03 softail rocker arm noise
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From: Korea
03 softail rocker arm noise
Hello everyone. I have a softtail 03. I have a question because it makes noise while driving. Cold time is fine, but after preheating, it makes noise at number 4. Even if I move it to the front cylinder, it makes noise. The bushing interval looks fine. What is the cause of the noise? Please advise.
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From: san antonio
Firstly, you should have posted in the Engine Mechanical section. Secondly, I doubt that the rocker arm movement in the video is the cause of the noise you hear while driving. Most likely the noise you hear is from lash in the valve train which could be the result of lifters leaking down or the rocker shaft bumping against the bolt that is supposed to lock it down. The side clearance shown in the video is normal.
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From: Korea
Firstly, you should have posted in the Engine Mechanical section. Secondly, I doubt that the rocker arm movement in the video is the cause of the noise you hear while driving. Most likely the noise you hear is from lash in the valve train which could be the result of lifters leaking down or the rocker shaft bumping against the bolt that is supposed to lock it down. The side clearance shown in the video is normal.
I made a mistake. I'm sorry. The shaft seems to make a sound, so I assembled the bushing as shown in the picture. Nevertheless, if you assemble it to the front cylinder, it makes a sound on the intake side, and if you assemble it to the back cylinder, it makes a sound on the exhaust side. Should we replace the rocker arm?
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From: san antonio
Apology not necessary; your first post and easy to post in the wrong spot. If you plan to remain a member, go to the Welcome section and read up on the forum rules.
No, replacing the rocker arm is not a good idea; could even be worse due to factory tolerances. Like I said in my prevous, I doubt that the side play you demonstrate in your OP appears normal ;factory tolerance is .003"-.013". If more than that, you can try shimming to the thrust side. Not as easy as it sounds as you will need SS shims, preferably .020"; to thin and they will just get chewed up. That proably means machining the end of the rocker arm to allow fitting the shim to minimize side/end play to say, .005". This has been tried my many, myself included, with little to no affect.
Two things could be going on; lifters leaking down or rocker shaft rotating and making contact with the support plate. How many miles on your '03 softail? Lifters might need replacing. Also; suggest you check out Rocker Lockers; has been the solution for many.
https://rockerlockers.com/wordpress/
No, replacing the rocker arm is not a good idea; could even be worse due to factory tolerances. Like I said in my prevous, I doubt that the side play you demonstrate in your OP appears normal ;factory tolerance is .003"-.013". If more than that, you can try shimming to the thrust side. Not as easy as it sounds as you will need SS shims, preferably .020"; to thin and they will just get chewed up. That proably means machining the end of the rocker arm to allow fitting the shim to minimize side/end play to say, .005". This has been tried my many, myself included, with little to no affect.
Two things could be going on; lifters leaking down or rocker shaft rotating and making contact with the support plate. How many miles on your '03 softail? Lifters might need replacing. Also; suggest you check out Rocker Lockers; has been the solution for many.
https://rockerlockers.com/wordpress/
Last edited by djl; Feb 18, 2025 at 01:58 PM.
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From: Korea
Apology not necessary; your first post and easy to post in the wrong spot. If you plan to remain a member, go to the Welcom section and read up on the forum rules.
No, replacing the rocker arm is not a good idea; could even be worse due to factory tolerances. Like I said in my prevous, I doubt that the side play you demonstrate in your OP appears normal ;factory tolerance is .003"-.013". If more than that, you can try shimming to the thrust side. Not as easy as it sounds as you will need SS shims, preferably .020"; to thin and they will just get chewed up. That proably means machining the end of the rocker arm to allow fitting the shim to minimize side/end play to say, .005". This has been tried my many, myself included, with little to no affect.
Two things could be going on; lifters leaking down or rocker shaft rotating and making contact with the support plate. How many miles on your '03 softail? Lifters might need replacing. Also; suggest you check out Rocker Lockers; has been the solution for many.
https://rockerlockers.com/wordpress/
No, replacing the rocker arm is not a good idea; could even be worse due to factory tolerances. Like I said in my prevous, I doubt that the side play you demonstrate in your OP appears normal ;factory tolerance is .003"-.013". If more than that, you can try shimming to the thrust side. Not as easy as it sounds as you will need SS shims, preferably .020"; to thin and they will just get chewed up. That proably means machining the end of the rocker arm to allow fitting the shim to minimize side/end play to say, .005". This has been tried my many, myself included, with little to no affect.
