I have a 98 RK Classic - 80" Evo with PCII / Stage 1.
A little background first -
8 July - Made a 240 mile day trip. On the way back home, the oil light came on, low and behold it was 2 quarts low!!!! After getting the oil level back on the stick, I nursed it home. And started watching the oil MUCH more closely.
21 July - 5000 mile service.
22 July - Made another 200+ mile trip.
27 July - 1 quart low.
28 July - Took it the selling dealer (Not HD). Service Manager ran a compression test, stated that it was only pushing about 105 and that it should be pushing around 130.
The oil comsumption seems excessive, even to a none mechanic type like me. There are NO leaks and the exhaust is not smoking.

Now the question -
The mechanic is suggesting a rebuild. Is he on the right track?
Or.... would I be better off going for a complete engine replacement with a possible upgrade in size?

Next part ... any suggestions on where to look for a complete replacement engine? approximate cost? How big can I go?

Thanks for helping out a new HD owner....

 

How many miles - that could be as simple as a .005 oversize, pistons and clean up the heads. Do you have a reason for going into the bottom end?

 

So.... you have a 98 RK wiht only 5k miles on it? Wow!

I'm not an Evo guy, but there are plenty here. If you have low cylinder pressure and high oil consumption, I'd be inclined to consider changing the rings and having someone (like BigBoyz) go through the heads.

If it's 8yrs old with only 5k miles, then it's been sitting a whole bunch.

To me, an engine swap seems a bit dramatic.

It might also be worth getting a 2nd opinion from a different shop (HD or Independent).

I bet it won't take too much to make it right!

 

Sorry ... missing information follows.

1998 RKC - 25,000 miles

 

25k miles is not actually a lot of miles on an EVO. An engine swap sounds drastic to me. I agree with rings and head cleanup.

 

shoot some oil in the cylinders and see what the compression is. If it comes up, bad rings, if it stays the same, valves. Might change your whole out look on how much you have to spend. If the engine set for a while and it wasn't properly prepared, rings will stick. Piston has three ring sets on it. Bottom = oil wiper, second = oil ring, top = compression. the oil wiper removes excessive oil from the cylinder wall. oil ring forms a seal with the remaining oil to help prevent blow by, compression ring seals for the power stroke. During prolonged sitting, rings will get stuck due to build up and moisture. When the ring is stuck it ceases to flex and match any deformities in the bore of the cyclinder. if the compression and oil ring are stuck you loose compression. if you loose a small amount of compression, the compression ring may be stuck and not flexing. Sometimes rings can be loosened by using a penatrating oil, then blow out and remaining oil in the cylinder, change engine oil and fire the engine up to bring operating temp. then shut down and run a compression test again.

you didn't say if both cylinders were the same on compression. I'd run a dry and wet check on the cyclinders to be sure what the root cause really is. Then go forward.

 

I'm no expert on Evo's, although I do like them; but I'd say replacing the engine is WAY over the top for a first choice in fixing the disappearing oil/low compression problem. There are a lot of things you can do short of that.

Uncle Peepers