Lower oil pump o-ring missing
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Stage II
Joined: Sep 2010
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Lower oil pump o-ring missing
A week and a half ago my husband and I were riding our 04 Night Train. I picked up my truck and we were headed home for the night. My husband was losing oil pressure on deceleration, but the pressure would increase with the RMPs. Figuring he was a little low on oil, he decided to continue to ride to the house. A couple of miles down the road he was showering oil on our friends riding with him. He pulled over immediately, but by this time the bike was covered in oil and the oil bag was empty. (Of course it was smoking from the oil burning on the exhaust.)
The next morning he and I tore the motor down to see what, if any damage was done. While by the grace of God no damage was done to the motor (LOVE Royal Purple), it did appear we had oil pump issues. My husband consulted with a few fellow mechanics and affirmed the issue to be no more than a pressure regulation issue caused by loose screws in the cam plate/oil pump which allowed for the blow by. Also of note, we heard a metallic ping earlier while riding, but just attributed it to road debris. Now we think it was the loose plate we heard.
A few gaskets later, we are reassembling the motor. The truly interesting and somewhat disturbing thing is that a. the screws were so incredibly loose on the upper plate (never had a need to open the housing to check them), and b. there was no lower oil pump o-ring (from the factory there is no indication it was ever there).
So my question is: has anyone heard of these issues before (loose screws and missing, never assembled o-rings) and if so, are there any known recalls?
The next morning he and I tore the motor down to see what, if any damage was done. While by the grace of God no damage was done to the motor (LOVE Royal Purple), it did appear we had oil pump issues. My husband consulted with a few fellow mechanics and affirmed the issue to be no more than a pressure regulation issue caused by loose screws in the cam plate/oil pump which allowed for the blow by. Also of note, we heard a metallic ping earlier while riding, but just attributed it to road debris. Now we think it was the loose plate we heard.
A few gaskets later, we are reassembling the motor. The truly interesting and somewhat disturbing thing is that a. the screws were so incredibly loose on the upper plate (never had a need to open the housing to check them), and b. there was no lower oil pump o-ring (from the factory there is no indication it was ever there).
So my question is: has anyone heard of these issues before (loose screws and missing, never assembled o-rings) and if so, are there any known recalls?
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Stage II
Joined: Sep 2010
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Indeed we are lucky there was no other damage. We got everything bolted up tonight and will throw the tank back on and fluids in her tomorrow.
The hubby was able to do some research and ask around and did discover that apparently the 04 thru 06 Softails were notorious for premature, unexpected oil pump failure - most likely attributed to the manufacturer of the part at that time. Neither of us has been able to run down any further anecdotal evidence of lax assembly, though. Maybe she was one of the unlucky ones assembled right before lunch or end of shift. Though I can understand the natural vibration of the motor causing screws to back out, the complete lack of the o-ring makes competence the more likely issue.
The hubby was able to do some research and ask around and did discover that apparently the 04 thru 06 Softails were notorious for premature, unexpected oil pump failure - most likely attributed to the manufacturer of the part at that time. Neither of us has been able to run down any further anecdotal evidence of lax assembly, though. Maybe she was one of the unlucky ones assembled right before lunch or end of shift. Though I can understand the natural vibration of the motor causing screws to back out, the complete lack of the o-ring makes competence the more likely issue.
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