Heating the plug just enough loosened up the Loctite ( I don’t know what they used back in late 60s, early 70s ) and ‘ spitting on it ‘ probably helped it contract back down a bit so it’s not so expanded from the heat
I plan on doing this real soon and from watching all these RU-vid videos on this I know I need to try and build a better set up for holding my crankshaft while working on it other than just clamping it in a vise.
I'm in the same boat, just bought a real clean '72 Bonneville where the seller only said "the motor turns over " . It does, but with a very noticeable knock coming from the left side . So, I know what I'll be doing before it ever gets back on the road . Ugh..
This might be my problem (among other things). Is there a way to clean the sludge trap without removing the crank? Like some type of engine flush. I just picked up a basket case 1966 Tiger bobber. I got it running but there is no (or very little oil return and not enough pressure to reach the rockers (I put clear tubing to see). My next step is to change to oil pump and possibly change the oil pressure relieve valve (the plunger is not moving freely). Thanks for this educational video!
The next place the oil goes after this sludge trap is through the rod bearings. If you loosen this sludge it has to all go through the rod bearings before it goes anywhere else. If you loosen up a bunch with something and it then plugs the hole to the bearing it will probably starve the bearing and mess it up. Either rod.
There's no way round stripping the engine and taking out the sludge trap to clean it. That sludge trap IS your oil filter. It separates the heavier suspended particles from the oil using centrifugal force and traps them inside the crank. Eventually the crank will become full if the trap is not removed and cleaned and you will get no oil supply to the rod bearings. Goodbye engine in an expensive and possibly dramatic way. Once the sludge trap and the crank is spotlessly clean, that's the time to add an external oil filter on the return line to the oil tank. Make sure the rest of the oil system is spotlessly clean too, the tank and hoses, because you'll be sending clean, filtered oil back to the tank. There's a filter housing made for Nortons that works really well and you can fit it on the scavenge line to take all the crap out of the oil straight after the engine has produced it. It's mostly combustion by-products such as carbon and metallic wear particles from contact between moving parts such as piston rings and cylinder walls. You can take the oil feed for the rockers after the filter so you're not putting unfiltered oil back into the engine. Once you have a full flow filter fitted you'll never have to worry about the sludge trap again as long as the oil and filter is changed at regular intervals. Regarding the pump and PRV, they can both be stripped, cleaned and serviced. The balls inside the pump can be re-seated once the pump is cleaned to ensure correct function. The threaded plugs will be out of the pump because you've stripped and cleaned it so you can re-seat the balls to their respective seats using a bronze drift and a hammer to give them a sharp but not heavy tap onto their seats. Easy life! It's a good idea to treat them to new springs when you put it back together. They won't break the bank. New PRVs are available but sometimes the quality can be dubious. Strip it apart, clean everything and fit a new spring. Get the right one for your engine, then put it back together with new seals between the two parts of the valve and between the valve and the engine. You've just saved yourself a fair bit of money and learned a few bits about your machine too.
There is no way to clean the trap other than remove the crank.40,000 mile and my own trap was half full and the sludge was solid.Took mine apart as the crank split
