No top end oil

just rebuilt tc88. Lifters pumped up okay but no oil to the top end. Took tank loose and removed front rocker cover and ran for 3 minutes. No oil. Looked down at the top of the lifter and saw oil splashing around. What did I do this time?????

From a Donny Petersen article (TC88 description by Donny Petersen) on how the "Twinkie" oil system works:

"Here’s how it goes;

The oil pump pulls oil from the oil tank into the cam support plate.
The oil is then routed through the crankcase to the filter mounted on the front of the right side of the engine.
A 10-micron filter cleanses the oil.
Then the clean oil is routed back into the crankcase and the cam support plate for distribution to;
The crank shaft through a feed bushing in the support plate
The two silent drive chains via squirting through two small oiler holes
Fills a main galley in the cam support plate to supply oil to the lifters and the top end
When oil pressure reaches 15 psi, oil is routed to the piston cooling jets, which squirt a stream of oil from their location at the base of the engine cylinder deck. Engine oil pressure is 35 psi at 230° F. at 2000 rpm. This cooling action relieves about 50° F. from piston head temperature."

Sounds to me like oil isn't making it up thru the pushrods/tubes due to some blockage and/or low oil pressure. Sportster engines is what I'm used to dealing with & I never have wrenched on a TC88, but the way to oil gets to the top end is pretty much the same & the Twinkie uses a Sportster type oil pump.

Hope the above helps & you should go thru your factory service manual's description of the oiling system too. If you don't have that manual, go get one - pricey, but worth every penny.

Rookie here, but could it be that the idle is too low. I know on my Sporty they say the idle has to be between 950 and 1050 for oil to circulate as it should. If it is using the same type oil pump maybe there is the problem. So much for the Harley Lope .

DAMM ART, WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I HAD OIL QUESTIONS:roflmao:

Low idle is not good & really, the oil pump doesn't do much until about 1800 rpm. Lots of folks set the idle way down 'cause thay like the "potato-potato-potato" sound, but the engine doesn't like it one bit. I set my Sportsters @ 1150-1200 rpm & the race engine is never allowed to run below 2000.

- Art

i would get out the psi gauge and tach, like said previously the ldle could be too low but then again did you clean everything thuroughly, if your psi is low thats idle or lack of proper restriction I.E. bad pump, wrong clearances, missing or wrong parts, but if the pressure is good, or high i would start at the point of the lifters and look for a blockage or again a bad or wrong part. the tinyest of specs can cause your problem, I try to go along the rule of thumb big problem small solution, small problem big solution. notice money wasn't mentioned. and if you keep trying to run your twink without any topend lube you will see the money factor come in to play.