Topic: My oil pump won't? Hmmnnnnn.........

[Terry in Australia]

Ok, so the K1 Rat is nearing completion, I keep messing up and start to paint/de-rust something before I realise what I've done, anyway, last night I'd hooked up the oil tank, fitted a nice new chrome oil filter (see what I mean?) and new oil pressure gauge on it, and filled the tank with oil, so I thought I'd kick it over a few times to get the pressure up, and guess what? Not a thing!

Hmmnnn, now this engine was a runner when I bought it 6 or 7 years ago, and has just been sitting on the floor of my garage gathering dust, but it did run, and I rode my K3 with this engine in it (my K3 still has the K6 engine that I bought at a swap meet fitted) so I know it was good, so why isn't it pumping now?

I thought maybe it was the gauge, so I took it off to watch the oil flow, but there was none? I've tried kicking the engine over by foot, then when I tired of that I went for the "electric leg", but still no pressure? Do I need to pull the pump to "prime" it? I really don't want to, it's a pain! Cheers, Terry.

[kghost]

Yeah, Probably needs a prime.

You could accomplish it with 2-3 psi air pressure on the oil tank for a couple minutes.

[Patrick]

I seem to remember reading that you could prime the pump through the oil galley plug hole.....

[Kevnz]

Hi Terry,
I know you know your way around these machines but I had exactly the same problem with mine. It was fine before I pulled it apart but not after I put it together. I did the usual things like pull the pan and check, remove oil filter to see if the oil had got that far etc. What I found was that the rag I WOULD SWEAR I had removed from the oil tank after I had painted it  was blocking the tank outlet. I know you're not that stupid but I didn't think I was either! Good luck.BTW I sold my K2 and am now doing up a 71 500\4.
You don't have good seat base do you?
Kevin from NZ

[MRieck]

Submerge and prime it Terry. Same thing happened to me after my last rebuild.

[bryanj]

Terry, you shouldnt need to prime it but has the relief valve "stuck"

[kaysystems]

Had the same problem after my rebuild. Had to take the sump cover off, then the two anti-return valve securing bolts on the oil pump. A couple of kicks had oil gushing. Put it all back together & never looked back.

So you can get stubborn air locks in the pump.

David

[Jonesy]

A wee dab o'Vegemite should have her pumpin' away just fine....

[Terry in Australia]

OK guys, I tried the air pressure thing, but it didn't work. I'll take Mike (Mister Head) Riecks advice, if I gotta go to the trouble of dropping the sump pan, I may as well go the whole hog and drop the pump too. Cheers, Terry.

[Clyde]

Terry,
Undo the plug that covers the main oil galley. This is the plug/cap that is just above and to the left of the points cover and is the one that most people screw a pressure gauge into.
Lay the bike over to the left and pour a large cup of oil into the oil way.
Works every time if all is OK

[eldar]

Put pillows around the bike in case you drop it!

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Clyde, I'll try that first, and thanks Eldy, I've got an old foam army mattress (well, they were throwing them out!:) that's handy for a bit of padding, but Clyde called me and suggested that tipping it over on to a box (say a 45 degree angle seems about right) will suffice. Clyde also said to put some oil in the sump via one of the valve inspection caps will help too, so I'll do that tonight when I get home. Thanks again guys, you're full of it! (knowledge, that is, ha ha!) Cheers, Terry.

[Terry in Australia]

And the winner is......................... Clyde! Woohoo! I tried that method of filling the sump via one of the valve inspection caps, and also syringed in a cup full of oil via the oil gallery just above the points cover, then kicked it over a few times (I haven't finished assembling the bike yet, so no carbs or electrics) and the oil pressure came up right away! I then hooked a battery direct to the starter motor, and ran the starter for a few seconds, and the oil pressure gauge read a consistent 80 psi, so all's well with the world again! Thanks for your input fella's, Cheers, Terry.