Oil Pressure Check - Would Appreciate Thoughts
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Tourer
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 421
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From: Alabama
Oil Pressure Check - Would Appreciate Thoughts
Bike is '04 FXDP Police; 56K (very rough) mi.; TC88A is stock- no performance mods, no SE hyd cam plate/oil pump upgrade. I've had the cams/oil pump out of it numerous times to change cam chain tensioners, replace lifters (this winter), and install Baisley LRM-002 spring (this winter also). The gerotors & pump internals look good, but the feed gerotor has stuck to the cam plate 2X when I've removed it, & fallen to the floor. I'm not sure I've ever put it back the same way it originally went in. So got concerned about oil pressure at speed, and with the Baisley Spring. So this weekend, installed an OP gauge temporarily just to benchmark the pressure on this well-worn mill.
Hot, got 18 psi @ 1,000 rpm; 42-45 @ 2,500; 50 @ 3,000; and she would readily spike over 60 (limit of my gauge) when cold, or when I really goosed it when hot (M1 20w-50; oil temp dipstick indicated 210 F).
Question is, are these results reasonable? 18 @ hot idle, in particular, seems high. Should I be concerned about it spiking > 60? When I installed the Baisley, I removed the relief pellet & cleaned it good, it was well free then.
Any thoughts?
Hot, got 18 psi @ 1,000 rpm; 42-45 @ 2,500; 50 @ 3,000; and she would readily spike over 60 (limit of my gauge) when cold, or when I really goosed it when hot (M1 20w-50; oil temp dipstick indicated 210 F).
Question is, are these results reasonable? 18 @ hot idle, in particular, seems high. Should I be concerned about it spiking > 60? When I installed the Baisley, I removed the relief pellet & cleaned it good, it was well free then.
Any thoughts?
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Tourer
Joined: Nov 2011
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From: Alabama
One other thing. The reason I installed the Baisley & lifters is that I began to hear a light tapping out of the rear cyl last fall, so figgered a lifter was weak. Installed Comp Cams Chevy 850-1 lifters, along with Baisley this winter. I never checked the pressure before this winter teardown, but either the lifters or the Baisley (or both) sure stopped the tap.
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From: Centennial, CO
From what I've seen in here, the lifter was most likely the culprit. Being a low pressure/high volume system, as long as the light isn't on, you're good. I get 50 lbs. at cold start, but it settles to 15-20 when hot.
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Tourer
Joined: Nov 2011
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From: Alabama
Thanks very much for the input. That's what I was looking for. I feel better about it now.
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From: NC
One other thing. The reason I installed the Baisley & lifters is that I began to hear a light tapping out of the rear cyl last fall, so figgered a lifter was weak. Installed Comp Cams Chevy 850-1 lifters, along with Baisley this winter. I never checked the pressure before this winter teardown, but either the lifters or the Baisley (or both) sure stopped the tap.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cc...FTHxOgodEXcA-g
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Thread Starter
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Tourer
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 421
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From: Alabama
Are these the lifters you are running? Anything special needed to be done to use them? I know alot of guys that complain about the Twin Cam valve train noise, myself included. I plan on the Baisley spring in my bike also.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cc...FTHxOgodEXcA-g
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cc...FTHxOgodEXcA-g
BTW, still using the exhaust you sent me. Love it, see no reason to pay $700 for something fancier/noisier.
Also, FYI I have adjustable push rods, & adjusted them to 0.100" initially and there was no tap after pump-up. So far, have not seen the need to extend them to 0.140" to eliminate the tap, as others have reported.
Last edited by M&P340; Mar 3, 2014 at 06:24 AM.
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Just an observation. My understanding is that the Baisley spring increases pressure and as a result, oil flow, but not to the extent that a high-flow pump increases flow.
It seems to me that your pressure is good, but scavenging isn't as good as it could be because the system still limits the overall flow. So, you could be experiencing pressure into the lifters and valves but the oil in front of it is not scavenging back to the pump fast enough to equalize the entire system.
There's nothing wrong with this as it is doing what you want it to do; keeping oil on your lifters and reducing/eliminating backlash and associated noise. The side effect is a spike in pressure as the pressure tries to push oil through orifices that can only handle a limited flow. This is why QC doesn't get as much of a spike; his high-flow pump scavenges the oil back into the system faster and reducing high-pressure spots in the system.
In short, the spring is doing its thing well, but it is front-loading pressure to the backside of the lifter.
You, really anybody, can benefit from a high-flow pump, but the spring is doing a good thing for your motor.
