Chief engine smoking

[Chieftain404]

Hello! I am looking for some help to get my 1947 chief running properly. The engine was supposedly rebuilt and I finally got it installed and running but it must have a lot of oil getting into the cylinders. After running it a few minutes the smoke clears a little, but when it idles it must load up with oil again because it will smoke like crazy again.
What are some of the ways oil could be getting into the cylinders? Where should I start to track down this issue? Thanks in advance!

[PaulCDF]

Wet sumping?

BEFORE attempting to start
With bike on center stand.
Remove Upper drainplug on left crankcase.
If you get oil out-flow it is wet sump.
Let excess drain out before starting.
Replace plug
Add oil to tank
Take OFF CENTER stand on onto side stand Start and Enjoy!

[PanheadFred1]

You also want to be sure you have return flow to your oil tank. If there's no return flow, you can prime the return side of the oil pump by adding oil to the return pipe in the tank.

[Chieftain404]

OK, pulled the plug on the left side and quite a bit of oil came out. I'm letting it drain and will try to start shortly. I opened the oil cap when running last and saw oil returning from the tube. It shot about a foot up out of the tank! How full should the oil tank be? Can it be overfilled?

[PaulCDF]

2 and a half quarts. Keep about 1-2" below top of return tube.

[Chieftain404]

ok thanks! I started the bike and no smoke for the first minute or so, then It stated smoking like crazy again. Tons of white smoke. Could the engine have filled with oil again so quickly?

[Skirted]

OK, pulled the plug on the left side and quite a bit of oil came out. I'm letting it drain and will try to start shortly. I opened the oil cap when running last and saw oil returning from the tube. It shot about a foot up out of the tank! How full should the oil tank be? Can it be overfilled?

Welcome Chieftain404
Can you be a little more specific on how much oil came out. Like 5oz or 16oz.

[ChiefTwoKicks]

Its hard to tell from this far away location, but I'd say your oil pump need an overhaul. Since you have a good return to the oil tank, you may have gears and clearance in the bottom plate indicated by your statement of oil squirting plenty from the return tube. Be sure to check the tiny vent tube that often times gets fouled with fluid if the tank level is too full (I run mine about an inch and a half from full) The return tube must be at least a reasonable distance from the vent line, otherwise it will become partially plugged because the oil is trying to go out the vent and onto the ground (or make a mess elsewhere) It may be that the main plunger is too loose in the bore of the pump itself. Oversize plungers are available from many vintage Indian vendors.
If the plunger is worn, and tight tolerances are not addressed, the pump may show symptoms of wet sumping !! I think the plunger tolerance is .003. Read KIWI engine overhaul manual for more guidance. The oil pump is the heart valve of your mototcycle. There should be no shortcuts or compromise with the oil pumps performance. They are expensive to overhaul and should be remediated by someone who is familiar with Indian OIl Pumps.
Your '47 pump body is one year only, the plunger is 5/8" dia. Earlier pump bodies will fit, '38-'40 have a 1/2" plunger. The outside profile of the pump body is slightly different before the '47 pump.
You should verify the pump has the 5/8" larger plunger, and the bottom plate (for the return gears) is in good shape too. Bottom plates are hard to find. Many are damaged or need serious attention. Many leak oil from being out of "plumb" or worn pilot holes, etc, Potential unverified tolerances are common.
Plenty of other info about oil pumps, but you have to scour every tidbit of available data. Again, no short cuts here. Good Luck.

C2K

[Chieftain404]

about 8 oz came out the first time I opened the plug on the left side. After running it this last time I opened the plug again and nothing came out.
I'm trying to understand how so much oil could get into the cylinders while its' running.

[Skirted]

I thought too as C2K indicated it may have been dumping oil through the pump even while running but that doesn't seem to be since confirming still smoking without excess oil in bottom
May want to insure the crankcase vent is open. Otherwise may be a serious deficiency with piston/rings/cylinder condition.

Pull the spark plugs and see if one is significantly more oiled up than the other.
Do you know who "supposedly" rebuilt the engine and any details on what was done?

[Chieftain404]

Unfortunately I have no further info on the engine. Just that it has supposedly been rebuilt sometime ago. The oil pump I purchased new (professionally rebuilt ) and installed myself.
The rebuild of the engine is seeming questionable. I was considering pulling the heads to have a look around, I suppose I will do that next. Where do I find the crankcase vent?
Thanks again for all the great suggestions

[ChiefTwoKicks]

Crankcase vent is located on the front of the right side of the cam cover, a dollar sized fitting with a tube (intended to be the chain oiler) going behind the chainguard. This vent tube is also an intergral part of the crankcase (pressure). This fitting should have a small disc underneath the fitting. It allows the suck and blow of the piston travel, so the excess pressure goes out the vent tube wet vapor lubricates the rear chain.

Here's a modern remedy to help eliminate oil blowing all over everything.... Take the vent tube fitting, remove the tube and turn the fitting so the discharge is facing up. Re-solder the lengthy
tube so it follows the right leg of the frame up toward the underside of the gas tanks. Attach a 3/8" rubber tube, about 30" long to the copper tubing. Route the rubber hose between the tanks. up and over the height of the cylinders and exit the hose along the left rear frame leg. The end of the rubber hose should be about 4 inches from the left rear axel. Secure the hose to the frame in several places. Depending on the voluume of wet vapor, you may or may Not leave the disc in place. The "reverse pee trap" should be such that the vapor should NOT blow out wet fluid, the wet fluid should gravitate back to the crankcase. Every bike is different, you may have adjust the length of the rubber slightly to minimize the "wet" vapor.

I've had this breather set-up for more than 30yrs., long before the crank vent or PVC valve breathers. This set-up helped eliminate excessive crankcase pressure.
Indian never really addressed the vapor issue, and it caused many Indian owners considerable grief. An Indian SportScout racer told me about the vent tube remedy long ago.
It works for me...

C2K

[Chieftain404]

Excellent information, thanks! I will give this a try tomorrow

[Skirted]

Item 53,54,55,56 all part of vent system. Thanks Jerry Greer's Indian for great illustrations.
GRwlhAvg92Qub99DIwfX0QqipD6cEDBUY8PaF19j.jpeg

[dukekleman]

Your oil consumption in the combustion chamber scenario sounds just like the second piston scraper ring is installed upsidedown. Seen it way to many times exactly as you describe...Just a thought