I don't mean it spit. I mean it threw its guts up.

Not sure what to think. I've been running down what I thought was a valve train mis-adjustment tick. With help from the knowledgeable folks from Jims I have it correct, but of course it still makes noise. The guy I bought it from was a car guy and we all know that car guys know next to nothing about bikes. He was tugging himself every time he told me how the engine was built by a MACHINIST! He must have said ten times how the previous owner was a MACHINIST!

Well, he might know his way around a lathe or Bridgeport, but he doesn't know a damn thing about what direction to install a tappet screen (Yup - it was mashed down in - upside down) and he thought wire nuts were a good way to hook up an MC Power Arc ignition (Uhg). So yes, I've J-hooked and soldered the leads and I've got 40 psi going to the lifters. Then amazingly for the first time ever, last night upon fire up it just about shat itself out the breather. Never seen that much oil come out of anything that didn't throw a rod.

Anyone ever see a shovel toss its cookies like that? Especially since it never even dribbled before.

I'll be pulling the heads and rocker boxes looking for the next thing the genius screwed up. He might have been a machinist, but he sure as hell couldn't read a repair manual.

 

Common as Plain Donuts...
Either a bit of Sumpin/sumpin on the Check ball seat, or... something else amiss at the Checkball seat..

allows oil to "drip" into the bottom end.. Then most Commonly an Automotive Type, checks the oil level after a month...sees itis Down a Quart and Tops it off...
OOps!!! Now when it fires it needs to get rid of an extra quart of oil [that was in the bottom end].. Only place the oil from the bottom end can go...is Out the breather and/or to the Oil bag!!! Even if no oil was added... the Oil Must get away from the Crankcase... some to the Tank, and some out the Breather... till it "Clears it's Throat"..

I have a Brand new S&S Pump that is Guaranteed to sump... every time... gonna pull it soon..

 

Just weird that it never even dribbled before. Then....blamo!

I might just lap in the seat for the ball while I pull the top end off.

 

Or
as I said, just a piece of Something got between ball and seat!! Prolly Not in there now!!

 

True. I'll see if she pukes on next fire up.

 

Welcome ShovelWorld.......

 

This happened to me many years ago. Ended up being a sheared woodruff key on the scavenge gears in the oil pump.

 

Not very Difficult to check return Flow!!!
And With the return side non-functional... It will Never "clear its throat"... well maybe when the Oil tank empties!!

Typical check ball sumping does not really loose that much oil... Looks like a Gallon... but generally a few Ounces!!!

 

What you explained is very logical, but it would clear. It would not stay broke for very long. Because I didn't ignore it. The check ball was the first step and when that didn't help I opened the oil pump and found the woodruff key sheared on the scavenge drive gear. What sheared it was another woodruff key that must have been dropped in at assembly time at the factory. It must of sat in the little dip below the gears until one day i got sucked up. The details are a little foggy now, that was 42 years ago. The bike was 2 years old at the time and had somewhere around 6k on it. I was familiar with the bike for the previous year 1975 as it was a very good friends of mine. It had never been opened up.

 

If it continues I will certainly be checking return flow. It was parked for about a month so if for some reason she weeped passed the check ball, I get it. The crazing thing Is I never had more than a drop anywhere I went or parked. Even after winter storage. Then, Holy Crap! It looked like it ate a gas station burrito and couldn't get the damn key in the door fast enough.