Warning! All you folks watching do not forget to do the Oil Pump alignment procedure, check the run out on the crank and verify the cam plate alignment/spacer width. Otherwise great video guys. -Certified Harley Technician.
My vintage Airhead BMW motorcycles from the 70s all have Cam chains with automatically properly tension as soon as you start up the bike attraction air fills up with oil from the pressure of the bike running and it adjust the change in the proper tension and my BMW 100 / 7 1977 what is on the verge of hitting 500,000 miles with the original cam chain until the car pulled out in front of me and my motorcycle went right to her passenger door. I could not imagine going through what you guys would twin-cam go through. My vintage 1970s motorcycles are much more reliable than Harleys made 50 years later. My100 / 7 had a factory approved all day speed of 125 miles an hour. That was 1250 RPM short of Redline. But of course any of my Airhead BMWs running at Redline are still smoother than a Harley at idle. My gear drive Harley Sportster air cooled has about three hundred and seventy thousand miles on her. She was my first Harley and I was surprised at how reliable she was and how good a trekking up the miles. I wish I could reopen a Kansas City plant and make air-cooled sportsters with carburetors and V-Rod motors for people to put and whatever fights they want to put into. Plus I would love putting all those people back to work. At Triumph in the old days on Sunday people could not wait to get back to work on Monday so they can build more Triumph. In the 50s and 60s Triumph had almost nothing for warranty claims because people just get fast because they loved going to work everyday. That's why they fought so hard against the closure and they were right because they should have closed the Wolverhampton plants that built Norton's and transferred the protection to Norton's to the BS a plant. Now just like BS a Triumph did in the 70s they consider their customers to be unpaid test drivers to find out what problems they have with their motorcycles after they've spent $25,000 on a motorcycle. My dad had a knucklehead that he bought for $500 out the door before World War and it came with a certificate that it was 110 miles an hour right off the factory floor. He had that certificate on the wall in the hallway to the day he died. It is such a sorry State of Affairs that Harley-Davidson makes such crap nowadays when they used to make such great fights and to tell you the truth they embarrass themselves so much they should really just admit everything and just go out of business. You could buy any type of motor from a flathead to an Eeveelution motor from S&S aticha great motor and you could get the frame you want to seat medley you want everything that you want powder-coated to color you want put it all together and it would be much less than what you pay for the crap that Harley-Davidson puts out today. All Harley twin cam should have come out with the gear drive straight from the factory. They should have addressed any and all problems before the engine was put out on the market. AMF spent seven years developing the Evolution motor. It's not something you do overnight. And no oil cooler or extended fins on the cylinder and has to Aid in cooling because the styling Department didn't like it that's in our styling Department should not overrule engineering. Thank God I never had the money to be able to afford an expensive Harley that has all of these major problems that are built-in from the cheapest of the construction of the engine. Norton put cheap parts in critical areas of their motor and the warranty claims killed them. Like the British say Pennywise and pound-foolish.
Great job ! I'm a Video Guy and been working on HDs for 40 years... 71 Shovel and '03 & '10 Twin Cams... PERFECT Video for a DIY guy who just wants to get it done himself... Enjoyed watching right through to the end !
Thanks guys for the video. I live in Ukraine and have been tinkering with motorcycles for 25 years, but last year I bought a 2006 Electro Glide with 16,300 miles on it, and now, after watching your video, I decided to open the valve cover. Thank you, continue to help guys like me. Good luck .
I have 09 fxd w/50k but I put 30k on myself, so Rather than trade in, I'm gonna keep Rhonda, & do the work myself, your video inspired that decision, great video, my first Harley at 48 yrs old, I'm in love! GREAT American motorcycles!
Thanks for the video guys! I have a 2000 Electra Glide with 48,000 miles and a 2001 Night Train with 34,000 miles... no problems yet but I’ll be doing this to both motors really soon. I’ve been inside Evos and Shovels (I have a ‘72 FLH) but never a TC, so this video was very helpful and much appreciated.
The twin cam 88 is a great bike, except the chain tensioners. I like my Harley, hate this design/engineered failure. A very good dyi video, good explanations on the critical parts. I installed a S&S 509g on my 2004 FXSTD with 9,400 miles. I bought the bike a year ago with 5,000 miles, cheap. No worries now, plus more power from performance cams. I concidered replacement of tensioners, replace inside cam bearings for a pair of torrington bearings. The S&S gear cams are a budget buster. I kept my stock cams and chains as spares, in great shape for maybe my next twin or a friend. I have a table top press and inner case bearing rem/instl tool.
