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Rec.Motorcycles.Harley from SmartPhone?

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Andy Warren

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May 18, 2021, 1:26:30 PM5/18/21
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Good Afternoon RMH'ers!
Feel free to have a cold one on me, I'm buying...

I haven't wandered in here in years. Does anyone still post here from a smartphone? I couldn't find any way to post from my Android phone (I had to fire up my laptop to post this message).

I purchased an '84 FXRP that needs a little work, so I stopped by to see if I could find some old information. I searched for an hour, but I can't find any info on the problem that old EVO's have where they burp oil out through the breather after the bike has been sitting for a while. I had heard it was due to oil seeping past a check ball down into the crankcase. Is it possible to repair/replace the check ball or its seat to fix the problem permanently?

Frank Xzarhadjizamtheopolous

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May 18, 2021, 1:50:08 PM5/18/21
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I can't help with the bike, but it's good to see you in here! I started
frequenting the place again about 2-3 months ago. Not as many folks in
here as there was 10 years ago, though. Maybe we need some dancing girls
in here to attract more attention. <grin>

The other Andy

Phil Boutros

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May 20, 2021, 3:28:08 PM5/20/21
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Andy Warren <andy.wa...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Good Afternoon RMH'ers!
> Feel free to have a cold one on me, I'm buying...
>
> I haven't wandered in here in years. Does anyone still post here
> from a smartphone? I couldn't find any way to post from my Android
> phone (I had to fire up my laptop to post this message).

There are Usenet clients for Android. I don't use one. They
allegedly all suck. I run linux on my machines, so I just SSH into
one of those and fire up the CLI client I've used for decades. This
is probably not useful to most people.

> I purchased an '84 FXRP that needs a little work, so I stopped by
> to see if I could find some old information. I searched for an
> hour, but I can't find any info on the problem that old EVO's have
> where they burp oil out through the breather after the bike has
> been sitting for a while. I had heard it was due to oil seeping
> past a check ball down into the crankcase. Is it possible to
> repair/replace the check ball or its seat to fix the problem
> permanently?

Yep. The checkball is on the inlet side of the oil pump. The
seat is cut into the actual body. There are a few ways to fix it:

1 - Buy *two* new checkballs. Remove the spring and checkball that's
in there now. Put one of the new checkballs in there. Grab a punch
and gently tap the new checkball with a small hammer. Make *sure*
you're square on the checkball and not hitting the sides of the
tower/body. Remove that new checkball (it'll have a small dent in
it!), put in the other new one, re-assemble. If you don't want to
pull the pump apart, this is the most easiest solution.

2 - Same thing, but instead of a new checkball, use the end of a
rocker end of a Shovelhead pushrod. Same thing.

3 - If everything is apart, gently lap the seat with either a new
checkball (if you can find a tool small enough to hold it) or
aforementioned pushrod end. Obviously, if you do this, you have to
*very* thoroughly wash every single orifice and part of the body
afterwards. Lapping compound in tiny oil passages is a very bad idea!


Phil...the "I'm still here!" Asshole(tm)...
--
AH#61 Wolf#14 BS#89 bus#1 CCB#1 SENS KOTC#4
ph...@philb.ca http://philb.ca

gyp

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May 20, 2021, 5:26:04 PM5/20/21
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Andy Warren <andy.wa...@gmail.com> Wrote in message:r
> Good Afternoon RMH'ers!Feel free to have a cold one on me, I'm buying...I haven't wandered in here in years. Does anyone still post here from a smartphone? I couldn't find any way to post from my Android phone (I had to fire up my laptop to post this message).

I've posted this using the excitingly named Usenet NewsReader

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.piaohong.NewsReader

Hopefully that makes up for not being able to help with the bike
--
gyp
--

Rick Begeman

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Jan 7, 2022, 1:02:30 PM1/7/22
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More often than not I believe sumping is more due to the oil pump
leaking internally than any issue with the check ball.

It is part of the Harley adventure, you never know if it is going to
barf on your shoes when you start it!

The check ball seat does not really wear and messing with it is likely
to cause more trouble.

The real issue is that the oil tank is higher than the motor and gravity
dictates that the oil should go downhill.

On an Ironhead I have tried to add seals and other tricks but to no avail.

Drain the tank and put it on a battery tender for extended storage....
--
Ironhead Rick
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