Problem with my EVO oiling

[countrycorby]

Hello everyone. I'm new to the forum and look forward to learning alot.

My neighbor asked me to change his oil yesterday in his '99 Standard Softail, and so I did, and afterwards I started it up and the oil light immediately came on. I shut it off and then he told me it did that on his way home the day before ...... !!! Anyway, I started it back up and watched with a flashlight, for oil circulation in the tank. I seen no movement. I removed the new filter to see if any oil had made it there and the only oil that was in there was the half quart I put in it before putting the new filter on. So, I guess my question is - are the key stock on the pump drive shaft sheared or could there be another reason why I'm not getting flow? The bike has been barely ridden, it's a '99 with about 12,000 miles on the ticker.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
- Mike

 

[HDDon]

Welcome to the forum. There could be several issues and yes the key being sheared, but it could also be that the check valve (ball) is not releasing and this would cause no oil circulation. When you changed the oil did you check and clean the tappit screen?

 

[countrycorby]

I did not ...... normally I do when changing my own and never find any gunk or trash in it. I will check it . What are some of the other potential causes?
Thanks,
- Mike

 

[TQuentin1]

'99 Softail should be the EVO engine. As such, the oil pump is mounted on the rear side of the cam chest and driven by a shaft into the cam chest. There are half moon keys on the shaft inside the cam chest and two on the shaft in the oil pump driving the oil pump gears. I would guess that if the oil pump is not working, the key inside the cam chest that drives the oil pump drive gear has sheared.

Hard to understand how this would have happened just from an oil change. Was there anything that happened prior to this? You mentioned that your buddy said the oil light came on before the oil change. Did it come on and stay on? How far or long was the bike operated in this condition?

Definitely do not operate the engine until this is resolved and the reason for no oil flowing has been determined and corrected.

Cheers,

TQ

 

[Jack Klarich]

Here is a picture of your oil pump

 

[Jack Klarich]

EF.
NO. PART NO. OIL PUMP
DESCRIPTION SOFTAIL
CUSTOM RETAIL
PRICE EACH
PRICE EACH
1 239 PIN, VALVE STOP 1 1.00 0.99
2 891 SCREW 2 4.99 4.49
3 942 SCREW 2 0.99 0.49
4 4742A SCREW 4 2.49 1.99
5 6099 WASHER 2 1.49 0.99
6 6239 WASHER 4 1.49 0.99
7 8873 BALL, CHECK VALVE - 3/8" DIA. 1 1.99 1.99
8 11002 RETAINING RING, OIL PUMP 1 3.49 2.99
9 11105 O-RING, CHECK VALVE COVER SCREW 2 0.99 0.99
10 11241 O-RING 2 0.99 0.99
11 26030-92 END CAP (BLACK) 1 20.99 18.99
11 26050-92 OIL PUMP (BLACK) 1 366.99 330.49
12 26226-92 BODY, OIL PUMP (BLACK) 1 146.49 131.99
13 26207-83 SPRING, RELIEF VALVE 1 1.99 1.49
14 26227-58 OIL SEAL 1 7.00 6.49
15 26267-92 COVER, OIL PUMP (BLACK) 1 46.99 41.99
16 26262-80 SPRING, CHECK VALVE 1 1.99 1.49
17 26263-80 COVER SCREW, CHECK & RELIEF VALVES 2 5.99 5.49
18 26273-92 GASKET, BODY (PAPER) 1 2.99 2.49
19 26276-92 GASKET, COVER (PAPER) 1
20 26315-68A DRIVE GEAR 1 19.99 17.99
21 26317-68A IDLER GEAR 1 19.99 17.99
22 26326-62A DRIVE IDLER GEAR 1 19.99 17.99
24 26328-74 DRIVE GEAR 1 13.00 11.99
25 26345-73 DRIVE GEAR, 24 T 1 52.99 47.49
26 26346-70 DRIVE SHAFT 1 20.49 18.49
27 26348-15 KEY, DRIVE SHAFT 3 2.49 2.49
28 26348-36 RETAINING RING, DRIVE SHAFT 1 1.49 0.99
29 26400-82 VALVE, OIL PUMP 1 5.49 4.99
30 45830-48 PLUG 2 1.99 1.99
31 63533-41 FITTING, STRAIGHT 1 3.99 3.99
Here is the legend for the part numbers, I have seen this happen 1 time, I had to replace the bushing in the case also

 

[Jennmarr]

I guess I am a little confused here. The oil light came on an stayed on while he was riding, or it came on briefly and then went off? As to the oil light coming on following an oil change, that is normal behavior. It takes a bit for the system to build pressure following an oil change. How much oil did you get when the oil was drained?

