Engine running hot
Road Captain
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 572
Likes: 6
From: Ft. Worth, Texas
fyi if it was running hot you wouldnt notice it on the highway as you get the most cooling effect while air is rushing past the cylinders at 70mph. it would overheat in traffic or very slow riding...
Thread Starter
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Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 32
Likes: 0
I'll dig around for a spare coil - then I'll try it again. Something is heating up to the point that the cam cover - the whole nose cone is very hot to the touch.
I recently replaced the cam, pinion, & bearing - it started doing this a couple months back. When I pulled the cam cover - to check things out - I found the cam gear & pinion gears with broken teeth. When I pulled those two out, I discovered the inner cam bearing in pieces. So, replaced the stuff, including the ignition module & plug wires.
Now that I've got it running again - it's timed, pushrods adjusted, carb re-adjusted, it's doing the same thing as before. I can ride through town with no issues. Stop & go traffic, etc.
Get it out on the freeway & it's all good for about 30 min. Then it just wimps out & dies. I'll let it sit for a time & it starts right back up.
I still don't get why the entire cam cover can get so hot??
I recently replaced the cam, pinion, & bearing - it started doing this a couple months back. When I pulled the cam cover - to check things out - I found the cam gear & pinion gears with broken teeth. When I pulled those two out, I discovered the inner cam bearing in pieces. So, replaced the stuff, including the ignition module & plug wires.
Now that I've got it running again - it's timed, pushrods adjusted, carb re-adjusted, it's doing the same thing as before. I can ride through town with no issues. Stop & go traffic, etc.
Get it out on the freeway & it's all good for about 30 min. Then it just wimps out & dies. I'll let it sit for a time & it starts right back up.
I still don't get why the entire cam cover can get so hot??
Road Captain
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 572
Likes: 6
From: Ft. Worth, Texas
I'll dig around for a spare coil - then I'll try it again. Something is heating up to the point that the cam cover - the whole nose cone is very hot to the touch.
I recently replaced the cam, pinion, & bearing - it started doing this a couple months back. When I pulled the cam cover - to check things out - I found the cam gear & pinion gears with broken teeth. When I pulled those two out, I discovered the inner cam bearing in pieces. So, replaced the stuff, including the ignition module & plug wires.
Now that I've got it running again - it's timed, pushrods adjusted, carb re-adjusted, it's doing the same thing as before. I can ride through town with no issues. Stop & go traffic, etc.
Get it out on the freeway & it's all good for about 30 min. Then it just wimps out & dies. I'll let it sit for a time & it starts right back up.
I still don't get why the entire cam cover can get so hot??
I recently replaced the cam, pinion, & bearing - it started doing this a couple months back. When I pulled the cam cover - to check things out - I found the cam gear & pinion gears with broken teeth. When I pulled those two out, I discovered the inner cam bearing in pieces. So, replaced the stuff, including the ignition module & plug wires.
Now that I've got it running again - it's timed, pushrods adjusted, carb re-adjusted, it's doing the same thing as before. I can ride through town with no issues. Stop & go traffic, etc.
Get it out on the freeway & it's all good for about 30 min. Then it just wimps out & dies. I'll let it sit for a time & it starts right back up.
I still don't get why the entire cam cover can get so hot??
if either is to tight it will cause it to run hot, and possibly destroy the cam and bearings. do you have adjustable pushrods? if so you can pull them out and pull out you lifter blocks to check end play on your cam. both are these are very important with the setup of your new cam.
Tourer
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 308
Likes: 1
I just went thru the same thing as you. One day coming home from a long ride about 40 miles out the bike started running real bad. It would die, start right up and run ok for about 1/2 mile then run bad and die. Next day started it up in the garage could not duplicate the problem. As long as I stayed in town it was ok but once I got on the freeway it would crap out. Again could not duplicate the problem in the garage. Replaced plugs and wires. No help. Replaced coil. Went to Sturgis. Ist day bike crapped out after 70 miles. Made it back to camp. My buddy said one of my blinkers was half as bright as the other. What the heck cut the wires and eliminate blinkers. Second day went another 70 miles no problem. Figured problem solved, wiring problem with turn signals. Third day 100 miles bike crapped out again. Came home replaced ignition module. Noticed the old module wiring harness was pinched real bad. Cut the cover off and found the back cylinder wire and tach wire had rubbed thru and was touching each other. The weird thing is that harness hasnt been touched in over a year. I guess just the vibration alone was enough.
