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tappet noises

Yeah, I now have the adjustable pushrods, and we checked their adjustment numerous times. Also the front head pipe, everything there is OK. But I did replace the front exhaust gasket with an OEM part and I'm not sure it went in correctly. It's kind of a (EDIT) design.

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A Friendly Reminder - Harley Davidson Community

 
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Yup, I'd go with the adjustable pushrods. I've got mine adjusted to .100" on the adjustment. The hydraulic lifters will compress to about .140" dry, as best as I could measure.
 
How do you measure that .100? We turned them another 2 1/2 turns after they touched the rocker and lifter.
 
Most Hydraulic lifters have .200" travel, so you want to adjust pushrod to half that or .100".
Andrews, Screamin eagle, and others are 5/16-32 tpi (threads per inch)
So 3 turns will give you and adjustment of .093"
32tpi= 1/32 inch per turn OR .0313 per turn

I know s.e. adj pushrod adj says 2 1/2 turns . I adjust them 3 turns from no lash.

Ive had a concern about baggers with higher miles and having noisy top ends. and alot of them have had cam chain tensioners done recently. I have also replaced lifters with no help with the noise. Maybe Oil pump worn or Bypass spring/plunger hanging up or worn spring??
 
TQuentin1 said:
I know this sounds strange, but have you had the front pipe off? I chased a lifter/tapping valve noise for a couple of months until I took the front pipe back off and replaced the HD weave crush gasket with the Cometic C9540 Extreme Performance ones. That did it. It was an exhaust leak that "ticked" and sounded just like a lifter!!

TQ
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I agree with TQ. They sound like lifters when they leak. I learned one thing. Follow the manual exactly as far as installing your exhaust system (and yes there is a lengthy procedure) and it won't leak.

dd1228 said:
Yeah, I now have the adjustable pushrods, and we checked their adjustment numerous times. Also the front head pipe, everything there is OK. But I did replace the front exhaust gasket with an OEM part and I'm not sure it went in correctly. It's kind of a (EDIT) design.

Please read this...

A Friendly Reminder - Harley Davidson Community

Click to expand...

Also with the adjustable pushrods. Harley made two types. Thick ones and thin ones. The thicker ones have been known to rub on the pushrod tubes (especially the front exhaust one due to the awkward angle). Trust me , if the touch they are noisy. Try wiggling the tube to see if sound changes. When I redid mine I found shiney spot on pushrod where it had been rubbing. I clipped my tube off a bit shorter and that seems to have solved it? Just another thing to check.
 
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Good posting. I have always done less than what they have said. I found that (4) 1/4 turns or 1 turn works well with my SE.

Toby
 
On my old bike I didn't realize that the previous owner had installed the adjustable pushrods. I pulled the gas tank and the rocker arm covers before discovering the adjustable pushrods. Still kicking myself over that. Anyway, one of the lifters was noisy....to noisy to just be an adjustment problem, so I bought a new set of lifters. I disassembled one of the old lifters and reassembled it dry. I then used a depth Micrometer to conclude that the maximum compression on these particular lifters was .140." After reading the specifications on various settings, I decided to just set the pushrods to .100," that being a safe setting. Not knowing the particular type threads, I measured the space between the locknut and rod with a caliper and determined that turning the nut 19 nut faces equaled .100." With the plugs out to allow for easy engine turning with the rear wheel, I turned the engine until the exhaust and the intakes were at the top of the cam lobe, and then adjusted that exhaust and intakes of the other cylinder. It's that easy with only two cylinders.
 
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