Hey guys, I have a 2000 FXDWG that i bought in December 2014 with 10,000 miles on it. One of the main reasons i went with this bike was the low mileage on it. and it was extremely clean and mint with lots of add ons and chrome everywhere. The downtube reads "DEC 99" and after more investigating at Harley the assemble date is December 02, 1999 making it a TC88 bike with the notorious ball type bearing for the outer rear cam bearing. So 6 months and 2,000 miles later the notorious bearing grenaded. Being that i just practically bought the bike, i had no money to pay the shops the $1,200 -$2,000 they wanted to fix it, and i used to be a car mech when i was 18/19 yrs old so i decided to give it a shot. Like i said, i'm on an extremely tight budget so i couldnt cut the pushrods just to save a little time, so i took apart the upper rocker boxes and removed all that needed to be taken off so i could pull the cam plate and cams out from the cam chest. Upon removal of the cam plate there were large pieces of metal on the floor of the cam chest. I cleaned everything that was in the cam cavity: Cams, Cam Plate, Cam Chains, Sprockets, Tensioners(which were good), I dropped the oil pan and cleaned the pan and baffle. I replaced the outer bearings with the updated roller type bearing and pulled the inner bearings and replaced them with Torrington B-148 full compliment bearings. I removed the oil filter and cut it open. Both the oil filter and oil pan had very small bits of metal in it, about the size of beach sand(Very Small). I cleaned out the lines going to and from the oil pan and oil filter. I cleaned the cam plate passages and oil pump. I'm ready to put the motor back together but there's something on my mind. There is a sump underneath the crank side of the motor, and a pipe plug with sealant from the factory under the case to drain it, a wetsumping problem would require removal of this plug or if you are going to install an oil temp gauge. There is usually only 4-6 ounces of oil in there. I'm wondering if i should pull the pipe plug and drain the sump and flush it by pouring kerosene through the inner cam bearings into the crank side just to make sure there is no metal bits in there. Now I know many of you are horrified by the thought of removing the pipe plug cause you can crack the case very easy if it's stuck or by over tightening it when you put it back in. And i also know some of you agree with the MoCo that the TC88 motor is compartmentalized and no metal from the cam chest can make it into the crankcase (i happen not to agree with this theory) What are your opinions on the matter of draining the sump? Do you believe there is metal in the sump oil? Have any of you replaced a lunched cam bearing without spliting the case and it worked out? And do you have any tips for me on this job I'm doing. Also, Buying a Reman or spliting the case are not an option. I am very grateful in advance for all help.

 

I will keep this as short as possible.

Oil is filtered before circulating through the motor and ending up in the crankcase and pick up by the scavenge gerotor and circulated into the return line to the oil pan. So, if you found metal in the oil pan; that is metal that passed through the filter and has probably passed through the crank bearings. Whether there has been damage, I cannot say. You did not mention the condition of the oil pump? I would base my going forward plan on how the oil pump looks.

You can try flushing the crank case with diesel fuel but the crank case plug has a raised boss on the inside of the crank case which will prevent the flushing media from draining 100%. Worth a try but I would follow up with a complete oil change, including filter, at 50 miles using the Rogue oil change system and cut the filter open as well for inspection. It's a crap shoot but others have gotten by this way with similar failures.

http://roguechopper.com/

 

The oil pump looked good. There was a piece of metal stuck in the cam chest pick up but it never made it into the gerotor gears. I had it inspected by my local Independant and he said it looked fine along with my cam plate when he pressed my new bearings and old cams into it.

 

What does "looks good" mean? Your Indy should measure the the oil pump's gearotor clearances - max is .004".

 

How long the motor ran after the bearing failed and whether the metal grit you found in the oil pan was ferrous or aluminum would have a lot to do decision making on the path forward. The grit you found in the oil pan may not be related to the bearing failure. Take all the mitigating measures you can, as you are doing, put it back together and run it and see what happens. Why go any further not knowing if that is necessary?