Switch to gear drive cams if possible, use the stock plate and pump. Just remove the shoes and guide. Cut the push rods and get the SE adjustable and you're done. Up grade the cams at this time since you have to replace them anyways.

 

Why do the cams have to be replaced if I go that route?

 

Do YOURSELF a favor and do some research on cam tensioner upgrades for 88 tc engines.

I'm shocked to see a lot of these replies saying you don't have to replace anything other than the tensioner shoes

An upgraded oil pump and hydraulic tensioners are two upgrades, its not all just "smoke and mirrors".

 

Because gear drive cams use gears and your cams use sprockets.

IMO Nothing regarding the cam chest is cooler than not having looked in there since January 2011 and 65,000 miles ago. That's when I installed my gear drive cams. (The bike now has about 146,000 on it.) And all for a cost of about $700 total.

I installed a kit found on EBay complete with Torrington inner bearings, S&S gears and a set of Andrews '26' gear drive cams that are appropriate for my 95" motor. (The seller was North Shore Cycles and I paid $535 for the kit as I recall.)

I bought the bearing puller on EBay and sold it right back on EBay when I was done. I paid my Indy $25 to press on my gears.

My bike was a no brainer in that my crankcase is from the '99 to '02 era which featured the Timken Lefty bearing set up. (That's one of the reasons its still running like new I suspect.) You don't have that, but you do still have a cold forged crankshaft and unless you beat on it regularly you should be fine with the gear drive option. Just be sure to check your run out first.

BTW, I never did anything with my cam plate or oil pump. They are still original and still work just fine.

All this having been said, the HD upgrade kit must have some merit. Guys with '07's and up rarely seem to bitch about their tensioners on here very much.

Good luck.

 

That is correct.."it's not all" but it still leaves one link chain in the back since the rear cam sprocket cannot be replaced. In my mind, if you have two weak links(the two link chains) and only replace one, how can that be a upgrade. The stock oil pump is fine if not broken and it will go 100K. And running a link chain with a hydraulic tensioner adds no life to it. That has been proven over and over on here by users with pictures. In fact,most show the hydraulic tensioner may increase the wear probably due to the higher volume oil pump. However, riding habits also may contribute to this if the bike is driven at high rpm thru the gear changes and high speed on the road.

 

Why? It's a valid repair. Monitor the tensioner shoes, replace when worn. No different really than monitoring brake pads or tires and replacing when worn.

 

Exactly!! Check replace shoes every 20-30k. Like other wear/ maintenance item. Sure a "full" upgrade to late model Hyd setup (with both chains) will increase the interval to 40-60k but the extra cost isn't worth it in my book. Gears are foolproof if runout is good but with modern crank scissoring issues I wouldn't run them without welding the crank.

 

I usually don't make the call on what the best option is untill I get into the cam chest. I've seen bikes with 30K miles on them with minimal wear on the stock shoes, and i've replaced complete engines with 30K miles on them because the shoes were gone and metal on metal trashed an engine, i've also seen everything in between. If there is not a ton of wear I usually recommend just replacing the shoes, you will normally get more miles out of the replacement set than the originals simply because the chain is "polished" and not as rough from the use. (I always take special care to re-install the chain the same direction it came off), if there is a lot of wear for the mileage on the bike I recommend doing the hydraulic upgrade, the new hydraulic tensions last a lot longer than the spring type and again, if you put the rear chain on rotating the same direction as it came off it will last even longer. The upgrade comes with the high volume oil pump which IMO is never a bad idea. Conversion is another option but you are limited with the choice of cams.

 

Do the screaming eagle can chain tensioner upgrade. New hydraulic tensioners, cam plate and higher flow oil pump. I did this upgrade to my last bike(05 electraglide). I had the dealer do it during the winter. They had some specials going on if I bought the parts from them and let them do the work.

 

I like the approach at Sauk-Prairie HD. They inspecy your tensioners, for $125. If Ok don't do anything. If bad, replace or upgrade, with the $125 credited to repair.

I just had the SE upgrade at 30k. I didn't get the adjustable pushrods, and saved some labor, because they did it at the same time as a leaking bottom gasket repair.

I plan on keeping my bike, so I didn't hesitate to upgrade.