I JUST did my 2006 Nightrain and went the same route you guys did with just replacing the tensioners and reusing the stock pushrods. I got 50K on the bike so changing the breather made sense. I wish I had that tensioner remover / installer tool- I had to press out - press in my cams. Anyway, good job guys; a couple of things: you had a hard time getting the cam chest back in because you left the inside tensioner 'loaded' - don't unload the tensioners until your cam chest and cam gears are all torqued. My only other critique, judging form all the pieces of the broken tensioner; I would have remove the oil pump and checked it thoroughly. Other than the aforementioned - excellent vid and I'm so glad you got to this before all hell broke loose. That little metal rod floating around in there was freakin scary. Again- great job--- ride safe.
Hey Guys !! I can't thank you enough for this video !! I've just finished the tear down phase on my '05 WG. My first big project on a bike, pretty handy around cars, but this... this is all new to me. Just order the inner bearings as you suggested, order the install plate for those, just need to find the puller to get them out on the straight. So, we'll see. Every time I start to think I'm in over my head, I just watch some key parts of your video until I hear that voice telling me " You can do this !" 😀 Got one tip, I'll post in a separate comment. Thanks again guys .. this video was awesome !
I am a twin cam guy. My 2000 FXDWG chews up tensioners like dog toys. Hell I ran it once 25,000 miles with both tensioners in the pan . And it ran until i overheated it and had to break it down. Now with new pistons and tensioner's it ate another one in break in , I don't think my bike wants them in there, because it will run fine without them. Yea, the machine shop guys who do my heads and cylinders cant believe i will run it loose, and not be worrying about it. This time im going to go with a S&S cam-plate, and go with the newer tensioners that are not such a pain to install, if it eats those its gonna be a loose bike forever. The twin cam is a great engine if you know how to tune your Mikuni, I have 80'000 miles on mine and it has never left me stranded, and usually runs when others don't.. Nice video, you take it apart enough times you can do it in a hour. Nothing wrong with the music either
That's the way I used to approach new things, do it once to learn how to do it and then the second time to get it right... and if a third time came up, everything went very fast and with confidence. Meanwhile, there is a reason why your stuff is not lining up right... and it is probably crankshaft related. But, WTF, if it's running, ride it!
Nice video. I know it’s intended as cheap repair for close to home bike, but as much debris that one lost… I’d suggest buying one more gasket and taking the oil pan down to clean it, along with the passages to the pan and to the filter. Would also be good to inspect the oil pump.
1Appreciate you, fellas - nice up front talk and then descriptions. Got me an '01 fxst - bought it new in ''01 - that now has 20k miles on it so I am about to get into this
This was on my recommended to watch list. That is funny because I just bought a new (to me) Street Glide because my 1999 Road King has this same problem (along with a bunch of other issues). Didnt want to be without a bike for a while so now I can take my time and fix the Road King over the winter.
Really good video, I recently got a good deal on a low mileage 03 Dyna so I’ll be doing this at some point myself, definitely answered a lot of questions
Had to get rid of my shovel because my knees won't let me kick it anymore. I decided to move out of the stone age and buy an Evo. After watching your video (well done) I decided to save the problem and buy something newer then '06.
Had a primary tensioner come apart last week,Harley quoted me $3000 or more depending on labor and parts needing replacement to change over to a sreaming eagle hydraulic tensioner setup.Fuck that,after seeing your great video, i’m going OE and doing it myself.Thanks,love the parts about the clips and o-rings needed,I live 1 1/2 hr drive from closest Harley dealer so great heads up.
I'm like you, don't want to spend a ton...thank you for this down to earth, caring, sharing video. I subscribed....wish you would have cranked it up for us !!! Anyway, I'm contemplating the shorter cut, by cutting out the old pushrods, and installing new adjustable ones. I haven't yet priced them, so, I'm not sure, but it seems to me it will cut out a bunch of extra work. I know S&S makes them...who knows to I may not do that if they are way too expensive.... Thanks again...loved it
Yup did my 03 ‘ softail; bit the bullitt and ripped into it . Bolt cutters to pushrods 😁. Well did se hyd tensioners and high vol oil pump . Turned out good ; even threw in cvo 103 used cams while in there . Should changed that epa cam way back . What a diff in torque and mpg no change . Maybe even better mpg ???
