Twin cam tensioners
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
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From: Bedford UK
I understand there was rather more than that (I have only owned a TC88!), IIRC the upgrade including hydraulic tensioners and higher output oil pump, also available as a retrofit upgrade kit for TC88 owners.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 5,926
Likes: 138
From: NE Ohio
Bullshit.
I have a 2011 sitting in the garage with double that and very little wear on the tensioner shoes. I checked them when I changed out the C lifters. Roller chains, hydraulic tensioners and better shoe material made the Twin Cam the same as most any overhead cam engine (the TC is not an OHC engine). They all use tensioners on the cam chain(s).
You can switch early Twin Cam tensioner shoes to Cyco and roller chain cams front and back and very nearly eliminate the need to look in the cam chest except for 30k intervals.
Now if you want to say a SE hydraulic conversion kit doesn't correctly solve the problem I'll agree as it retains the link chain on the back side of the cam plate.
This forum is rife with "cam chain tensioner failure" boogiemen. I pity the poor fellow who comes here trying to prevent, repair or even learn about what's inside their motor. The go to answers are "gear drive" or "sell it and buy an Evo". Post 2007 cam chain tensioner failure is very rare south of 100k miles. At 100k I'd at least change the lifters which is the perfect time to inspect and/or replace the cam chain tensioner shoes.
If you have a 2007 or newer, do first line maintenance on it and ride the thing.
If you have a 99 to 06, change the shoes on the spring tensioners, and/or switch to roller chain cams front and back. The same goes for the SE conversion, change the cams to ones that use roller chains on both sides of the cam plate.
Hundreds of thousands Twin Cams are out on the road running every day without "catastrophic" failure past 30K miles. That trumps ANY internet resume. I swear, I wish all these "experts" would stay in the "which oil should I use?" or "should I get a get back whip?" threads
I have a 2011 sitting in the garage with double that and very little wear on the tensioner shoes. I checked them when I changed out the C lifters. Roller chains, hydraulic tensioners and better shoe material made the Twin Cam the same as most any overhead cam engine (the TC is not an OHC engine). They all use tensioners on the cam chain(s).
You can switch early Twin Cam tensioner shoes to Cyco and roller chain cams front and back and very nearly eliminate the need to look in the cam chest except for 30k intervals.
Now if you want to say a SE hydraulic conversion kit doesn't correctly solve the problem I'll agree as it retains the link chain on the back side of the cam plate.
This forum is rife with "cam chain tensioner failure" boogiemen. I pity the poor fellow who comes here trying to prevent, repair or even learn about what's inside their motor. The go to answers are "gear drive" or "sell it and buy an Evo". Post 2007 cam chain tensioner failure is very rare south of 100k miles. At 100k I'd at least change the lifters which is the perfect time to inspect and/or replace the cam chain tensioner shoes.
If you have a 2007 or newer, do first line maintenance on it and ride the thing.
If you have a 99 to 06, change the shoes on the spring tensioners, and/or switch to roller chain cams front and back. The same goes for the SE conversion, change the cams to ones that use roller chains on both sides of the cam plate.
Hundreds of thousands Twin Cams are out on the road running every day without "catastrophic" failure past 30K miles. That trumps ANY internet resume. I swear, I wish all these "experts" would stay in the "which oil should I use?" or "should I get a get back whip?" threads
I've seen 99 - 06 TC's with north of 50,000 miles and the tensioners are still in good condition. Worked on a 02 TC with 72,000 miles, the tensioners were still in pretty good shape, the inner was great, the outer had some wear which the owner wanted to replace it while it was open. Last winter I had my dad's 09 Triglide apart to freshen the top end, put on some ported heads and swap cams. At 50,000 miles his tensioners were still in good shape, had a little wear but nothing to be alarmed about.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 11,814
Likes: 5,120
From: SW Ohio
Yes sir, much more. I was thinking that someone might get confused as to what size the engine was on the first hydraulic tensioners; which was the TC88 on the 06 Dyna. They did not use roller chains.
Last edited by Campy Roadie; Apr 8, 2016 at 07:40 AM.
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
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From: Bedford UK
Road Master
Joined: Nov 2012
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From: Centerville, ohio
I believe they do, the same chains are used on the 2007.
Road Master
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 892
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From: Central Florida
Opened up my 07 Fatty around 30k miles to do cam and lifter swap. Cam chain shoes showed only slight grooves. BUT, as I was probing one of the grooves to feel how deep it was, a big chunk broke off the shoe. So, while they did not LOOK worn the material was very brittle (only on 1 shoe-don't remember which) This may have been due to to overheating the bike when stuck in traffic (think Daytona Bike Week) Not sure. I have always used synthetic oil.
Any who, it was super easy just to replace the shoes with new ones. Cheap and eased my mind for a good while...at least until the nest upgrade!
Any who, it was super easy just to replace the shoes with new ones. Cheap and eased my mind for a good while...at least until the nest upgrade!
HDF Community Team
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,778
Likes: 2,608
From: san antonio
The 2006 model year was the year the cam plate, higher capacity pump, hydro tensioners and roller chains were introduced for the Dyna models only in the TC88; the TC 96 was not introduced until 2007.............
Last edited by djl; Apr 8, 2016 at 07:32 PM. Reason: Deleted stuff not pertinent to this thread
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 66,948
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From: TOAK western branch
Nope. Good for around 100k. You must be reading too many internet blogs.
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2011
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From: SW Ohio
The 2006 model year was the year the cam plate, higher capacity pump, hydro tensioners and roller chains were introduced for the Dyna models only in the TC88; the TC 96 was not introduced until 2007. The parts guys ordered the wrong parts for the OP and should either replace the whole kit or agree to a cam swap............
DJL they used the larger B168 bearings on the inside and no bearing on the outside?
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2011
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From: SW Ohio
Check my last post Graham. I was wrong about the link vs roller chain issue. Still an 88" but they had roller chains.
Last edited by Campy Roadie; Apr 8, 2016 at 06:08 PM.