My fatBoy 02 88 made it to 52K before needing to be changed,

 

I know it's rare to go this long but I got 81,000 miles out of my stock tensioners (checked them every 10,000 miles after the odometer hit 50,000.) Gear drive cams from then on.

 

Yes. If anyone doubts, I will find the 2006 MY changes and post the link...............

 

It is not uncommon for shoe failure. I do like the gears.....

 

That is about where I had to replace mine too.......Primary tensioner went at 30K. I was lucky and caught it before it messed things up.

 

I don't doubt you a bit

 

So...as someone who is reading this I am still curious what direction to go.. I have an 04 ultra with 62k on it, know i need new tensioners, at least, have call around and gotten 6 or 7 estimates from 800 from "new" material shoes to 1800+ for gear drive. Want to do the job myself but dont want to spend 150 for inner bearing remover/installer. Your recommendation - all with new inner cam bearings
#1 - new material tensioners
#2 - hydraulic tensioners with new style oil pump
#3 -hydraulic tensioners with new style oil pump and removing top of engine to reseal and install new style breathers
#4 - gear drive
Thank you for your opinion

p.s. it may actually warm up enough in the northeast that I may want to ride in a week or 2

 

We can only go so far without tools - so buy the extractor if you can't borrow one! It's up to you to choose which option to go with - there is tons of stuff about them on HDF. I had a new TC88 for several years which was fine and never showed signs of tensioner failure, but the option I intended to use was #2. To do the job properly requires removing the top of the engine, so of your options I would choose #3.

 

I find that on "forums" in general there is usually a direct correlation between the statement made and areas highlighted below




More Reading/Learning is in order...less assertion



Btw Nomadmax, Nice Podium speech

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nomadmax

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

 

You must answer your own question; other forum members whose tech experience may or may not be limited to what they have actual experience with or what they have read or heard and you may get opinions from both. So ultimately, the decision is yours and will likely be based on your priorities which are unknown to us. The only priority you have posted so far is that you don't want to spend $150 for the inner cam bearing R/R tool which indicates that budget may be a priority................

It's really pretty simple. As has been said, options 1 thru 3 do not eliminate potential tensioner wear/failure issues since the tensioners have not been eliminated. So, IMHO, why spend the money for option 2 or 3 when you cam accomplish the same with option 1 plus a new Daytona pump.

On the other hand, if you want to eliminate potential tensioner issues forever, option 4 is the only way to achieve that goal.

There is a way, I call it the "caveman" way, to R/R the inner cam bearings without buying a special tool. Auto Zone or Advanced Auto will rent a blind hole puller which you can use to remove the bearings; just be sure the correct size collet is in the kit before you take it out of the store. Usually a cam change is part of this work so an old cam shaft can be used as a driver to push the new bearings into their respective bores. Maybe a visit to your local HD dealer will turn up a damaged cam?? There are a variety of ways to fab up a driver to tap those bearings in if one is creative. Two wooden dowels, one the approximate size of the bearing ID and another say, closet rod size with an hole drilled in the end for the smaller dowel, etc. Freeze the bearings over night, liberally apply assembly lube to the bearing bore and push the bearings in, numbers out.

Or, buy the tool................

Kudos for taking on the task as a DIY project. You can install a gear drive setup for less than $1800; less than $1000 including the new cams, which will be required, and new Daytona pump. There are gear drive "kits" including cams available on Ebay in the $800 range; complete with new inner bearings,cover gasket, etc. If you are up for a DIY project and $1000 doesn't blow the budget, a gear drive setup is the way to go but that's JMHO.............

Not suggesting the 510 cams but attached a link as an example of what is available on line. Another option is to purchase the gear drive setup, sans cams, for about $475 and purchase whatever cam you choose. All doable in the $1000 range.
http://www.easternperformance.com/ss...am-07-12.html?