QUICK HOT TIP !!!! Ok, so ... regarding the lifters and the oiling hole (20:35). When I pulled the lifters on my bike, all 4 of them were facing OUTBOARD !! That was a little concerning at first, until I did my homework !! 👉👉👉👉If you are REUSING THE LIFTERS: USE THE SAME ORIENTATION THAT THEY WERE IN WHEN YOU PULLED THEM !! FULL STOP. PERIOD !!! 👈👈👈👈👈 So, If one set had the oil ports facing each other, that's EXACTLY HOW YOU PUT THEM BACK IN !! In my case, all 4 were OUTBOARD, SO THEY GO BACK IN OUTBOARD. THE CRITICAL DEAL IS TO HAVE THE LIFTERS ROLLING IN THE SAME DIRECTION THEY HAD BEEN. Having those ports face INBOARD IS THE BEST - HOWEVER....they WILL get oiled facing in or out. So new lifters getting installed - then be sure they go in facing inboard. Also, if the lifters will be out for a while, they should be sitting in fresh clean oil until you're ready for them. Hope this helps someone.
This was unclear when I took mine out and they were opposite of what I was reading. I put them back in the same way they came out. Thanks for the tip. Always glad to confirm details like this. 👍
Excellent job on the video guys. The only thing I would like to mention though is while the genuine Harley C clips and O-rings are probably the best ones to use, the actual tensioner shoes are much better aftermarket. The orange Harley shoes are known to crumble over time where the white plastic shoes by suppliers like Twin Power last much longer and don't crumble. By the way they all have the C clips but I guess the guys that made the previous videos did not include that in their video. I have reused the C clips with success as long as I don't damage them but they are cheap enough that you can replace them anyway.
I've done this repair several times on several bikes; 2001 T-Sport, 2006 Road Kind and 2005 Softail Springer and each time I upgraded the cam plate replacing the OEM Bypass Valve with the Axtell Oil Bypass valve. The reason I did the Bypass upgrade was to ensure the mechanical chain tensioners get as much oil as possible. The Axtell upgrade increases you oil pressure to 2.8 - 3.2 BAR at full operating temp and 3200 RPM which delivers almost double the oil through put! In conjunction with the Bypass upgrade I do a full "Scavenger" oil changes which clears all the old oil from the journals (Google Scavenger Oil Change for info). I recommend this to all my friends that have gotten into their cam chests 88ci, 96ci, 103ci and 110ci TC engines and they have all reported great results.
@@JamesSmith-be3rv Hi James, it's easy as you want it to be but, while you are in there there are a couple items you might consider like replacing chain tension shoes, inboard bearings etc., but beyond that, you need to remove the cam plate to get the old valve out and the new one in. Just make sure you replace all the o-rings because with the increased oil pressure, those old brittle o-rings will leak and then you'll end up with sump issues.
I can't imagine having to do so much work every 40,000 miles. One of the independent shops I used to hang out with the wrench showed me the cam chain and the adjuster system and he said that Harley did this just so we can work on a Harley every 40,000 miles. I would rather have an evolution powered Harley anything because it was the last good motor that Harley made. Maybe next time the tensioners go out your engine will go boom. And the engine is a hundred something degrees hotter than an Evolution motor. Evo forever forever evos!
100% true. I've worked on Harley's all my life. The Evolution engine is bulletproof. I'll take an EVO, punch it out to an 87ci, cam it, and redo the carb all for under a $1000. And that bitch will run!!!!!!!!
Harley corporate also knows that most of today's Harley 'bikers' barely put more than 30,000 miles on their bike... in 10 years. Hence, more dollars spent than miles driven.
Thanks for the info. I’m familiar with the twin cam and will be rebuilding a 2002 touring model. I’m going back with all OEM parts from the year model because the owner is only gonna ride about 3000 miles a year
Thanks for the video! Do you have to align the oil pump? Or you don't, because you didn't remove it from the cam plate? The hole on the lifters go positioned towards the engine? Thanks!
I know these twin cams will start with the outside cam tensioner shoe missing I have an 05 FLSTC in my shop right now (05-2022) a guy brought me who thought it was his carburetor making it backfire. I've worked on enough Twin Cams to make my sell both mine. I'll stick with my 72 FLH and 98 Evo FLSTF plus they have no computer to screw up on ya. Good video thanks.
