bike was running at 300 degrees!!

Printable Version

Harley Davidson >> Harley Davidson Motorcycles >> Classic >> Ironhead >> bike was running at 300 degrees!!

Page: [1]

Login Message << Older Topic   Newer Topic >>

bike was running at 300 degrees!! - 5/14/2008 2:59:21 PM    skyline   Posts: 13 Joined: 4/24/2008 Status: offline i was cruising around with some friends the other night when my bike started back firing and sputtering like crazy, i was cruising on a buddys bike right behind him on mine. he pulled over and shut it off, i checked the temp. dipstick and it was reading 300. there was oil all over the right side of the rear tire but the oil level was fine in the tank, oil was obviously leaking from the pump and the right side casing on the engine. it might also be leaking from the front cylinder head gasket. i know some oil was leaking out of the exhaust on the front cylinder before all this happened occaisonally but it wasnt causing any problems just some smoke right at the head.  it has straight pipes on it but otherwise i believe the motor is completely stock. any ideas on where i should start to look? when i get back in town and to work on monday i am going to do a compression test on it. anybody have any easy ways to test the oil pump? thanks for any help. oh i believe the oil pressure light is not working right now, either burnt out or the sensor is bad, so i dont know if it lost pressure or not just yet. Post #: 1

RE: bike was running at 300 degrees!! - 5/14/2008 8:10:26 PM    pitbull1 Posts: 83 Joined: 8/16/2006 Status: offline what year is your bike.you might look at the tranny output shaft seal,lifter blocks and tube seals.  < Message edited by pitbull1 -- 5/14/2008 8:23:45 PM > _____________________________ 75 Ironhead..Ride hard..You can rest when you die. (in reply to skyline) Post #: 2

RE: bike was running at 300 degrees!! - 5/15/2008 4:04:03 PM    skyline   Posts: 13 Joined: 4/24/2008 Status: offline sorry, i thought i had put that, its an 82. when i get back to my bike i will start checking out the leaks more thoroughly. i have a feeling the backfiring/sputtering was caused by fouled plugs. i forgot that the guy i got the bike from had told me it likes to foul them. so im gonna replace those and see how it does. (in reply to pitbull1) Post #: 3

RE: bike was running at 300 degrees!! - 5/15/2008 7:51:23 PM    pyro Posts: 231 Joined: 11/15/2005 Status: offline If it likes to foul the plugs than are they oil or gas fouled. Is it time for a top end job or time to check out the carb. Point being, don't just replace the plugs, look into what may be causing the plugs to foul. I doubt it came from the factory doing that, so something is worn out. Rich _____________________________ (almost done) http://www.hdforums.com/albumphoto.asp?albumid=2253&asortType=1&apage=1 (in reply to skyline) Post #: 4

RE: bike was running at 300 degrees!! - 5/15/2008 7:55:03 PM    skyline   Posts: 13 Joined: 4/24/2008 Status: offline well, i just rebuilt the carb, so i hope its just the top end. i know nothing has been done with that in a while. what all is involved in a tope end job? (in reply to pyro) Post #: 5

RE: bike was running at 300 degrees!! - 5/15/2008 8:08:30 PM    pyro Posts: 231 Joined: 11/15/2005 Status: offline Most of the time, just re-bore to the next piston size bigger with new pistons and rings to match. If it's been a while, check and re-seat the valves, or replace and seat the new valves, check valve spring tension to make sure they're not weak, maybe new valve guides and new valve guide seals. Also, new gaskets, head and rocker box. I just went through this myself. Rich _____________________________ (almost done) http://www.hdforums.com/albumphoto.asp?albumid=2253&asortType=1&apage=1 (in reply to skyline) Post #: 6

RE: bike was running at 300 degrees!! - 5/18/2008 3:41:14 PM    skyline   Posts: 13 Joined: 4/24/2008 Status: offline im scared to ask, but about how much does that run? i was planning on doing it anyways down the road, just not so soon. (in reply to pyro) Post #: 7

RE: bike was running at 300 degrees!! - 5/19/2008 7:50:18 AM    supr2nr Posts: 249 Joined: 12/26/2007 From: West Tennessee Status: offline skyline.  Not much, depending on how much work you can do yourself and what all needs to be done.  I just did a top end rebuild myself and it wasn't too much.  The reason why I say it depends on what all has to be done is because depending on when the last rebuild was done you may not have to have your cylinders re-bored to the next size up especially if the plugs came out and they were gas fouled and not oil fouled.  If you pull the plugs after a few months of riding and the plugs have oil all over them, then the rebuild can be more expensive.  Here's why.  If the pistons rings aren't sealing as they should be because of uneven wear in the cylinders then they will have to be bored out to the next usable size up.  That being said you will have to pay a shop to re-bore them, get larger pistons, new rings, and new gaskets.   And/or you might need new valve guides and if thats the case then you will have to pay a shop to press out the old guides and press in new larger ones, which would mean you would have to get larger valves to accomodate the new larger guides.  So really it will only depend on how bad the motor is once you pull it apart.  If the plugs are just fouled from gas (meaning real souty black deposits on the plugs) then a rebuild might come out to be sort of cheap.  If thats the case then you could probably get away with just new rings, gaskets, maybe new stock valves, and honing the cylinders.  That would probably only cost around 150 to 200.  If you do decide to do the rebuild invest in nice gaskets and not cheap ones especially for the head and the rocker boxes.  There is a guy on ebay (link is below) that sells some really nice teflon head gaskets that work great, I use them on mine.  He also sells some oversized rocker box gaskets that work really well too.  Good luck! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Heavy-031-Rocker-Gaskets-1957-85-Harley-Sportster_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35572QQihZ013QQitemZ230253298193QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Tef-lon-Head-gaskets-Harley-Davidson-1957-71-Sportster_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35572QQihZ014QQitemZ330236943333QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW _____________________________ - Randy The bike. (in reply to skyline) Post #: 8

RE: bike was running at 300 degrees!! - 5/20/2008 7:41:45 AM    skyline   Posts: 13 Joined: 4/24/2008 Status: offline thanks for all the help, i guess ill find out sometime this week whats up with the plugs. im an auto mechanic so i atleast trust myself to pull the engine off the bike myself. thanks for the links. i havent seen the bike since it broke down, so hopefully i will be able to get to it soon and take a look at at it. (in reply to supr2nr) Post #: 9

Today's Posts
Most Active Topics
Make A Donation
Forum Rules & FAQ
RSS Feeds

New Vendors
Warehouse Direc
Baker Drive Train
Haulen Ass
Pickard USA
Harley Goodies
Pickard USA
AMSOIL - Performance Oil Technology
Brain Bucket Magazine
HDForums.com Sponsors
AMSOIL - Performance Oil Technology