Quigley
Quigley
Cruiser
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 216
Likes: 2
I live in the northeast, but 220 is way high for my evos. Even my S&S 96 has never gotten that hot. My dresser has gotten to 220 when I got stuck in traffic when it was almost 100 out. At that temp the oil light started to flash at idle, and it pinged like crazy. After I richened up the mixture it never got that hot again. Did you check the intake seals? To me it seems that maybe they leak somewhat when the engine is up in temperature. I would start there.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 8,198
Likes: 3,087
From: NW AR
I think 220 is a a bit too high as well. Probably right on the edge of "stop doing that." My bike used to run up there occasionally, like when crossing West Texas in August, and that was before the oil cooler, and might have been with the stock carb. Back then, if it was doing that, I could flip my crash bar mounted floor boards up, put my feet on the regular floor boards, and it would cool down some. Since putting the oil cooler on, I haven't had that problem.
I don't think this problem is the motor running too hot, though. That could be a separate problem. I think the heat may be aggrivating another issue.
I don't think this problem is the motor running too hot, though. That could be a separate problem. I think the heat may be aggrivating another issue.
Intermediate
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 48
Likes: 2
220 is not overheating. I ran an oil tank dip stick with a thermometer in it for years and that was pretty much normal down here in the summer (South Carolina). I think the absolute hottest I ever saw the oil hit was 235-240 and that was on a 100-degree day in a traffic jam during Daytona Bike Week as I fought traffic to get to the Iron Horse Saloon. You WANT your oil to hit at least 212-degrees so that the condensation (water) will be removed from your oil instead of combining with combustion by-products, create acids, and do all sorts of nasty things to the inside of your engine. This is EXACTLY what the Harley-Davidson representative told us during an oil seminar in Daytona back in the late 90's during Bike Week....
Everyone around here swore I needed an oil cooler, but 16 years of ownership and the bike having over 100k miles on it, I have never seen a reason to run a cooler. BTW, to check that a tank dip stick with thermometer is accurate or off, stick it in boiling water to confirm 212-degrees. 220 is only 8-degrees over 212.
I had my bike cutting off many years ago. A local mechanic insisted it was the ignition, so we installed a Compufire ignition on the bike. It still cut off on me after that. I'd wait a few minutes, and it would start up and run fine for a few miles and then die: only to repeat the pattern. Strangely, I noticed that it did this more often when the gas tank was lower on fuel, but did not do it with a full tank.....after a bunch of cussing and fighting the bike, it turned out that the vent on the gas cap quit working and it was causing a vaccum in the tank and didn't let the gas get to the carb. To test it out, once it started coughing and sputtering, I simply cracked a cap and let air into the tank....and the bike ran fine. I wasted a lot of money on an ignition that was not needed.
Everyone around here swore I needed an oil cooler, but 16 years of ownership and the bike having over 100k miles on it, I have never seen a reason to run a cooler. BTW, to check that a tank dip stick with thermometer is accurate or off, stick it in boiling water to confirm 212-degrees. 220 is only 8-degrees over 212.
or a fuel delivery problem(fuel not getting to the engine) that is making your bike quit. it can seem like it is a problem with overheating but it could be an old fuel line that is disentigrating from the inside and is plugged up and everytime you open it up on the highway starving the bike for fuel.
Last edited by Kramer Krazy; Aug 21, 2009 at 01:54 PM.
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HDF Community Team
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 5,402
Likes: 2,605
From: NC USA
One thing for sure geronimo, you getting lots of excellent feedback! my hat's off to all you guys
As mentioned earlier, running lean will make them hot. A poor or non-venting cap will sure do that and considering it's getting hot at higher speed and doing OK knocking around slow, you should investigate that possibility throughly as well as the petcock/screen for fuel flow.
I'm curious why you are certain the timing cover is too hot. One - you can't use an infrared themometer because the chrome reflects the beam. Any bike engine is going to be hot all over after it's been run. The primary, engine case and primary are all going to be close to the same temp because the aluminum absorbs and radiates so well... I mean, even if it were running 180, you ain't gonna hold on to any part of it for long, ya know? On the other hand, if you ride it say 10 miles and the primary is rather cool, the case is cool and the timing cover blisters you instantly, then sure, it deserves investigation.
The number one reason I've seen Evos run hot oil (assuming all else is as it should be) is the pinion bearing. Number 2, the main bearing. You'd think a loose bearing would run cooler, but not so on these. I've done maybe half dozen bottom ends that weren't that bad, but ran hot consistantly and were 20 oil degrees cooler after the build. The ones that were always OK temp wise were no change after a build.
