Mike
Actually the bike lost power due to the slack in the one chain and retarded the timing about 4-6 degrees.
The one cyl ran full hp while the one with the bad tensioner ran less power cause it was chasing the other one.
I brought it in to get dynoed cause it didn't feel right.

The owner said "what's that tic noise" ?
I said honestly I don't hear ****.
He heard it. Lol

He dynoed it and I was running 10 less hp since the build. He opened her up and found the mess.

 

I just snapped those pictures so I don't really have anything more to offer.
Good question though.

My mechanic said **** sometimes just happens but he too has not seen a rash of this from this hydrolic tensioner type. To him it looks like it wore through the block to the point where the post popped up. The chain had metal to metal rub marks as you would expect.

All I can add is this is a 106 kit that performed awesome from day one and 90% of all my riding is highway, 80 mph, with a lot of fun pulling away starts from toll booths and some open runs on highways that I can safely let her stretch her legs. Other than that...........???? Maybe I should have installed the fueling tensioners when I did the 106 work. I left the stock tensioners in there and never looked at them since the 106 build at 10,000 miles.

 

Could be.....?
I think my mechanic was putting this in the **** happens bucket. Lol

 

Everyone likes pics ...
bike , 2009 flht electra glide standard ,,, 75,000 miles ...

1. Secondary tensioner and chain ... Chain is damaged due to riding over worn down tensioner .
2. Oil pump.. Showing scoring marks ,,, Also see the piece of tensioner that was in oil pump channel when removed ...

The primary tensioner was worn down, but not down to the metal insert as the secondary was ....

In my opinion,, hydraulic tensioners should be checked / replaced at between 50 and 60,000 miles ... I dont care what oil you use , or how frequently you change oil ..... Great time to cam up, and replace other ware parts in the cam chest ....

 

The old style spring tensioners I've seen are dark orange brown color. The newer hydrolic style are much more white colored, at least when new. Do these things turn a darker color after getting cooked with hot oil? I always assumed the newer ones would be white ish when pulled out. Thoughts?

 

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WOW,the 09's have an upgraded tensioner thats reported to go 70-80k+ miles NP and your was shot @ less then 50k miles concerns because i also have an 09 HD.

So i have a few questions for you that can affect/reduce srv'c life of cam chain tensioner blocks:

1) What rpm on avg do you cruise at?

I ask that because some guys cruise at let say 2,300-2,500rpm where others prefer to cruise down 1 gear lower at 2,800-3k rpm because they like the sound of their bikes or motor is built needing to cruise at higher rpm etc.

So cruising sat higher rpm most of time in cases like that will wear out the cam chain tensioners faster too.

2) How often do you change oil & filter,HD's rec 5k miles or sooner?

Asking this because changing the oil a bit earlier @ for example 3k-4k miles vs HD's rec 5k miles results in the motor always having cleaner oil with less contaminants in it resulting in less wear for all internal engine parts inc rubbing blocks on cam chain tensioners.

4) Do you run motorcycle specific oil along with what type oil (std dino/sem-blend/full syn) , what grade (20w-50?) & whos the mfg too?

5) Does you have an oil cooler with elec cooling fans along with maybe Wards or Love Jugs cooling fans (target cooling heads & upper cyls) that can collectively together reduce oil temp 50deg f in summer temp?

I mention that because the plastic & or teflon type material the cam chain tensioners are made of are affected by extreme heat that can make them more brittle & or weak.

And we all know HD v-twins generate plenty of extreme (Esp in summer cond) so point is if you can reduce oil temp up to 50deg f in summer heat cond that should also help reduce issues with premature wear on cam chain tensioners.

BTW,i installed an oil cooler with cooling fans along with wards cooling all at same time reducing oil temp 50deg f in summer heat on my 09 hd which lead to multiple improvements in overall engine perf & rider comfort right off the bat being hands down the best $$$$ i have spent on my HD thus far.

The oil temp being reduced 50deg f in summer heat on my HD resulted in no more detonation,no more valve/lifter noise,motor now maintains 10-12psi higher oil pressure @ idle & cruise too,bit less heat hitting riders,hot starts post fueling up in summer heat are faster-easier due to starter & battery being less heat soaked,motor now retains most of the power & torque it used to loose when the motor oil was running 50deg f hotter prior to installing the 2 cooling mods on my bike.

It's too bad the majority of HD riders don't believe all the benefits i got on my bike post installing the 2 cooling mods are truly the case because it made my HD much more enjoyable to ride in summer cond on many lvl's along with it also keeping oil & engine temp in check in traffic in summer cond too.

Thats something they could all benefit from but don't believe it & or don't think reducing oil temp 50deg f in summer cond in their HD v-twins isnt needed or can't benefit from it because their HD hasn't locked up and or they got 90- 100k miles out an HD without cooling the oil/motor.

They don't realize just how much oil/engine temp reduced by 50deg f affects an HD's overall perf & rider comfort till you do something like did installing the 2 cooling mods that collectively together reduced oil temp 50deg f in summer heat cond.

scott

 

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The avg mild aftermarket perf cams dont have enough additional to load the cam chains that much more then stock.

But if your running farily hot cams with more aggressive lobe design along with more additional lift along with the required stiffer valve springs to better control the valvtrain @ higher rpm range of a true perf cam is a rcp that will load the cam chains & tensioner blocks a bit more too.

Scott

 

I'm very disappointed with Harley on this topic, but that's another conversation. I was told by many respected engine builders that the new designed (07 and later) chain tensioner system / pads would last the life of the engine. I'm surprised after learning of your experience. I've had 2 bikes in the past, both had a crank the was true enough and changed over to gears, I now have my wifes Deluxe to check. Just more $

 

Coming from a plastics background....Years ago, way back at 2007 when the "Harley fix" was introduced, I predicted exactly this happening, regardless of the year of your bike, the cam chain tensioners were still going to fail. Why?

Plastics have no business in a hot running engine. Repeated heat stress will destroy plastic. It doesn't matter if it's the cam chest or the primary chain....if it's plastic, it's going to fail. That's why I run gear drive cams.

My latest failure? The socket behind the headlight of my '06. It came out in three pieces, after frying about two inches of the wiring harness behind the headlight, on my trip last summer.

wscott, your post contains several references to heat. Spot on.

 

See the bold above Scott. Thanks!