Reed valve in a'48 panhead?

[doc308]

I'm getting a lot of excessive oil blowing out of my primary chain oiler and a friend indicated that replacing the breather gear with a reed valve might be helpful. Does anyone have any experience with this type of set-up in an early panhead?

[FlatHeadSix]

Doc
I'm not sure about the pans but all the flathead twins came with a tiny reed valve in the cam cover, it was part of the system and worked in conjunction with the gear driven breather valve to regulate the pressure in the timing chest. I can tell you from experience that they will definitely blow oil everywhere if the reed valve quits working.

Some time ago I posted the patent drawing of the oiling system in the knowledge base which explains how it works, I'll see if I can find it and post a link.

mike

[doc308]

Thanks , Mike.

Anyone else out there with experience and/ or advice about using a reed valve in lieu of the breather gear in an early pan?

[Frankenstein]

Believe it or not a timed breather is one of the better ways to deal with crankcase breathing. Most other solutions have their shortcomings in that the mechanisms can't keep up with the fluctuations in crankcase pressure as rpm's increase. If you're having problems with your breather system, it may be as simple timing.
Dick

[stroker93]

I have instaled a reed into a friends 51 pan,,the cavity was shot and cheaper than machining and oversize gear..I also have one goin into my pan 55,,got tore down this summer..We have seen no issues with his motor,,,I think it runs to fast ..
Dave

[Panacea]

I helped a guy at work install one in his 89 bagger, Axtell big bore with an overkill Pro-Flo oil pump, He had oil blowing down the right side of the bike every time he rode it. Since installing the reed valve and replacing the pro-flo with an S&S HVHP pump, (sound right?) he has no more mess. I think the pump was the problem all along, plus it allowed the oil to sump...Mike

[hogdoc]

hi guys i have a friend with a 48 pan and we cannot start the bike without excessive amounts of oil coming out of the breather into the primary as we have a belt conversion we really dont need this.we have a recon pump which works fine.
can you suggest any thing.we are in the uk and informed users are hard to find.hope ypu guys can help. Hogdoc

[Panacea]

Does the pump have a screw on the side with a lock nut? If it does , that's the primary chain oiler, screw it all the way in (lightly) to turn off the oil coming out of the breather pipe. If there is still a small amount getting thru, install a hose on the breather to re-direct the oil mist to the rear chain or out the back to keep oil off the belt...Mike

[King]

Hogdoc,

Sounds like your 48 is “sumping”. This occurs when the bike stands for a week or so and the check valve ball is not seating properly in the oil pump. This allows oil to flow into the motor and it ends up in the sump. When you start the bike it pukes out of the breather. Check the knowledge base as there has been a lot posted on the sumping phenomena.

Regarding the belt drive. It is necessary to run a line from the breather tube out the back of the inner primary to eliminate the breather oil getting on the belt. Use a plastic hose with a spring inside of it to prevent crimping and simply drill a hole in the inner primary to vent it out.

Best of luck,

King

[hogdoc]

thanks for the replies the oil is present every time you start up the bike i have lapped in a new check valve bearing and replaced with a new bearing.there is a constant flow of oil when the bike is running even though the oiler valve has been shut off wth a new taper .the oil flow is too much to redirect onto final drive chain.Hogdoc

[Panacea]

Perhaps the seat for the oiler screw has some crap preventing the screw from bottoming out?

[hogdoc]

we put engineers blue on taper and it has a clean ring around it when removed from taper seat?

[Panacea]

You are using a stock pump? Did you check to see if the case has ever been drilled to work with a newer pump? Of course these are stabs in the dark...

[hogdoc]

appreciate any ideas checked drillings in pump with those on casing and they match no extras thinking of blowing through with air to check where each passage way ends up could get messy.

[joe]

Not a Pan, but my 82 shovel has had the S&S reed breather in it for 2+ years and a lot of miles. No issues whatsoever.

Joe