But I think you'd be best served taking advice of the above posts and check the simple stuff first. I said in the beginning "running lean" and from what I've read just now, I'm even more inclined to that... and broken ignition pickup wires has caused more than a few people to have a bad day... well, lots of bad days actually
As mentioned earlier, running lean will make them hot. A poor or non-venting cap will sure do that and considering it's getting hot at higher speed and doing OK knocking around slow, you should investigate that possibility throughly as well as the petcock/screen for fuel flow.
I'm curious why you are certain the timing cover is too hot. One - you can't use an infrared themometer because the chrome reflects the beam. Any bike engine is going to be hot all over after it's been run. The primary, engine case and primary are all going to be close to the same temp because the aluminum absorbs and radiates so well... I mean, even if it were running 180, you ain't gonna hold on to any part of it for long, ya know? On the other hand, if you ride it say 10 miles and the primary is rather cool, the case is cool and the timing cover blisters you instantly, then sure, it deserves investigation.
The number one reason I've seen Evos run hot oil (assuming all else is as it should be) is the pinion bearing. Number 2, the main bearing. You'd think a loose bearing would run cooler, but not so on these. I've done maybe half dozen bottom ends that weren't that bad, but ran hot consistantly and were 20 oil degrees cooler after the build. The ones that were always OK temp wise were no change after a build.
But I think you'd be best served taking advice of the above posts and check the simple stuff first. I said in the beginning "running lean" and from what I've read just now, I'm even more inclined to that... and broken ignition pickup wires has caused more than a few people to have a bad day... well, lots of bad days actually
Thread Starter
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Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 32
Likes: 0
I had the cam gear & pinion gear matched up (red dot pinion to an S&S 502) along with a .050 cam shim (if I remember correctly).
I need to re-phrase the "engine running hot" statements I made earlier. It's not so much the engine itself overheating, but more the cam cover getting so hot. The cam cover can get pretty warm, but never this hot. What I'm seeing as a result is the oil at the tank running hotter. I've been riding this thing for about 5 years & have close to 75k miles on the clock - it's never, ever run hotter than 180. Except for slow traffic one year in San Antonio in the middle of summer, when oil temp crept up to 210.
I've checked & rechecked the S&S Super E as well as the spark plugs to make sure it's not running too rich or too lean.
Replaced the fuel line.
Borrowed the gas cap off of my ironhead to check fuel vent.
Replaced the VOE Switch.
I pulled the cam cover yesterday to eyeball the cam & pinion bushings - just to make sure there was no obvious signs of metal to metal heat binding. All looks normal - relatively normal.
I also chased the wiring harness when I replaced the ignition module. No obvious breaks in the wiring.
I can understand the coil or ignition crapping out at highway speeds, but why would this cause the cam cover to get so dang hot?
I'm still scratching my head. I wouldn't be so concerned if this was my bar hopper, but it ain't. It's my daily rider work bike & 30 miles one way on Houston freeways is not a good place to break down on a scooter.
I need to get this thing back on the road.
And, yeah, I've considered taking it to the stealership, but I simply ain't got the bucks to pay them.
btw, lots of feedback, guys - I certainly do appreciate it!
I'm curious about the main bearing now - could that possibly transfer excess heat to the cam cover?
I need to re-phrase the "engine running hot" statements I made earlier. It's not so much the engine itself overheating, but more the cam cover getting so hot. The cam cover can get pretty warm, but never this hot. What I'm seeing as a result is the oil at the tank running hotter. I've been riding this thing for about 5 years & have close to 75k miles on the clock - it's never, ever run hotter than 180. Except for slow traffic one year in San Antonio in the middle of summer, when oil temp crept up to 210.
I've checked & rechecked the S&S Super E as well as the spark plugs to make sure it's not running too rich or too lean.
Replaced the fuel line.
Borrowed the gas cap off of my ironhead to check fuel vent.
Replaced the VOE Switch.
I pulled the cam cover yesterday to eyeball the cam & pinion bushings - just to make sure there was no obvious signs of metal to metal heat binding. All looks normal - relatively normal.
I also chased the wiring harness when I replaced the ignition module. No obvious breaks in the wiring.
I can understand the coil or ignition crapping out at highway speeds, but why would this cause the cam cover to get so dang hot?
I'm still scratching my head. I wouldn't be so concerned if this was my bar hopper, but it ain't. It's my daily rider work bike & 30 miles one way on Houston freeways is not a good place to break down on a scooter.
I need to get this thing back on the road.
And, yeah, I've considered taking it to the stealership, but I simply ain't got the bucks to pay them.
btw, lots of feedback, guys - I certainly do appreciate it!
I'm curious about the main bearing now - could that possibly transfer excess heat to the cam cover?