What's this loud tapping sound from my new engine?

[DuckRyder]

Yep the filter will stop them as along as the media remains whole and the bypass remains closed.

Based on 10 minutes of mostly idling, I would say it should be fine, clean the engine, oil pump and pickup as outlined above, some guys like to pack the pump with Vaseline to help re-prime it.

Look at the pump gears and cover for damage maintain the orientation of the gears... If the pump looks bad lets reevaluate the situation...

The FRPP tray is for all practical purposes a Cobra Jet tray, obviously it wouldn't pass a concours inspection and I can't say if it is identical in every respect, but it is darn close if not...

[robroy]

Hey Robert thanks for replying!

Yep the filter will stop them as along as the media remains whole and the bypass remains closed.

That's great news! Sorry if this is automotive common knowledge, but what does it mean for the media to remain whole? Do you mean the filter would stop large shavings, but perhaps not tiny shavings? And how about the bypass--what's that?

Based on 10 minutes of mostly idling, I would say it should be fine, clean the engine, oil pump and pickup as outlined above, some guys like to pack the pump with Vaseline to help re-prime it.

Ah, that's good to hear. Vaseline huh? That's a surprising material to use, but OK!

Look at the pump gears and cover for damage maintain the orientation of the gears... If the pump looks bad lets reevaluate the situation...

Okay doke, I'll pull the pump out and look at its guts in detail.

The FRPP tray is for all practical purposes a Cobra Jet tray, obviously it wouldn't pass a concours inspection and I can't say if it is identical in every respect, but it is darn close if not...

Hey that's great! Maybe I'll order one of those and use it, if it will clear my oil pump area more easily than the Milodon tray (and if it doesn't require trimming). That said, I was DEFINITELY rotate the engine over and check for clearance this time. I won't make that mistake again!

Thanks Robert!
Robroy

[DuckRyder]

The filter has an internal element, usually some sort of paper, it is possible for it to be torn or otherwise damaged.

Take a look at these two links:

http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Fi ... OilFilters

http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfil ... rence.html

[robroy]

Thanks Robert! I understand what you were talking about now. I'll read those links in detail!

Robroy

[robroy]

As ya'll know, I received this engine with a rear sump pan from Proformance Unlimited, and I had to convert it to a front sump pan.

As you also know, the rear sump pan uses the long pickup tube. In my case, that long pickup tube was fastened at the back of the engine using a stud on one of the main cap bolts.


http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4255z.JPG

While I don't think my problem was caused by this stud sticking down, it does make me wonder if the stud could have been pressing on the Milodon tray and forcing part of the tray in to the crankshaft. I'll have to test fit it again to see if that's the case.

In any event, since I'm not using this rear sump pan anymore I may as well put a regular main cap bolt here, right?

And if I did want to do this, where would I find a top quality cap bolt? I'm guessing these might only come in a set, but I'm not sure.

Thanks very much!
Robroy

[robroy]

Purely for the sake of amusement, here's a photo of my work area:


http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4282z.JPG

Robroy

[DuckRyder]

I probably would not try to replace the bolt unless you find some indication that it is hitting somewhere... even then I'd attempt o avoid actually replacing it because you never know exactly what torque spec and method was used...

[robroy]

Hey Robert, I see what you mean. I can handle "do nothing" on that one! But I'll be sure to watch carefully for clearance around it.

I removed the oil pump (man those bolts were tight) and am beginning to dissect it.

Thanks Robert!
Robroy

[robroy]

I took a closer look at the crankshaft and couldn't find any shrapnel there, so that's good!


http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4292z.JPG


http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4300z.JPG


http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4297z.JPG

Next, I'll post some photos of the inside of the oil pump!

Robroy

[robroy]

Here are some photos of the oil pump exterior. I couldn't really find any shrapnel here.


http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4309z.JPG


http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4310z.JPG


http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4311z.JPG

I also noticed a funny clip on the distributor drive shaft. This clip is meant to keep the shaft from pulling out when the distributor's removed, right?


http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4313z.JPG



Thanks very much for the fantastic advice!
Robroy

[DuckRyder]

Yes the clip is to keep the oil pump shaft from coming out.

I think I would be very tempted to replace that shaft with an ARP unit.

Pull the 4 bolts out of the bottom of the pump to see what the gears and cover look like...

[robroy]

And here are the oil pump internals (at least as far as I've gone).

I've found minimal signs of shrapnel in the pump so far. Perhaps for every two square inches of surface area I've found a single metal speck. The specks are pretty tiny--they're too tiny to easily photograph. Smaller than grains of salt, I think.

I did manage to photograph one of these specks though, and you'll see that later in this post.

I noticed some scoring on the cover plate--is this usual? The individual scratches aren't very deep, but can be plainly felt with a screwdriver or knife.


http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4314z.JPG http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4315z.JPG

The surface of the guts looked a little scored also, but maybe that's its normal appearance.


http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4316z.JPG

This is almost the same photograph, but I figured I'd throw it in just in case.


http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4317z.JPG

The surface of this little guy had some tiny scratches in it. I'm not sure if they're normal or not, so I tried to get good photos (as with all the other photos here, the links go to full resolution versions).


http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4318z.JPG http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4319z.JPG

The top and bottom of this guy had some scratches and grooves, but none seemed very significant. This said, I have no idea what kind of surface this part normally has--perhaps a mirror finish!


http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4321z.JPG http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4320z.JPG

In this photo I focused on the recessed surface.


http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4322z.JPG

And here's the outside surface of this big guy.


http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4325z.JPG

And here's the race that the big guy rides in:


http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4327z.JPG

Here I managed to photograph some shrapnel! This tiny metal flake is visible here because of the light reflecting on the oil around it. This is the type of flake I'm dealing with. I found perhaps one for every two square inches of surface area, throughout most of the pump.


http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4330z.JPG

The next step, according to the manual, is for me to drill a hole in this plug, screw a sheet metal screw in to it, and pull it out.


http://www.robroygregg.com/Number50/IMG_4331z.JPG

I'm not sure whether the condition of the pump area I already ripped apart warrants further tear down. If not, this might be a good place to put the pump back together, since drilling the plug out seems tricky.

Should I continue the tear down?

Thanks very much for the super helpful advice!
Robroy

[robroy]

Hey Robert thanks for replying!

Yes the clip is to keep the oil pump shaft from coming out.

Great! That seems like a handy feature.

I think I would be very tempted to replace that shaft with an ARP unit.

I didn't know ARP made these! So are these drive shafts prone to being eaten alive? I'll have the area apart at least as long as gaskets take to arrive, so I could definitely order an ARP unit and install it. It probably wouldn't be too expensive.

Pull the 4 bolts out of the bottom of the pump to see what the gears and cover look like...

All done! What do you think?

Robert, thanks for all your help!!!
Robroy

[DuckRyder]

Hold off on drilling the plug out...

[robroy]

OK, will do (or, rather, will not do)! Thanks Robert!