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Chuckthebeatertruck · #11 12th November 2022

Technically, motor sprocket shaft seal.

most diy will call it a main shaft seal.

brucstoudt · #12 12th November 2022

o.k. when i see or hear main shaft i first think of the transmission.

SHAKY DAVE · #13 12th November 2022

really like your bike.it must be pretty bitchin to ride.do they have gunk where you live.would have been good to gunk it before the teardown,would have kept yer hands alot cleaner,haha and you could have checked everything out.with the parts in hand you could fix everthing in 2 days(i know i know i would have done everything in 1 day,haha)good luck,i wish i could ride those roads over there with you

sifty · #14 12th November 2022

Was certainly an oily old job.

Worst thing is I've tapped out a lot of the flogged out imperial threads with metric, so had to run around grabbing tools...

Come to NZ and go for a ride any time...

Ferrous Head · #15 13th November 2022

The wet sumping is actually caused by the oil pump. It's the cause, the symptoms is a case/primary full of engine oil.
The fact that this has clearly happened to you a number of times and you've managed to get the oil returned says the oil transfer valve is working.

To really fix the problem once and for all you need to pull the oil pump and add an oil seal into the breather tower. I have a thread on here somewhere to do that but it's a job that requires removing the oil pump and some machine work. That's too much work for some people. Much easier if the engine is already out of the frame.

A lot depends om what you mean by "a while". If that's 2 months, not a big deal. But if that's two weeks, it can become very annoying.

Those people who start their bikes every day never notice a problem.

sifty · #16 13th November 2022

Yeah it doesn't pump itself out, I usually just drain the primary, dump it and refill the oil tank with fresh oil, takes a few weeks to fill up again. We'll see what I find when I get the engine out and covers off.

Been out of town but found my box of parts in the garage when I got back, got lots of things to fix/replace/fit. Might get into it this week...

Ferrous Head · #17 13th November 2022

OK, if this is happening in a few weeks you really need to address the problem.

Some oil pumps hardly leak at all. Some are just hopeless. You could take a punt and just throw another oil pump in (really just the breather tower) or you can do the fix and know it's solved. Up to you.

The oil transfer valve SHOULD allow the oil to flow back into the crankshaft cavity and then be returned to your oil tank. It does take a little time as it's a controlled flow back into the crankcase cavity. But it normally does work. If it's not happening your transfer valve may well be blocked.

If/when you go to remove the oil transfer valve know that it's staked into place. You need to take a dremel or some other tool and remove the staked areas to get the transfer valve out. I have made a special tool for myself to remove and install them but it's not absolutely necessary. A chisel the right size will work.

brucstoudt · #18 17th November 2022

sifty your 2013 thread is awesome.i've only made it to pg.29 so far.20 more pgs.to go.thanks to paulc for sharing the link.

sifty · #19 17th November 2022

Yeah interesting looking back on it. I was truly green regards ironheads and pretty amateur in my building skills. I like to think I've improved...

I never really touched the engine apart from sorting the carb, and recent compression tests show things are pretty good. Hopefully sorting a few issues will make her a much more usable old girl...

Had hoped to update progress but in the middle of a bathroom renovation so things slow on the project side atm...

sifty · #20 3 Weeks Ago

So finally got a chance for some shed time, wheeled the old thing outside as it was a stinking hot day yesterday, was around 30 degs C...

And managed to wrestle things out on my own. They're certainly not light, think I popped a rib...

And sat it straight in the engine stand I bought a couple of years ago, that took a couple of days to find as I'd put in in a shelf in the other garage...

Started pulling things apart, not actually looking too bad after a cleanup...

I suspected one of the rocker cover bolt threads had stripped, but on disassembly discovered the bolt was shorter than the others, and was barely engaging. Should be an easy fix if a longer bolt tightens up ok. I'm thinking most of my leaks were from old seals and gaskets letting go, but also found one of the pushrod covers had been chewed up somehow, which wouldn't have helped...

A quick rub with a fine file and some emery paper smoothed things out...

So I've had a quick inventory and have ordered a few bits I don't already have (had full gasket set and some upgrade parts already). Things like the acorn nuts and standard bolts I can get at a local hardware store, but rocker cap end screws, oil pressure switch and pushrods have to be ordered online, with the associated delay and costs of delivery.

Pleased I made a start though, can tinker away with it at my leisure now. ..