Cam chain rattle?

[jaxdwg]

I have an 02 wide glide with 85,000 miles on it. Last week I heard a rattle coming from under the cam and oil pump cover so naturally I assumed it was time to do the tensioners again, wrong, the tensioners had at least half the wear left on them. I replaced them anyway and the noise was gone for a couple hours then returned. I noticed that the outer chain seemed to have more deflection than I remembered from the last tensioner change but without a new chain to compare to I am just guessing. Question; has anyone had this problem on their bikes? bike runs fine but the rattle makes me crazy and being a master mechanic I like things right but don't want to change everything in there if I don't have to---------jack

 

[glider]

Is it possible you are mistaken the lifter roller noise for the cam chain noise and the lifters need replacing?

 

[jaxdwg]

Is it possible you are mistaken the lifter roller noise for the cam chain noise and the lifters need replacing?

Yes; that is a possibility but why would the noise go away for a few hours after re-assembly then start again? I would think the lifters would have gone right back to making noise. can you fill me in on checking for bad lifters on a twin cam? It has been running really good and then this noise but the idle and running doesn't appear to have changed------jack

 

[glider]

Jack

With 85K on the engine, I would pull them and replace them. If you want to reuse the stock push rods, then you have to open up the rocker boxes to get the push rods out or you can cut them out and replace them with adjustable push rods after the lifters are installed.Possible when reinstalling the lifters the orientation was different on start up. Did you inspect the cam lobes and rollers on the lifters? There has been some problems with the hard coating on the cam lobes degrading and also the lifter roller pins going bad.

 

[jaxdwg]

I've already got the adjustable push rods so that isn't a problem. Maybe I can convince momma that it's time to get new cams and lifters etc. Yea I guess I can do that, thanks glider, I may even switch to gear driven cams with a bit more poop hee hee! what would you suggest for just a little more poop?

 

[glider]

Many choices there Jack and everyone's choices and riding styles are different. The SE 203 as a basic upgrade will give you a bit more pop without running into any problems. You should also consider the roller chain upgrade found in the new 96 motors instead of the gear drives. Less noise and more tolerant of any shaft run out.

Roller Chain Conversion - Harley Davidson Community

I think in the future this unit will replace the gear drive in these engines.

 

[jaxdwg]

Thank you glider, much appreciated----jack

 

[TQuentin1]

My little bit here, too. I went back and forth on the gear drive/roller chain conversion dilemma for a few months. I have finally settled on the roller chain, and have all the stuff to do that this weekend. Not cheap, but doing the work on the bike myself saves tons!!

Do you know if your inner cam shafts bearings are the new torringtons or the original? That is another thing I am worried about beyond the pads on the tensioners.

If you have the adjustable pushrods, swapping out the lifters is pretty easy. Going back in with a new set of the B lifters is not too bad cost wise.

TQ

 

[jaxdwg]

Ok guys; I changed out the lifters to the upgraded B lifters and about half the noise is gone but I still have a bit of a rattle. I guess my next step is to put in the new chains and check my bearings really close. the bearings looked and felt good the other day by I didn't look extremely close because that isn't what I thought was wrong. Hey I'm gonna get good at this if I keep going back in there. btw the chains are 85.00 each, shoulda bought stock in harley----jack

TQuentin1; The inner cam bearings on my engine are caged needles. If that is what you are calling torrington bearings, that is what I have. One outer bearing is a caged roller and the other is a ball bearing-----jack

 

[glider]