As a side note. My buddy has a Street Glide with SE255 cams but no upgraded cam-plate or pump. I have the same cams, but WITH the SE cam plate and oil pump. Neither one of us has measured oil pressure, but his bike runs hotter and has substantially more top-end noise.
It seems to me that your system and mine have addressed lifter lube/pressure but in different ways.
It seems to me that your pressure is good, but scavenging isn't as good as it could be because the system still limits the overall flow. So, you could be experiencing pressure into the lifters and valves but the oil in front of it is not scavenging back to the pump fast enough to equalize the entire system.
There's nothing wrong with this as it is doing what you want it to do; keeping oil on your lifters and reducing/eliminating backlash and associated noise. The side effect is a spike in pressure as the pressure tries to push oil through orifices that can only handle a limited flow. This is why QC doesn't get as much of a spike; his high-flow pump scavenges the oil back into the system faster and reducing high-pressure spots in the system.
In short, the spring is doing its thing well, but it is front-loading pressure to the backside of the lifter.
You, really anybody, can benefit from a high-flow pump, but the spring is doing a good thing for your motor.
As a side note. My buddy has a Street Glide with SE255 cams but no upgraded cam-plate or pump. I have the same cams, but WITH the SE cam plate and oil pump. Neither one of us has measured oil pressure, but his bike runs hotter and has substantially more top-end noise.
It seems to me that your system and mine have addressed lifter lube/pressure but in different ways.
Last edited by SLV; Mar 3, 2014 at 09:20 AM.
Thread Starter
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Tourer
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 421
Likes: 4
From: Alabama
Just an observation. My understanding is that the Baisley spring increases pressure and as a result, oil flow, but not to the extent that a high-flow pump increases flow.
It seems to me that your pressure is good, but scavenging isn't as good as it could be because the system still limits the overall flow. So, you could be experiencing pressure into the lifters and valves but the oil in front of it is not scavenging back to the pump fast enough to equalize the entire system.
There's nothing wrong with this as it is doing what you want it to do; keeping oil on your lifters and reducing/eliminating backlash and associated noise. The side effect is a spike in pressure as the pressure tries to push oil through orifices that can only handle a limited flow. This is why QC doesn't get as much of a spike; his high-flow pump scavenges the oil back into the system faster and reducing high-pressure spots in the system.
In short, the spring is doing its thing well, but it is front-loading pressure to the backside of the lifter.
You, really anybody, can benefit from a high-flow pump, but the spring is doing a good thing for your motor.
As a side note. My buddy has a Street Glide with SE255 cams but no upgraded cam-plate or pump. I have the same cams, but WITH the SE cam plate and oil pump. Neither one of us has measured oil pressure, but his bike runs hotter and has substantially more top-end noise.
It seems to me that your system and mine have addressed lifter lube/pressure but in different ways.
It seems to me that your pressure is good, but scavenging isn't as good as it could be because the system still limits the overall flow. So, you could be experiencing pressure into the lifters and valves but the oil in front of it is not scavenging back to the pump fast enough to equalize the entire system.
There's nothing wrong with this as it is doing what you want it to do; keeping oil on your lifters and reducing/eliminating backlash and associated noise. The side effect is a spike in pressure as the pressure tries to push oil through orifices that can only handle a limited flow. This is why QC doesn't get as much of a spike; his high-flow pump scavenges the oil back into the system faster and reducing high-pressure spots in the system.
In short, the spring is doing its thing well, but it is front-loading pressure to the backside of the lifter.
You, really anybody, can benefit from a high-flow pump, but the spring is doing a good thing for your motor.
As a side note. My buddy has a Street Glide with SE255 cams but no upgraded cam-plate or pump. I have the same cams, but WITH the SE cam plate and oil pump. Neither one of us has measured oil pressure, but his bike runs hotter and has substantially more top-end noise.
It seems to me that your system and mine have addressed lifter lube/pressure but in different ways.
I've had so many problems with my bike (the cops just trashed it) and am so unsure how long it will last, my MO has been to keep it running as cheaply as possible. That's why I never considered the SE hyd plate/pump upgrade nor the gear-drive option (although my crankshaft runnout is 0.002"!). I've already spent 1.7X the original purchase price just in parts (no labor) to keep it running. I could probably never sell it for half what I have in it. I'll probably not consider replacing the pump unless forced to do so.
The scavange side of the pump "looks" OK to my untrained eye, but when I originally got the bike, I pulled the cam chest cover and the inside tensioner had steel pressed against the chain, with bits/pieces of Delrin throughout the cam chest. Why it didn't grenade the pump, I'll never know (but it actually ran pretty good & made no noise!).