Great informative video guys , What about the pressed together crank ? I have heard nightmare stories of them slowly separating and causing catastrophic damage ? Tunes are a bit loud. Thanks for your time
Awsome video. Just one tip. Turn down the music or turn up voice audio. Had to keep turning down the music then turning up the volume to hear him speak.
Great video very informative I only have one constructive criticism. When you're editing turn the music down a little bit in comparison to your talking voice the music is blasting so I would rather personally hear the music a little less loud than you're talking voice other than that perfect video. Thank you for sharing
right on...If I would have known, I would have saved a few more dollars for an 07 up....it is what it is. I got some good experience out of it for sure.
The point of putting a Gear Drive in a twin cam is so you don't suffer catastrophic engine loss when the chain breaks and the Pistons kiss the valves and all that bad should happen. 70000 miles is nothing for a twin cam. The way you save money doing a deer Drive is that you will never have to mess with the cam chains or the tensioners ever again. Plus you ride with the Peace of Mind knowing that gear drives never go out my Evo Sportster has 370,000 miles on it because it has a Gear Drive, my water-cooled Wonder of a CX500 died when it was 10 years old and had 250,000 miles on it. The cam chain broke broke the camshaft into and destroyed the water pump. No matter how much I adjusted them properly they would just break and you would Coast to the side of the road knowing that your engine was now garbage. All of my Hondas died from cam chain disease. In the long run a Gear Drive will save you money. If you ever decide to sell the bike this would be a great selling point, this would be money well spent. One of the reasons I never bought a twin cam was because of the overhead cam oh, I knew from past experience that they would have trouble with it and they did. They could have done this straight from the factory but they decided to play it cheap.
Man, I had absolutely zero issues with the music. Very well done and sometimes you just can't please the Kawasaki Karens trying to convert to grown up scooters.
I live in California and I had a hard time getting just the tensioner pad sent . because of emissions. Almost had to drive out of state. But it is nonsense that the dealer doesn't inform the buyer that this is a problem. To convert with new can plate is almost a 800 bucks and since your in so far you might as well install new push rods well m8ght as well rebuild the motor. Na might as well get a new bike that doesn't have this problem.
Great video. Just bought a 99 road king and it has the crank sensor and cam sensor codes. It has 50000 mile and it makes me think the tensioners may be worn. I would like to purchase the tool you used to compress the tensioners.
You did a great job with this video. Clear and concise. You didn't mention any concern over debris that might have gotten into the oil pump or engine. My Harley has 85000 miles on it, unless the dealer changed those shoes at the 40,000 mile check up, they are the factory originals. I'm worried what I'm going to find in there. It appears to me the oil pump is right there and might have picked up shards of metal. Does the oil immediately go to the oil pump where the shrapnel would have been caught? I'm thinking I should replace the oil pump as well while I'm in there.
yeah, the oil pump is easily dissembled if you want to. You can take it apart and inspect it and clean it if you don't want to replace it. I'd be more concerned with debris getting in the cylinders. Don't think it happened on this bike. He actually replaced this setup a few weeks later with a hydraulic setup. *insert facepalm* lol
I am interested on renting the tensioner wrench and sprocket lock if it might still be possible. I need to change my tensioners out but trying to keep it all the same.
Great video, but one question. On the lifters you point out that the oil pressure hole points inboard, as to another video by a professional, says they go on outboard side. Not sure it matters, just pointing that out.
Did I miss it? or did you not replace the cam bearings? I can't understand going through all of the trouble of replacing the cams and not replacing the cam bearings.
He didn't here. He actually went back in a month later and did the full hydraulic upgrade including bearings. I videoed my upgrade with cam bearing replacement and lost all of the video. terrible. lol
also, remember that when that pad crumbles and drops down were the oil pump scavages oil it will suck up pieces of it a grenade your pump and your engine my name is George using my old lady email for comments its imperative that you change these shoes or convert to 07 new pump cams and a hydraulic tensioner or gear drives if the runout on your crankshaft is within tolerance. also, 2000-2003 had tapered left bearing on the alternator side of the engine in 2004 they went to a nontapered bearing there not as good as the tapered bearing that's why you see guys send their cases off to be machined for a tapered Timken lefty bearing. some people opp to have the cases boarded for bigger bores and new crank and rods at this point you can bore and stroke depending on what you want to spend. they should have checked oil pump cavity for scaring from pieces of the pads getting sucked up into oil pump your already there might as well check it.
