I have no oil getting to the top and I have removed my oil pump and also have both heads removed. I blow air into the oil hole at the top of each cylinder and the air comes out the top of the opposite cylinder.

I insert a welding rod into the oil hole on the front cylinder and it goes in 10 1/2 inches before bottoming, which is about 5 inches past the base gasket. It has some oil on the rod, kind of gritty.

I insert a welding rod into the rear cylinder and it goes in 7 inches and shows no sign of oil.

I have blown air into the bottom inlet hole where the oil pump bolts to and just hear air in the crankcase.

Any ideas or ways to test? Thanks!

 

How about a bit more info please. 53 pan...stock motor? stock oil pump? still hydraulics? solid conversion? rebuilt motor? new build/first start-up?

If you look at the manual (pg 63, pic 3A-4) shows the late model oil scavenger system. Something to start with at any rate.

Checked for broken key(s) on oil pump shaft? breather timed properly? breather properly spaced with cam cover in place?

 

It is a stock 53 motor, the oil pump appears to be off of a shovelhead, solid lifters, motor was rebuilt supposedly when I bought it(by Appleton HD). It ran but very limited miles before the rockers seized from not getting any oil. I have corrected the rocker blocks, as they were scored badly, but want to make sure I am getting oil to the top before putting the heads back on.

 

Yeah, like Panz says, you almost have to start from scratch. There are a lot of people out there that don't know the old stuff especially dealers, most won't even work on them anymore. Where abouts are you? You talking Appleton WI?

 

I would suggest checking the oil pump since you have the top end apart and pull the cam cover as well. Then you can check the timing of the breather and gears.

Also pull the oil pump apart and ensure you have no sheared keys (there are 3) and be sure the oil pump drive shaft is not binding as well (binding caused by over-tightening of nuts).

One other thing I would check is that the oil pump and gear case have the proper holes aligned for the pump body you are using. Never mounted a shovel pump on a pan but it is/was a common update to guys who wanted 'improved' oil circulation. I used S&S pumps and it required an extra hole in the case. When you bought their pump you also had to buy a special jig and drill bit in order to use the pump body. I do not know if the same is true for a shovel oil pump, but it would make sense because S&S pumps were modeled after the shovel pumps.

BTW...what caused the rockers arms to seize up? (Understand the no oil part) How have you fixed the problem of no circulation to that portion of the top end?

 

Would this be Terry's HD shop in Appleton HD dealers working on old pre EVO harleys pretty scary ! That shop was ok circa 1992

 

First, I am located in the northwest part of Arizona. The dealer was Appleton HD in TN. Bret Appleton refurbishes or rebuilds a lot of pans/knuckles and sells them at auctions, which is where I purchased.

The rocker arms seized because of no oil. That is the problem I am trying to solve. I have repaired the rocker blocks as they were scored badly, just want to make sure I get oil to the top before reassembling. When I still had the pump on and a gauge connected, I could rotate the engine with the kicker and get over 10psi oil pressure but nothing came out the cylinder oil passage holes.

I will check the hole pattern for the pump as you suggested, as I have noticed that the S&S looks identical to this shovel pump and remove the cam cover to check the other suggestions.

Thanks for the input, let me know if you think of anything else and I will keep you updated.

 

I have now pulled the cam cover and find all 3 keys concerning the oil pump to be fine. I could not tell on the timing of the breather because the cam came out when pulling the cover and I moved the gears before I found out. I have them all timed now and the breather spacer appears to be correct.

In looking at the pump, I cannot see where another hole would need to be drilled in relation to the block. There is the main hole at the top which leads to the tappet screen hole. There is no check ball or screen in it. I put the plug back in that hole and have tried blowing thru the oil inlet hole in the block to see if air will come out the cylinder oil holes but none does. I have rotated the engine in different positions blowing thru that hole but nothing. The air mostly comes out around the lifters.

 

Since you are running solid lifters and not hydraulic, you do not need the ball and spring. And pushing air through that holes should go to the lifter blocks as you described.

When reassembling the pump just remember the torque is "inch" pounds.

Gaskets are assembled dry (no goop of any kind). Most kits come in paper or plastic. Jury is still out on which is better/best.

 

Seems to me, if I remember right, the holes in the cylinders are for oil return from the top end. Oil to top end similar to Shovel, external lines.