My mechanic just put in the new cam chain tensioner pads from Solenberg & Smith out of Indiana. They are better quality than stock and went in without a hitch.

 

They are Cycos.

 

No apparent issues with oil pressure when bike was running. So, specific to the oil pump ... rebuild or leave it alone?

 

I have all the measuring tools and such. Just a couple months I had my jeep all apart and measured and reused the pump on a major overhaul of the engine, transmission and transfer.

So if it where I, I would of course check it and replace that o-ring. A 2001 surely needs at a minimum, the o-ring.

Your bike is a lot heaver then mine and probably has seen a lot of rpm. No way I can answer your question or sense your mechanical ability to do any of this

 

Understood. I'm a pretty good wrench. Just don't like pulling something apart that's better left alone. But a big 10-4 on that 0-ring ... thx

 

What he said, but it also depends on what you find tensioner wise.

The pic below means the oil pump is coming apart. The owner of this bike didn't hear any noise before I disassembled it.

 

Take it apart, clean it up and if you don't see any visible damage to the gerotors or the surface, put it back together. Pay attention to the order of assembly; even some with experience get it wrong, start the motor up and no oil pressure. The only parts I would replace are the separator plates and the spring separator (tension spacer between the separator plates) and I would only replace those if the motor has more than 50K miles. Check the cam plate face for scoring and of course replace all the O-rings in the cam chest.

No need for special tools to align the oil pump; it will self align. Put the trans in 5th gear, plugs out, snug two pump corner fasteners up finger snug. Rotate the rear wheel and crank and while rotating tighten the two fasteners snugger, not torqued to spec. Install the other two fasteners and torque to spec in sequence. There are alignment pins nice to have but not necessary.

I would also remove the pressure relief piston from the bore in the cam plate, make sure the bore is free of any debris, buff up the piston so that it moves freely in the bore and reinstall. You could shim the spring with a thin washer or install the Baisley spring to help boost low rpm oil pressure but not a must do.

Install the chains so that they rotate in the same direction, again, not a must but they have been running that way since new and are now "polished". The CYCO shoes will last a long time. Install the lifters in the same bore and the pushrods in the same location as they were before. Not a big deal but those parts have been working together since they left the factory and, if possible, a good idea to keep them in their familiar locations.

Be careful with the cam plate fasteners at the 10:00 and 2:00 locations where the dowels are located. They are easily stripped and keep the torque to the low end of the spec.

 

Too cool djl but a thought. I have been thinking about the engineering of the oil pump pressure spring and how I relate to it since my post above.

A while back, Whickipeda had a article on the early development of the TC about it's growing pains and one was overheating. One thing they pointed out was an explanation of the oil injectors and the fact that Harley realize by injecting oil at idle actually made things worst by cooking the oil.
However, just a thought but that relief as set from the factory only controls one end of the oil pressure and that is the top end 33 or so PSI.
I would think pump size and idle controls the bottom side. So shimming or increasing the spring tension maybe does not affect low end. You think it bleeds all the way up thru the RPM range?

 

Not sure what you mean by "bleeds all the way up the rpm range" but I think the answer is yes. The OEM spring can vary in length; factory tolerances are just not that tight. The spring, cut to the specified length, flat ground ends to insure correct pressure and the increase in coil count increase oil pressure at a progressive rate; from idle on up. Not a huge increase but 3-5 psi across the board; I have not seen more. Maybe just enough to resist lifter bleed down at higher rpms.

In your previous post you mentioned that the piston oilers need 18psi to open but IIRC, the early models only need 15psi. I am not sure that I buy the Wikipedia information; could have come from anywhere. Knowing the MoCo bean counters, if the piston jets truly contributed to over heating, the bean counters would eliminate them in a hear beat. Wikipedia articles can come from anywhere.

 

Right. When handling engine parts I’m always careful with orientation. And thanks for the other tips. Studying my service manual and parts catalog to ensure I properly remove and reassemble cam plate & oil pump. Busy work schedule now and some travel approaching, so likely end of February before I can start/focus on this project.