Recently purchased a 77 ironhead that needed some work. It had been sitting for probable 5 years or so before I got it. The bike was parked after someone wasn’t able to get an aftermarket electronic ignition to work. So over time parts had been taken for other bikes. Needless to say I have put tons of mechanical parts back on the bike, also I put it back to points (old school). I’m a young guy but I love points. Don’t know why, just do. Also had to put a new coil on her.
Anyway, I put oil in the heads and let it sit for a day just to get things lubed up in there (didn’t want to score the jugs when I fired her up). I filled up the oil bag and after kickin for a bit to loosen her up I hit the starter and let the oil pressure come up a bit ( like 5psi) just to make sure my pump was good. I put the plugs in added fuel and started crankin her up (BTW I cleaned the carb to)… to my joy she fired after just a few seconds. Rough but ok. Got the carb dialed in and let her idle, oil pressure was great I guess about 25-40psi, only problem was she SMOKED like a freight train from hell. I mean you haven’t ever seen so much smoke. ALSO oil drips from the pipes when I kill her. I pulled the intake and there is oil residue on the intake valve like its running down the valve guides! WTF!
So I let her sit a day and then fired her up again. The front stopped burning so much oil but the rear is still blowing like no other… I heard some people talking somewhere else about valve seals on the guides (I here they are good and I here they can be bad) in the head so I figured that was the best place to start. So I pulled the rear head and inspected the guides and to my surprise they had oil seals on them, they were loose and not sealing good. It has ampco-45 guides so I don’t know why someone would put these things on there. I personally don’t think it needs them. But at any rate I put a new head gasket on and slapped her back together torqued everything down, adjusted the push rods and she fired right back up. Didn’t smoke for about 30 seconds then back to the old smoky.

I guess my question is: If I remove the oil seals on the valve guides will it quit smoking? I inspected the guides and they look phenomenal. The oil seals are loose where they fit on the guides so I don’t think they are working properly… The guides are super nice and there isn’t but probably 0.0005 to 0.001 slop with the valves installed, nice fit I think.

Any thoughts on the subject? Thanks guys.

A little more history: when I pulled the head the cylinder walls looked pristine, still had honing marks where the top end was rebuilt, so I know (think) those should be ok. Also it doesn’t smoke till the oil pressure comes up…. Everything on the inside of this engine looks amazing, just like a fresh build, only problem is the burning oil…

 

holy cow these bikes dont run that kind of oil pressure at all!! they work off of volume most wont even read on a gauge! i would say you are moving way to much oil for some reason,building up in the head and getting past the guides, no i do not run seals i feel the guides need to get some oil,

 

I think all the smoke you see is from the oil you added before letting it sit overnight. I suspect that you just have to ride it until it stops smoking.

Typical oil pressure when it is fully warmed up will be between 5 and 10 psi on a gauge run from the front of the oil pump. A gauge on the rocker covers will read zero when it is warmed up.

 

25 to 40 psi is not unusual for a cold engine. Mine would read 40+ in very cold weather.

 

Ok I was out playing with the bike last night and after pulling the rear head and removing the seals I slapped her back together (with new head gasket etc) and cranked her up…… uh…. No difference. Still smoking like a train! So I decided I’d look in to where O’l Smokey is supposed to vent the crank case….. Guess what I found out! Found out I’m suppose to have a “foo foo” valve, and it’s suppose to be located on the cam cover under the generator. Know what I found? Someone had put a PLUG in the hole, threaded a 5/8-11 set screw in the hole!
So I took the bastard out and cranked her up again. Guess what… NO SMOKE…. Next I was looking at the pressure gauges and they were reading “0” but fluttering a little… it scared me some so I shut her down and here I am today.
Is it OK to run without a FOO FOO valve? Does it affect oil pressure somehow? I can just run a nipple and some hose out back and let her breath?

PLEASE!!!!

 

I removed the valve seals that is.

thanks.

 

You need the foofoo to get proper crankcase ventilation. The part number is 24633-77. This part number is not in the parts catalog. The part number in the catalog [24634-77] gets you only the tiny valve not the entire assembly.

The part comes up on eBay from time to time. Set up an automatic search and check it every day.You can rig an automotive crankcase breather - needs to let air be forced out but not sucked back in.

Until you get something set up just use a hose fitting. I run a 3/8" ID oil line hose all the way to the back, along the frame, to the end of the muffler bracket.

The oil pressure gauge, if connected to the end of the oil pump, will typically read 5 to 10 psi when the engine is fully warmed up. Connected to the rocker cover it will typically read zero.

To check for oil flow first remove the oil filter with the bike not running. Then run the bike and check for oil flow back to the tank. It should plop in, definitely not flow in, and certainly not like a fire hose. To check for oil flow to the top remove the 1/8 NPT pipe plug from the front right corner of the rocker cover with the engine running. Again you should get some oil coming out.

 

Sounds great! I'm glad you guys are on here giving advice. This is definately a life saver!

Thanks Mick!

 

I vented the crank like you said Mick, and the oil is kinda "plop" in to the bag so i know she's pumping. Runs a lot better and it doesn't smoke! well it puffs a little when I let off the throttle but nothing bad. Totaly ridable. Only one thing. The vent is releasing some oil on the ground. Not a bunch but some enough to form a small puttle after running for ten minutes. Is this oil from the bike "wet" sumping and it will just clear up one day when O'l Smokey clears out the extra oil?

thanks in advance!

 

That oil is from the absence of a foofoo or crankcase breather valve. When you get a proper valve on there the mess will stop.

The large oil separator washer on the end of the generator shaft mostly separates the oil from the air so it is mainly air coming out; but some oil with it.