What causes wet Sumping?

What causes wet Sumping?

The term wet sumping is used to describe when oil fills the crankcase of a dry sump system. There are two causes for this: Oil is not returning to the tank or oil is seeping through the pump while the engine is sitting unused. Both are oil pump related issues.

How does Harley oil system work?

Harleys, you see, have dry-sump engines. That means the oil sits in a tank totally separate from the engine, usually under the seat somewhere, and is pumped in and out by an oil pump that bolts to the outside of the engine.

How do you stop wet Sumping?

Wet sumping prevention – electrical interlock to a pressure switch in the oil line. A different approach would be to put a cut out switch at the end of the line (off the rocker feed) so that any loss of oil pressure would kill the ignition.

Why is oil coming out of my crankcase breather?

If the engine is producing blow-by gases faster than the PCV system can dispose of them, an increasing surplus becomes trapped in the crankcase, causing excess pressure and, inevitably, oil leaks. In addition, the low-level vacuum draws in fresh air to the crankcase from the crankcase breather.

What is a dry sump on a motorcycle?

A dry sump is a lubricating motor oil management method for four-stroke and large two-stroke piston internal combustion engines that uses external pumps and a secondary external reservoir for oil, as compared to a conventional wet sump system.

Why do Harley Davidsons leak oil?

Oil Plugs Side crankcase plugs and valve cover plugs can also be a source of leaks on your Harley motorcycle. Oil drain plugs leak when they are not tight. Vibrations on the motorcycle can cause the oil drain plug to come loose, leading to oil leaks.

Why is my motorcycle leaking oil?

Oil filters normally wears out and a common cause of leaks. Oil pan seal between motorcycle engine block, eventually the oil pan will wear out, dry and brittle allowing the oil to seep out. Drain plug or filter cup can be a culprit. A plug with worn or misaligned threads can also cause oil to spill out.

What causes oil to come out of the breather on a Harley Davidson?

Top breathing engines breath, or vent, through the top breather bolts which are threaded into the heads of a Harley Davidson motor. The air inside a motor is saturated with oil. When oil drips out of an air cleaner assembly, it is usually an indication that the air cleaner element is due to be cleaned, or changed.

Why is there oil coming out of my air filter?

Oil in the air filter is most commonly caused by blow-by. The Air filter protects the engine from dirt, dust, and other contaminates. So then, what is blow-by? Blow-by occurs when the air-fuel mixture or combustion gases escape from the combustion chamber and into the crankcase at the bottom of the engine.

Why is oil coming out of my tank?

The oil level is too low. Low enough that the intake port or pick-up tube in a reservoir is able to draw in air. This can cause aeration of the oil and as that bubbly or foamy oil rushes back to the tank, it can be more than the tank volume and can come out of the vent cap.

Why is oil coming out of the filler cap?

The blowby gasses are flowing up from the front of the engine through the timing chain passage towards the rear of the valve cover so blowby actually blows most of the oil spray away from the oil cap. An engine with high blowby is more likely to have lots of oil in the air filter housing.

Why does oil come out of the vent cap?

This can cause aeration of the oil and as that bubbly or foamy oil rushes back to the tank, it can be more than the tank volume and can come out of the vent cap. There are other ways the air can be introduced into your system that we will cover in another blog post.

Where is the leak in the oil tank?

Before addressing tank top filler pipe fittings as a leak source, make sure the oil leakage is from the top of the oil tank.