i had an issue with a broken chain tensioner on my FLHRI 2004 this summer. it took a while till i got the parts and changed all necessary things (bearings, time saver pushrods, nylon tensioner shoes, etc). i´ve decided to keep the tensioner stuff against the SE hydraulic plate. the oil pump has no grooves and therefore i´m still OK with the tensioner stuff.

anyway i had a problem with oil pressure after reassembling everything. i guess it was due to the fact that i´ve drained the oil completely from the tank and after reassembling the oil pump was dry as well (except assembly lube). after i´ve filled up the engine with 3 1/2 quarts of oil and started the engine there was no oil pressure. idiots light always on. i´ve tried several times for about 30 seconds. checking oil again. level was OK. then i´ve checked the cable to the pressure sensor switch and took out the pressure sensor to check too. works well, no failure here. then i took off the cam chest cover again and checked if the oil pump was assembled correct. and everything was OK again.

but anyway it seems that the oil pump did not pull the oil from the tank as the tank is seated much lower than the oil pump. it seems that the oil pump isn´t able to produce enough vacuum to pull oil from the tank. too much air in the whole oil feed line or what?

i´ve assembled again everything and decided to carefully blow compressed air into the oil tank inlet through an DIY plug. i´ve plugged screws into the oil return lines to make sure the air won´t blow the wrong way and forced oil running through the pump out from the pressure sensor hole. when starting the engine (with pulled spark plugs) finally there was a bit of oil pressure making the idiot light flickering. haven't had the chance to start the engine for a road test so far as the rubber hoses are damaged. have to change them too.

but now i'm wondering did i miss an essential information or a common trick? what do you do on your FLHRI or other TC88 with engine oil tank mounted under the transmission to help the oil pump pull the oil right away?

any hint appreciated! thank you!

resprects from berlin/germany

p.s. forgive my bad grammar

 

Hey man, did you fill your oil filter with oil? Any time I change my oil, I always fill my filter to the rim, let it sit for 5 minutes to soak in and then screw it on. That might help with prime. Just a thought.

 

the filter is behind the oil pump. so it probably won`t help. but i didn`t try that because i was afraid i could flush broken plastic parts of the tensioner shoe back into the oil pump. the problem is rather the airy gap between oil tank and pump.

 

Not sure if I've ever heard of using assembly lube in the oil pump. I think I'd clean the pump up and try again without the lube. Maybe the lube is blocking the oil on the suction side of the pump. It goes without saying to make sure all of the o-rings are intact and that the pump is assembled in the correct order.

 

yes we checked it twice. new o-ring. can`t think of any other failure than the air in the oil feed line.

how can the lube block the oil?

 

Are u alighning the oil pump properly??

 

i think so. my brother did that with the alignment screws.

 

I am about to install all new cam chest parts and I did a google search just to learn some tech tips and work-around's. I have removed, cleaned and repaced the oil pan on my road king so I see rockstar's concern.

If he had a way to prime that cavity and supply porting with engine oil. (thinking the oil filter has a anti-drain back device in it) I am looking at the manuals description of the oil route carefully and am considering using my MityMite vacuum pump adapted to exposed hole at the oil filter mount to prime that much of the route. If my MityMite does not provide enough draw, fast enough to bring the oil up. I can try section of clear plastic line, about 1/4" or 3/8" ID, and use my air gun to start a suction venturi across the cleverly cut end of the tubing. You've done that... right

After spending a boatload of money repairing a failed cam bearing's damage I really want that oil pump primed.

This is the first discussion I looked at in my search. If any of the seasoned wrenches have an easier way to prime the naked pump and passage please tune me in.