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How to check Oil pump drive gear for XB,Tube,Blast

14-12-2014 - Here is a little guide, on how to check your oil pump drive gear on a Buell XB 03-07 and all Tube frame Buell models, and all Buell Blast models

Here is a little guide, on how to check your oil pump drive gear on a Buell XB 03-07 and all Tube frame Buell models and all Buell Blast models.

A guide to check and small guide to replace the Oil pump drive gear. You can find a new one here, we ship worldwide.

 

Where is that oil pump gear ?

The oil pump drive gear is located in the right side off the engine behind  the gear cover, mounted on the crankshaft  with the cam drive ( pinion )  gear

 

 

What is the problem ?

The oil pump drive gear wears out to soon, mainly on the air-cooled Buell models, while some highly tuned Sportsters can also have issues with this 

especially the Tube frame models due to the position off the oil pump,

On the Buell XB models 2003 to 2005 this problem is a little less, because the position off the oil pump has changed.

For the 2006-2007  Buell XB models, Buell started to use the beryllium bronze version in the production models  ( this was already available as performance accessory upgrade partnumber 26391-06 )   and has reduced the problems to very little. (still inspection is needed to be sure)

In 2008 the complete oil pump system was upgraded on the Buell XB series , and fixed this problem for good.

The wear is very much depended on the engine build quality , bearing tolerances and how the crank run out in the factory  , but riding style can also play a important role in this , usually the wear is uneven wearing  one side off the gear harder than the other side

 

What can happen if left un-checked

* picture credits Spudman on Badweatherbikers.com

The drive gear can break,  when this happens the oil pump will stop working , so no oil pressure to the engine, when your oil pressure sensor and light works you will see the warning  and cut the engine, preventing further damage as broken metal pieces in the engine is not healthy, and running the engine without oil neither

 

if the pump gears chipped the debris can flow in the oil pump return, blocking or breaking it 

* Picture credits Spudman badweatherbikers.com 

 

So checking ?

Yes please , in any case know how the condition is of your drive gear,

XB 03-05 are more gentle with there gears , and we would advice to do the first check with about 30.000 km  ( 18000 miles )  to determine the wear  

XB 06-07 really high Km  reading , check theme with a big service, to see if there is wear, experience tells us on these models the oil pump drive gear is not a real issue   

On the Tube frame models we really advice to check this as early as 16000 km ( 10000 miles ) to get a good reference on the wear.          

And for Tube frame Buell models we  advice to replace for the Beryllium bronze gear  part number 26391-06  as a pre caution

 

  

 How to Check,

Checking is relative easy, usually best done to getter with a oil change , as you need to remove the oil lines

Below is the procedure performed on a Xb model , the basic handling for a Tube frame model  is the same pictures added 

Drain the Oil, remove oil filter and remove the exhaust

Loosen the oil fine fittings ( feed, return and pressure out let ) , hold the oil pump fitting with a spanner so this fitting  will not turn loose

and unscrew the 2 allen bolt holding the oil pump to the case

Now you can take off the oil pump

how it looks with a Tube frame Buell , shock absorber needs to be removed or loosend ,  the oil feed and return can stay on, the pump outlet needs to be removed 

Using a mirror and flash light is very useful the check the wear on the drive gear,

put the bike on a rear stand and in gear to turn the engine to check the other side off the drive gear as you see the difference in wear visible

and the other side 

 

clearly visible there is a differance in wear , important to turn the enigne over !

 

replace the gear, to stop the oil leaking , as we need to rotate the engine, I mount back the oil pump using a new gasket , and a little loctite on the allen bolts

fasten al the oil line fittings and screw on the oil filter, try to hold all oil line adaptors with a spanner as they break easy 

drill out the rivets holding the timing cover plate, and tap the ends out with a drift 

 

and remove the base plate , by removing the 2 crosshead screws , these can be a pain to remove, a tap with a hammer on the screwdriver wil help to loosen these 

marking the timing, is a quick way to put it back the way you found it

removing the ignition sensor and remove the sensor trigger cup

the oil you see here is from the oil seal on the cam, best to replace this seal ( the same for Tube frame / Xb engines ) 

remove the airbox + covers

and loosen the headers nuts front ( easier with the engine not rotated )

rusted like this there is a big change the studs will break

remove the engine timing plug and rotate the engine to the  marking  TDC  front cylinder   

now rotate the engine down,  and loosen the rear header nuts and remove the header

remove the rocker covers and rocker boxes, as the cams run on one end in the gear cover, having the valve springs pushing down on the pushrods and springs will make it very hard , to say impossible to mount the gearcover back 

 

 

now with the valve spring tension off the cams you can remove the gear cover screws

and remove the gear cover , this can be a little hard, but try to pull the cover off in a controlled way, and check the cams don’t come o

as you set the TDC front cylinder the cams should be right on the markings

lock the pinion gear with a tool 978468 , or remove with a air wrench

and pull off the pinion gear and the 2 middle cams ( intake rear and front ) the pinion gear can be stuck, a puller will help to remove it 

slide off the old oil pump drive gear

inspect the key on the crank shaft, and slide on the new Beryllium bronze oil pump gear,

slide the pinion gear back on, put a few drops red loctite ( 262 ) on the thread and tighten to 28Nm ( 19-21 FT/lbs ) and turn the nut  15 to 19 Degrees further, apply some starting lube on the gears , put the middle cams back ( they are numbered from the front with 1 to 4 ( for XB )  you need to lift the lifters a little to put the cams in,

check if the cam timing is still as it should be, all markings lining up  and lube the cams with a little assembly lube

mount the new seal in the gear cover, and with a new gasket , mount the gear cover

tq down the cover screws to 12 Nm ( 110 in-lbs )

mount the timing cup back, and place the sensor back to the markings made

 

and mount the rocker boxes  back,  being in TDC helps, screw in all 9 bolt to position, and start tightening with the 4 big bolts , slowly tighten them , to 25 Nm ( 19-22 Ft/Lbs )

and tighten the 3 hex bolt and 2 allen bolts to 14 Nm ( 11 ft-Lbs )

turn the engine over so the rear cylinder is in TDC and mount back the rear rocker box

put the covers back on and tighten the screws to 14Nm

mount header back  ( in this case it did mean dril bought studs out first ) 

after this repair mount back the header, rotate the engine back up 

and finish the job, by putting back the bike to getter