Not really broke but she has been clattering a little more here lately so I thought I would have her checked out and sure enough- cam chain tensioner. The GOOD news is that it is just the shoes and not the metal backplates. The bad news is that this is considered a "wear" item and not covered under the extended warranty. If the metal backplate had been worn away the chain, oil pump, cams..... could have been damaged. Since the cause would have been the cam tensioner they would not have been covered either.
After 51K trouble free and very enjoyable miles I think this maintenance is reasonable and I'm fortunate to catch it when I did. For what it's worth, three people I talked to in the same dealership gave me 2.5 different answers to "are the cam chain tensioners really a problem?" From what I've read here and after talking to them I would suggest having them checked every 25-30K miles. If your valve train starts getting loud (and you have enough oil) it's worth it to have them checked.
While she's apart I'm having SE 204's and adjustable pushrods installed so she should feel better.

PS I didn't start this thread to say what a POS Harleys' design is or how they don't stand behind the product. This is for information only so you guys that feel that way don't even have to read this.[&:]

 

Just curious why you're going with the SE 204 and not going with a gear drive cam.

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That's a good question. Since I was at the dealership when THEY said something was wrong with it. With my luck if I had taken it somewhere else to get the gear drive installed or did it myself, the cam chain would have come flying out of the case behind a pushrod or something. Then this would have been cheep. I have heard good things about that cam, they had it apart anyway etc., etc. The old rock and a hard place.[:@] My main concern right now is to get her back on the road.

 

Iam very glad you caught the problem now instead of 5K miles later. But I still feel that is something that should have been covered, kinda makes me glad I cancelled my extended warranty now. Come to think of it, still waiting for the refund[:@]
I understand your thinking of going back to the chain driven cam, you figured you can get another trouble free 50K miles. Iam rooting for you.

Gera driven cams will be going in my bike this fall

 

Funny thing is.........we had a member on here last year that had his changed twice in over 100,000 miles and the MoCo extended warranty covered them both times. Maybe it depends on the dealer.

 

So, your dealer only puts in HD cams? I had my dealer install S&S 510 gear drive cams. Or was it a case of not wanting to wait for the parts?

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Because Gear cams will cost you over $500 bucks before its all said and done. Just spend the $50 every 40k miles and do the cam shoes yourself. It will take you a boat load of replacement shoes to payback those pretty gears....

By the way...I will still take your 6th gear off your hands for ya...

 

UMMMMM.....I think I'll keep it awhile!!

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Thanks Terry. I asked about that and I was told that the problem couldn't be caused by the tensioner shoe but IF the OIL PUMP quit, then it may be covered. These claims are sometimes audited and such a claim may not stand up. That may be how some are getting around it. I don't know.

Buttman- it really comes down to economics and a speedy return to service. The SE cams are all I am paying for over the work that already had to be done. They can press the SE cams in just like they would have had to press the stock ones back in. The cost of the adjustable push rods are offset by the savings in labor cost because the techs don't have to take the heads down to re-install the stock pushrods.

I really can't complain about the dealer. They heard the problem and knew it needed to be fixed NOW. As it turned out they were right. I'll post pics of the shoes when I get them back. They also realize that I live 78 miles from their shop and I am stranded without my bike so they loaned me an 06 SG with chrome everywhere, big bore kit and SE 2's. (Why would they do that I wonder quietly to myself.) Like I said earlier, I wish it was warranty but I don't think it is an unreasonable expense considering.[8D]

 

Well she is back from the shop. What a difference. The clatter is all gone and with the SE 204 cams she really has some grunt that wasn't there before. They put her on the dyno after getting her back together and found out my carb was d**ked up so they took care of that. (I think I did that[&o]).
The cam chain tensioner shoes were BAAAAAD! The rear was just starting to show some metal but the front one,( the one on the cam timing chain) was worn to the point that the inside of the plastic (?) block broke off and the chain was riding in the metal shoulder. I'll post some pics when I get home to my camera.
All it takes to check these things is to remove the cam chest cover and look. Replacing them depends on your wrenching skills and equipment. I plan on looking at these in about 30K miles. Until then-no worries.[8D]