Roper plate

[Yam350]

I've just fitted a roper plate and a new oil filter (UFI) and now I don't have any oil pressure ( or at least the light isn't going out). For obvious reasons I only ran it for a few seconds. I removed the sump again and double checked everything and it all looked fine. I removed the filter and filled it with oil before putting it all back together again....... same result, no pressure. Would the system need bled or purged for some reason?

The bike was running fine before and the oil light normally goes out immediately. Any ideas would be gratefully received

[Chuck]

Uhhh, do you have the correct gaskets? If so, there's not much that can go wrong. FWIW, I have found that prefilling the oil filter actually takes longer for oil pressure to come up, but only by a second or two. If you have the correct gaskets, pull the plugs and crank it in 5 second bursts to keep from overheating the starter motor. If pressure doesn't come up then, in the words of the Chinese aviator.. Sum Ting Wong.. you have a problem. 

[Yam350]

Yes, correct gaskets, and everything lines up.

[brlawson]

If you drained the oil cooler it might take a bit longer to build pressure. Crank without plugs as recommended.

[Chuck]

When I did the first startup of the Aero engine, it took 15 seconds of sweating bullets before oil pressure came up, but it had to fill the oil filter cavity, galleries, etc.

[andy york]

pull it back apart and make sure only one gasket is on the oil filter 

or check the old filter and see if it has a gasket on it.

if its not on the filter and not in the drain pan .....well 

andy

[Lucky Phil]

I've just fitted a roper plate and a new oil filter (UFI) and now I don't have any oil pressure ( or at least the light isn't going out). For obvious reasons I only ran it for a few seconds. I removed the sump again and double checked everything and it all looked fine. I removed the filter and filled it with oil before putting it all back together again....... same result, no pressure. Would the system need bled or purged for some reason?

The bike was running fine before and the oil light normally goes out immediately. Any ideas would be gratefully received

Sometimes the system just gets an air lock and wont prime. As a last resort if you're too worried about 15 or 20 seconds of light on before you shut it down you can pull the front cover off the engine take the oil pump drive gear off and use a piece of rubber FI hose on the pump shaft and a battery drill to spin the pump and prime the system. Lot of work though.

 

Ciao

[Yam350]

If it is an airlock, is there a way of priming the system?

[MartyNZ]

Did you fit new o-rings on those two bobbins/connecting pipes which connect the oil cooler to the filter/regulator unit inside? This is in the sump spacer at the front of the engine.

Those 4 O-rings probably don't feel much pressure till the engine gets hot, but any leak is bad.

[Yam350]

Well, I've just tried plugs out and cranking it on the starter for several short bursts. I then started it and held my breath for 15seconds.........no change. The light isn't even flickering suggesting low pressure. I'm happy to have it all apart again, but what am I looking for? The whole thing can only go back one way and in any case I've already dropped the sump to double check. The mesh filter around the pickup is clean and all gaskets and o rings were replaced. If there was an internal leak I'm guessing I'd have some pressure, but this looks as if there is no oil circulating at all. When I removed the sump again to check, there was no oil in the filter (I hadn't filled it prior to fitting) which supports this theory. I did fill it before putting it back together, but no change. Any ideas?

[czakky]

You've got the gasket on top of the Roper plate and below there are (3?) oil galleys surrounded by little loops of gasket material. I'd check there I know I've had a gasket break at that point before.

[Chuck]

Ok, pull the pump off and pack it with grease. That is recommended for startup on a fresh overhauled aircooled VW. I've never heard of a Guzzi pump not priming, though. This may be a first. I'd try Phil's method before going through that.

[andy york]

Oil pressure sending unit-wire still attached?

[Chuck]

Oil pressure sending unit-wire still attached?

He said the oil filter hadn't filled. 

[Scud]

You've got the gasket on top of the Roper plate and below there are (3?) oil galleys surrounded by little loops of gasket material. I'd check there I know I've had a gasket break at that point before.

 

My LeMans was running for a long time with low oil pressure and both of those 3-hole tabs were missing. When I installed a plate and good gaskets, my pressure went back up to normal levels. So... even if there is damage to that portion of the gasket the engine will still hold some pressure if everything else is working.

 

Moving on from the gasket...

 

It seems most likely that the problem will be something that was touched during the installation - and least likely that an untouched component (like the oil pump) will fail coincidentally.

 

Is there any effect if the two oil lines from the cooler get swapped? I know it's possible to get those lines crossed, but I don't know if it makes any difference.

 

If the concern is that the oil pump has air in it, could the oil cooler be removed - then refilled with fresh oil, along with pre-filling both oil lines? That would certainly be easier than removing the oil pump. But if you're gonna remove the pump, have a timing cover gasket on-hand, and think about upgrading your timing chain tensioner "while you're in there."