 

[Jeff Klarich]

I guess I am a little confused here. The oil light came on an stayed on while he was riding, or it came on briefly and then went off? As to the oil light coming on following an oil change, that is normal behavior. It takes a bit for the system to build pressure following an oil change. How much oil did you get when the oil was drained?

The way I understand the OP's post is the light was on prior to the oil change and still is on after the change. No oil was circulating in the tank upon inspection. :shock

 

[countrycorby]

TQuintin1,
My buddy told me that the oil light had came on prior to the oil change. He did, however, say at one point that it had gone off or I was led to understand that. So, yes you are correct, the oil change did not cause this. I am also leaning toward the sheared key on the oil pump drive but I have trouble understandin why this would happen on an engine with such low miles ( roughly 12,000 ). my buddy is completely mechanically dis-inclined and a bit evasive and onery but he is my neighbor so I try to help out.
I don't understand what could possibly have gotten into his oil that would bing up his pump as to shear the key. It's not cold enough out to be moisture that my collect there and freeze so i am a bit puzzeled. Weds. I am going to chect the tappet screen and check valve before I go deeper.
Thanks
- Mike

Jennmarr-
He said the light came on and then said it had gone out but after I changed the oil and filter and started he said that it never went off after it came on ...... I know I'm a bit confused as well. You have to know this guy, I almost feel like I have to interrogate this guy to get the needed info on what's going on. He told me that the light came on on the way home from town which is roughly 5 miles. So, assuming this is what happened then he has ridden the bike 5 miles with no oil pressure = (
I'm just tryinh to help him out to save him a few bucks.

EF.
NO. PART NO. OIL PUMP
DESCRIPTION SOFTAIL
CUSTOM RETAIL
PRICE EACH
PRICE EACH
1 239 PIN, VALVE STOP 1 1.00 0.99
2 891 SCREW 2 4.99 4.49
3 942 SCREW 2 0.99 0.49
4 4742A SCREW 4 2.49 1.99
5 6099 WASHER 2 1.49 0.99
6 6239 WASHER 4 1.49 0.99
7 8873 BALL, CHECK VALVE - 3/8" DIA. 1 1.99 1.99
8 11002 RETAINING RING, OIL PUMP 1 3.49 2.99
9 11105 O-RING, CHECK VALVE COVER SCREW 2 0.99 0.99
10 11241 O-RING 2 0.99 0.99
11 26030-92 END CAP (BLACK) 1 20.99 18.99
11 26050-92 OIL PUMP (BLACK) 1 366.99 330.49
12 26226-92 BODY, OIL PUMP (BLACK) 1 146.49 131.99
13 26207-83 SPRING, RELIEF VALVE 1 1.99 1.49
14 26227-58 OIL SEAL 1 7.00 6.49
15 26267-92 COVER, OIL PUMP (BLACK) 1 46.99 41.99
16 26262-80 SPRING, CHECK VALVE 1 1.99 1.49
17 26263-80 COVER SCREW, CHECK & RELIEF VALVES 2 5.99 5.49
18 26273-92 GASKET, BODY (PAPER) 1 2.99 2.49
19 26276-92 GASKET, COVER (PAPER) 1
20 26315-68A DRIVE GEAR 1 19.99 17.99
21 26317-68A IDLER GEAR 1 19.99 17.99
22 26326-62A DRIVE IDLER GEAR 1 19.99 17.99
24 26328-74 DRIVE GEAR 1 13.00 11.99
25 26345-73 DRIVE GEAR, 24 T 1 52.99 47.49
26 26346-70 DRIVE SHAFT 1 20.49 18.49
27 26348-15 KEY, DRIVE SHAFT 3 2.49 2.49
28 26348-36 RETAINING RING, DRIVE SHAFT 1 1.49 0.99
29 26400-82 VALVE, OIL PUMP 1 5.49 4.99
30 45830-48 PLUG 2 1.99 1.99
31 63533-41 FITTING, STRAIGHT 1 3.99 3.99
Here is the legend for the part numbers, I have seen this happen 1 time, I had to replace the bushing in the case also

Thanks Jack for this info, I have a service manual for my '96 which has the exploded view of the pump but the part # and price list is helpful. Thanks
- Mike

 

[Jennmarr]

I don't want to belabor the obvious, but given the lack of clarity about whether the oil light was on, I will offer a couple of thoughts. I asked earlier about how much oil you drained out of the bike. The reason for the question is that if there was only a couple of quarts in it, it is possible to lose oil pressure during acceleration, braking, or hard cornering. Secondly, because of the design of the oil system, looking in the oil tank for circulation before pressure builds doesn't really tell you anything. There won't be enough oil returning to the tank for you to see circulation until the filter is full. Even with everything working correctly it can 20-30 seconds (seems like minutes sometimes) for the pressure to come up.