Cam Chain Pad Estimate

[TheOriginalEasyrider]

OP stated that the tensioner still looks good so bullet avoided. There's a lot of piece of mind having this looked at if you aren't comfortable doing it yourself. Very happy for him that he got the best possible outcome.

 

[dolt]

The OP did not reveal mileage which is definitely a factor. The thing about the early spring loaded tensioners is that they can "look good" at 20K miles and fail catastrophically at 21K miles. I know, a bit of an exageration but tensioners on my '02 FLHT were gone at 24K miles; the outer was done to the metal carrier. I was installing a cam but had I not, bad juju was headed my way. Tensioners on my '05 FXSTD were gone at 12K miles. Knowing they could go any time, I just decided to pull the cam cover and take a look.

I don't know what the OPs tensioners looked like and they may not be worn that much but I would bet a six pack that they are pitted and chunks are missing from both the outer and the inner. At a minimum, the OP should have had the OEM tensioners replaced with a set of CYCO tensioners. If money was driving the decision, the OP could pass on new lifters, inner cam bearings and lifters and eliminate the potential a future problem.

 

[TheOriginalEasyrider]

The OP did not reveal mileage which is definitely a factor. The thing about the early spring loaded tensioners is that they can "look good" at 20K miles and fail catastrophically at 21K miles. I know, a bit of an exageration but tensioners on my '02 FLHT were gone at 24K miles; the outer was done to the metal carrier. I was installing a cam but had I not, bad juju was headed my way. Tensioners on my '05 FXSTD were gone at 12K miles. Knowing they could go any time, I just decided to pull the cam cover and take a look.

I don't know what the OPs tensioners looked like and they may not be worn that much but I would bet a six pack that they are pitted and chunks are missing from both the outer and the inner. At a minimum, the OP should have had the OEM tensioners replaced with a set of CYCO tensioners. If money was driving the decision, the OP could pass on new lifters, inner cam bearings and lifters and eliminate the potential a future problem.

OP said $36k on his 06 bagger. Based on that model year I'd definitely be looking at the condition of the tensioners. And I completely agree with you. Knowing what we know today, I'd be replacing what's in there with a Fueling hydraulic tensioner "just because. If the inside tensioner looked good I'd leave it be but if I planned on keeping the bike a complete cam chest upgrade would be in the serious planning stages. When one of these tensioners or crappy bearings let go the cost to repair the damage is staggering. $1,500 in preventative care to save a complete motor rebuild makes sense to me. The MoCo's slowness in correcting early design screwups is one of the main reasons why they are widely viewed as the assemblers of low quality motorcycles. I LOVE my Harleys but I have utter contempt for their corporate arrogance.

I have two TCs, both later models with hydraulic tensioners. So far so good. I don't ride them very hard, use very high quality oil and change it often so as I've said, just because one guy has had no problems doesn't mean someone else won't. Wear is about a lot more than just mileage.

Based on no actual facts, my opinion is that heat is a major contributor to the cheap OEM tensioners failing. So again, an oil cooler and oil that dissipates heat can help a lot.

 

[dolt]

I missed the mileage in the OP; my bad. But doesn't change anything in my previous post. The factors affecting the life of the early tensioners are sevear; heat of course; heavy spring pressure; wrong material and the link chain. Budget fix is replacement with a set of CYCO tensioners; that material has proven to stand up to heat, spring pressure and once the link chain is "polished" it has much less impact on tensioner wear. Check them every 20K-25K miles which is probab ly once every two years for many.

Of course, if funds are available, I agree with TOE; a full upgrade of the cam chest to hydraulic tensioners and roller chain is the way to go. IMHO, the S&S "kit" with the pretty blue cam plate is the best option and an oil cooler is always beneficial upgrade.