tank because there is a problem with the return section of the pump? Or is it not returning because there is a problem with the feed side.? Or both.

Nothing will come out if nothing is going in. The oil light staying on would indicate no feed pressure.

Sometimes after having the pump apart the feed section gets airbound. The manual describes bleeding the pump by removing the nipple on the end and letting some oil drain out. Don't loose the spring and check ball and Be careful not to overtighten the nipple, the end of the pump cracks easily.

The air bound issue doesn't happen often but bleeding it is worth a try before pulling the motor again.

When installing the starter is there a chance an oil line has been kinked, pinched or mixed up?