i started a project last week to paint the cam and primary covers on my wife's 2011 nighster. And also replaced the top half of the rocker box covers with black ones.

When I removed the cam cover I didn't remove the bottom half of the rocker box covers so there was still tension on the valves. I think that because of this I had to muscle the cam cover back on to the bik. I had a hard time aligning the cam gears with the bushings on the cam cover. But after some persuasion the cover went on.

I put everything back together. Idled the bike for about 5 minutes on three different ocasions to check for leaks. The first time I idled it I see some light smoke coming from the front cylinder after about the first 5 minutes. It was barely noticeable and it was really hard to tell where exactly it was coming from.

I turned it off and let it cool down. Started it up and had the same problem twice.

I thought it was an exhaust leak. I took a close look and noticed that the exhaust flange wasn't sitting flat on the exhaust port. so I re-installed the exhaust and tried it again. This time the smoke was still there but much less noticeable.

Shut it down, let it cool off and then restarted it again, this time I heard a loud ticking from the front rocker covers and it was idling a bit erratic. So I said **** it, let me test ride it.
As I start pulling out of my deiveway I start to realize that the exhaust just doesn't sound the same, it's off a bit. And on deceleration it pops more than usual. So I go about two miles to the gas station and fill it up with gas.

As I leave the gas station the motor is still making that loud ticking noise in the front rocker box. And now when I'm stopped the bike wants to stall so I have to keep the throttle slightly open to keep it alive.

At this point I decided to ride it to my dealership which is 3 miles from the gas station I was at. It ride fine in the highway even though it was still sounding weird and popping.

The head wrench at the dealership who's a personal friend of mine came out to the parking lot and listened to it. Right away he mentioned that the loud ticking from the rocker box was caused by a lack of oil in that area. Somehow oil was not making it up to the rocker box cover area.

I told him I hadn't released the pressure on the valves when I was installing the cam cover so he told me that the cams might have gotten out of timing while I was muscling the cam cover back on.

He recommended I went back home and pulled everything off and check the cams to make sure they are timed correctly. Here's a picture of what I had when I took the cover off.


The cams are timed correctly, the marks line up perfectly. What's important to note here is the gasket.

ITS THE WRONG DAMN GASKET !!!!!!!

You guessed it, The stealer sold me the wrong gasket for the cam cover install !!!!!!! Notice on the bottom portion of the gasket where one of the bolts used to secure the cam cover actually went through the gasket because the gasket didn't have an opening for the bolt to go through.
Also notice on the top portion of the gasket how the oil passages are partially blocked by the gasket. This is the reason the front rocker was making that loud ticking. Like my friend suggested, oil wasn't making it up there. I suspect that the smoke coming from the engine when I was idling it was excessive heat from lack of oil.

After examining the inside of the rocker box covers and all the parts inside the rocker box everything looked good. No signs of any parts hitting each other. Pushrods are straight and clear, blew them out and they were good.

I went back to the dealer and spoke to the parts guy who sold me the wrong gasket. Told him about it and he was apologetic, I purchased the correct gasket along with all the other things I need to re install everything and left before I freaked out.

I'm gonna put it all back together tomorrow and hope it runs good.

I'm a bit concerned if there was some damage done to the cylinder walls due to the lack of oil. The head gaskets look good and there is no signs of seapage anyehere on the jugs.

I didn't ride it very far or very hard before realizing what the problem was so I'm hoping no damage was caused.

Can someone tell me if I'm just having wishful thinking here hoping the cylinders are not shot.

or should I make a big stink about this at the dealer. I'd like not to do that, they treat me really good there. Other than selling me the wrong parts haha b
Attached Thumbnails

 

Wow. So many reasons for that motor to have gone to pieces.

 

Tell me about it!

Wondering if I should make an issue of it at the dealership.

Anybody have any input on that ?

 

You should point it out, but several things are wrong here.

Removing the cam cover without removing rockers is bad and could cause serious engine failure.
Idling for 15 minute sessions is not good. Excessive heat is the killer of air/cooled motors. With no oil to a head and the heat of long idling periods, I'm surprised it didn't seize.
Riding the bike with an abnormal noise is bad.
Even with the wrong gasket, blocking the oil port should have been noticed. This is a live and learn situation. You'll double check every part you buy going forward.

I would certainly tell the management about the wrong part, but, not trying to be harsh, you own most of the issue. Get a service manual, and If all is well after repair, just chalk it up to experience

 

Thanks for your opinion. I knew someone would come in here with the typical "get a service manual" answer.

I do own a service manual and I happened to overlook the part where it called to remove the rocker covers in order to remove and re install the cam cover.


I've had the rocker boxes and cam cover off on my rocker more times than I can recall. This was my first venture into the world of sportsters so I'm not too familiar with these engines.

Wrong Gasket is VERY close in appearance to the correct one. So anyone could have missed it and not realize it was the wrong one.

One thing you're right about is that from now on I will be watching out for being sold the wrong gaskets and/or other parts.

Anyone else ?

EDIT: I should change that first post. I didn't idle the thing for longer than 5.

 

Once again. Not trying to be harsh.

Good luck with it.

 

I didn't think you were being harsh at all. It's your opinion and that's ok man. That's one of the reasons I've been part of this forum for 6 years, I like to hear other's opinions.

I disagree with some of it and that's ok too.

I was over confident going into the project. Being that I've done all of my work on my rocker. That overconfidence caused me to miss a major detail of the job (removing both of the rocker box covers) for that I am to blame for sure.

The gasket issue is what I am annoyed about the most. That's what caused the motor to run shitty the way it was.

I have a feeling I would have been ok otherwise since my cams were not thrown out of whack when I was installing the cam cover. Even though I didn't take the rocker boxes off.

 

Dealer sold you the wrong gasket, you put on the wrong gasket even though you would have had to force the lower bolt you spoke of through the gasket. So 2 lessons here, compare closely old with new and never force a bolt either in to its hole or to start its threads. Ive had multi-hole gaskets where 1 bolt didnt want to go easily into its hole. The hole would be there just slightly misaligned to where the edge of the gasket hole would just catch on the bolt. Take it back off, realign and try again.

I wonder what gasket they sold you though? I didnt think the cam cover has changed much over the years. Do you have a part number for what they gave you?

 

One minor observation, you said that upon returning to the dealer the guy apologized and sold you the right gasket. Really, they sold you the wrong part potentially causing lasting damage to the engine and they don't GIVE you the correct gasket? It's not like the gasket is an expensive item. I'd just consider it goodwill.

 

Just checked, that gasket hasnt changed since 1990 He must have tried REALLY hard to get you the wrong gasket