Hello, I've been reading a ton here (and found quite a bit of information) but this is my first post (be patient with me). Little history, although I've been riding bikes for thirty years, this is my first HD. It's a 1996 Heritage Softtail that was my father's before he passed away at Christmas this year. The bike has 45k miles, runs perfectly, no leaks, and has been trouble free for me since I got it.

Sunday morning while driving home from my fire station, my oil light came on about a mile from my house (roughly 4 miles into my ride). I quickly pulled over and shut it off. I looked in the oil tank and the oil looked fine, although the temperature gauge dipstick which normally reads 250ish, was down around 110 (not sure how long it usually takes to get to normal operating temp but it was probably around 70 when I left work 5 minutes before). The engine wasn't making any strange noises and was performing normally so I made the decision to ease it home that last mile thinking possibly the sending unit was on the fritz. Made it home with no issues and parked it in the garage to cool off.

That's when I started reading everything I could find about oil pressure, circulation, etc related to the evo engine. I have a Clymer guide but not the Harley Shop Manual (yet). I found several post comments that said to start the bike while looking in the oil tank to verify oil is being circulated. I did that but saw no movement. I removed the tappet screen and it was clean but I went ahead and gave it a good cleaning anyway. Next I took the lead off the pressure sender to verify the electrical system was functioning properly and the light did in fact go off when the wire was removed. I have not had a chance to look at the relief valve or check ball yet but it's on my list. From what I'm reading, it seems as though I may have possibly sheared the key off the long end of the pump shaft and the pump is no longer spinning. Does anyone else think that is a good possiblility? If that is the case, am I safe to buy a rebuild kit and swap out the bad key for a new one?

I haven't removed the oil pump or side cover yet either which I suspect will tell me what the issue is. I also am wanting to change the oil but my concern is getting the engine up to operating temperature before draining if the pump isn't working. In this instance is it best to just drain the system cold so I can start removing the necessary items and make my repairs? I'm pretty mechanically inclined so the actual work isn't intimidating to me but I'm just wanting to get some advice/counsel before overlooking that which a seasoned HD person would know. Also, do the hoses from the tank to the pump fail often, or rather should I take this opportunity to swap in some new hoses?

Mostly wanting to know what would cause the pump to not be moving any oil other than a sheared key or broken shaft. Thanks in advance.

 

If you are going to write a book, break it down into paragraphs so old eyes can read it...

 

Message received. Just wanted to give y'all as much info as possible so you wouldn't be irritated with vagueness.

 

Are the lifters starting to rattle? If the lifters are rattling, you got a problem.. You can disconnect the oil return line from the filter to see is oil is flowing out but that really doesn't tell you how the feed side is working. If no rattle get an oil pressure gauge and check oil pressure.. These don't need very much.. Usually 20 psi running down the road, 5 psi is good hot idle.. You can remove the cam cover until you've removed the pushrods. Tappet blocks are a good idea or you need something to hold the lifters up.

I would change the oil lines.. Especially if you see any cracks. I replace mine when they start to look funky.. Years ago I scored about 6 25 ft spools of 3/8 line. I'm down to 2..

 

Thanks for the reply. I didn't hear any noises out of the ordinary. I've got s pressure gauge ordered and in the mail so I'll be doing that soon. To reiterate, did you mean to say I can't take the cam cover off until the pushrods? I'll start researching the tappet blocks also. If it becomes s straight oil pump replacement, does that require the cam cover coming off also? Thanks for your help.

 

Yes. On evos the outer cover holds the end of the cam.. With the pushrods in cam position there really isn't a location where a valve spring isn't pressing a lifter on the cam so you need to loosen or at least slack the pushrods before pulling the cover. If the bike is stock this likely means pulling the rockers as the stock pushrods are not adjustable. You can snip em out and replace with quick installs if you don't want to remove the rockers. If you do end up pulling the cover, you'll likely need to pull the cam to get to the oil pump gears. If so you need a way to hold up the lifters to slide the cams out. If you are going that far., I'd replace the lifters, change the inner cam bearing to a Nachi (torington) full complement needle bearing.

 

Wow. Sounds like I have my work cut out for me. If I take the cover off the oil pump, can I turn the engine over with the engine stop button off to see if the pump gears are turning? That would confirm if the key is sheared or not, correct? If I need to do the work you have previously mentioned then I will, I'd just like to make sure I'm not doing more work than necessary. The bike was running so well that I'd like to leave it as is if possible. Also, does the cam cover need to be removed to replace the oil pump assembly? I'm at work or I would look at the procedure in my book...

 

Don't know that the stop button is but if you want to turn the motor over, pull the plugs, put the tranny in 5th, disconnect the ground to the battery and turn the motor over using the rear wheel. Make sure you have oil flowing to the pump and no pressure before taking apart the pump. You really only need to get into the gear case if the pump pinion gear key is stripped, shaft damaged, or something wring with any of the internal drive gears.. The only time any oil pump dies it's when it ate something it didn't like. Could be a sign of another issue.

 

OP: Max is giving you good advice, but you need to get a Factory Service Manual, it will give you the in depth details on oil pump troubleshooting and repair.

 

Max, you have been very helpful. Thank you. I just got home from work and am looking at/reading through my manual and everything you are saying making perfect sense now that I'm looking at the pictures. I see now that the oil pump shaft stays in the case and how that system of gears/cam/etc works together. When I get the pressure gauge in the mail I'll check that and go from there. I'll go ahead any put the bike up on the stand and check for pump circulation while spinning the back wheel (I should be able to see by looking in the oil tank while having someone else spin the tire if it's working I assume). I'm sure in my readings today I'll learn why pulling the plugs and turning it over with the starter while the handlebar run/stop switch is off is not the preferred method. 😃

Thanks again!