NIce job I'm really interested in renting out the tensioner wrench and sprocket lock , if they are still available. I wrench on all my vehicles not by choice but necessity, who knew huh
cant remember where i read it but there was a person who said they run fine with out the shoes in place. and when you really think about it the only clue is the poor idle and the noise from the slop. as long as you done idle it low it wont stall and i would not attempt it with my machine. but i will be checking crank run out to determine if a gear drive is viable. mines a early 99 low 9020s under the back order bikes range. had the chest open at 18 looked new. 34 im breaking her down ...cant take the chance for the low cost of the parts compared to the engine. the time kinda blows but its paying dues for all those years of rides i guess..
Thanks for posting. I am facing this work in the near future and am considering the budget approach. I have heard Cyco shoes are the best shoe from HD forums. What shoes did you use?
@@stonefreeblues From my research they all fail, it's just when. 30K miles seems to be the sweet spot when to get in there and change them. Just a bad design on HD's part. A lot of twin cam engines out there with this problem creeping up.
@@eb1941 terrible design. I have to do mine soon and I just picked up an 06 Softail that I'm sure I'll be going into also. I am still deciding if I should just spend the cash for the upgrade or not.
I would love to rent the Tensioner wrench sprocket lock and lifter magnets. Im probably not going to mess with the lifters and don't want them falling in the motor!! Not sure yey about the bearings yet. I will check them when I get it apart. Im disabled so I definitely can't afford a Mechanic or too many parts or else I would do the SS upgrade. there is even a cheaper way to go with the CYCO shoes and you use the stock parts just change out the shoes I think last time i checked they were 17 bucks for both! I havent cracked the chest yet, probably literally tomorrow! I've got a 20 year old bike I just bought with 24000 miles and didn't know about the tensioners until i started looking at the shop manual. Don't want to grenade the motor I already have a boat anchor!
From watching the video the only thing Im afraif of is A the lifters falling in. I know you can take a stationary type big paper clip to hold up the lifters or use magnets. and B even more confusing is puting the chain and gears back on. I know the little dots on the gears must line up with each other and the line on the plate, but I dont know about if the first or second cylinder needs to be at TDC?? I think there's something on the top gear that need to line up also.....I think. LoL
Watched this as wanted to see what Harley riders who were capable of repairs do for failed cam chain tensioner replacement. 1st going with OEM Harley parts is the way to go. And for the reasons mentioned. You didn't put enough emphasis on torquing parts snd just tightened the cam sprocket bolts. No torquing shown or mentioned. You dipped the lifter tube in clean oil then wiped the excess off with a towel laying on the floor??? Since studying the reliability of the evolution and lalter production engines i think Harley owners are discounting the reliability of a Harley with say 80 or 100 or 200K miles on em. Service them with OEM fluids and filters. Do the maintenance as required or MORE frequently. Change out the tranny fluid early on and then maybe annually and it'll live. I'm 60 years die hard Honda, never was a Harley fan but am buying a new 2021 Harley Road Glide LTD paying cash. It's a bad financial decision, and the bike has no reverse which may not allow me its full use as I'm fighting mesothelioma. But WTF may as well enjoy what I've got left in life. I learned from your vid, initially it was great but lacking in some areas . A novice has to be carefull and be hand held through processes like this. Thanx for your vid anyway.
I just wanted to say... Congrats on your purchase and I hope you ride that Harley for many years to come. Squeeze every ounce of joy out of life you can. And damn the money !!! You can't take it with you, and whatever you leave behind those DC A-Holes aren't gonna wait for you to go cold before they are on it. So, those times ahead when you think.."Well, maybe I shouldn't".... should really be... "Well, why the fuc$ not !!" Wish you all the best !!
One thing I noticed you guys didn't do? Maybe you did and didn't show it, or I missed it? Lol! On the cam plate there is a spring loaded slider that also needs to be checked for foreign particles that may cause the slider to stop in it's tracks! Which causes it to not seal properly. Other than that, it's a great DIY Video. Thumbs up and I joined the Circle Jerk, and I ain't applyin' for the job of Pivot Man!! Lmfao!!! We can leave that position open for the ladies! Hope I don't get nailed for that comment?!