Two things could be going on; lifters leaking down or rocker shaft rotating and making contact with the support plate. How many miles on your '03 softail? Lifters might need replacing. Also; suggest you check out Rocker Lockers; has been the solution for many.
https://rockerlockers.com/wordpress/
Thank you for your answer. The tolerance is 0.006. The vehicle ran about 240,000 miles. The lifter was replaced. We also replaced the cam service kit. The position of the rocker locker is well fixed and does not move. There is no noise before preheating. The noise is only generated after sufficient preheating. The noise is generated from the front cylinder when the rocker behind is moved forward. In conclusion, the noise is generated from the position of the rocker, is there a solution?
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From: san antonio
Thank you for your answer. The tolerance is 0.006. The vehicle ran about 240,000 miles. The lifter was replaced. We also replaced the cam service kit. The position of the rocker locker is well fixed and does not move. There is no noise before preheating. The noise is only generated after sufficient preheating. The noise is generated from the front cylinder when the rocker behind is moved forward. In conclusion, the noise is generated from the position of the rocker, is there a solution?
The rocker arm side play, at .006", is not the source of the noise. If side/end play was, say .020", that might generate noise but I doubt it would be heard over the exhaust and engine noise. This should be evident if you have the same clearance for the rear cylinder rocker arm but the noise is coming from the front cylinder, the side/end play is not the source of the noise.
Are the 240,000 miles all on the original motor? No top end rebuild or other modifications? You might take a close look at the ends of the pushrod and the rocker arm cup for wear, or odd witness marks. The valve springs are double wound; take a close look at the inner springs; they have been know to break. I might suspect piston slap with that many miles but the noise would present when cold and diminish at operating temp.
Can you post a video so we can hear the noise?
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From: Korea
Just to be clear. Have all the lifters been replaced? With what? Have you installed Rocker Lockers?
The rocker arm side play, at .006", is not the source of the noise. If side/end play was, say .020", that might generate noise but I doubt it would be heard over the exhaust and engine noise. This should be evident if you have the same clearance for the rear cylinder rocker arm but the noise is coming from the front cylinder, the side/end play is not the source of the noise.
Are the 240,000 miles all on the original motor? No top end rebuild or other modifications? You might take a close look at the ends of the pushrod and the rocker arm cup for wear, or odd witness marks. The valve springs are double wound; take a close look at the inner springs; they have been know to break. I might suspect piston slap with that many miles but the noise would present when cold and diminish at operating temp.
Can you post a video so we can hear the noise?
The rocker arm side play, at .006", is not the source of the noise. If side/end play was, say .020", that might generate noise but I doubt it would be heard over the exhaust and engine noise. This should be evident if you have the same clearance for the rear cylinder rocker arm but the noise is coming from the front cylinder, the side/end play is not the source of the noise.
Are the 240,000 miles all on the original motor? No top end rebuild or other modifications? You might take a close look at the ends of the pushrod and the rocker arm cup for wear, or odd witness marks. The valve springs are double wound; take a close look at the inner springs; they have been know to break. I might suspect piston slap with that many miles but the noise would present when cold and diminish at operating temp.
Can you post a video so we can hear the noise?
Yes, I definitely replaced it. I replaced the lifter with the original HD and installed all the rocker lockers. Attached is a picture of the side/end play. The push rod has a clean friction surface. There is nothing reconstructed other than that. When the rocker arm is mounted on the front cylinder, the front inlet makes noise. When the rocker arm is mounted on the rear cylinder, the rear exhaust system makes noise. Shall we check the valve spring and valve seal? Attached is a video.
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From: san antonio
One more time, the rocker arm side/end play is not the source of the noise; if you keep chasing that, you will not find the real source. Replacing the lifters with OEM was not a good idea but IMHO, I don't think the noise is valve train related. At 240,000 miles, a compression test might tell us something. Have the cam chain tensioners been changed? If not, might be a good idea to take a look in the cam chest.
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Thread Starter
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Joined: Nov 2022
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From: Korea
One more time, the rocker arm side/end play is not the source of the noise; if you keep chasing that, you will not find the real source. Replacing the lifters with OEM was not a good idea but IMHO, I don't think the noise is valve train related. At 240,000 miles, a compression test might tell us something. Have the cam chain tensioners been changed? If not, might be a good idea to take a look in the cam chest.
Lifters are not OEMs, they are HD original. I've replaced all of my cam chain tensioners. May I know what IMHO is?
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From: Columbus, OH
So you are saying the noise follows the rocker arm, if the rear exhaust is noisy the front intake is quiet and when the front intake is noisy the rear exhaust is quiet? when you are swapping rocker arms between cylinders are you switching both assemblies with the support, shafts, rocker arms and bolts or are you just swapping the shaft and the arm? or just the arm itself? I agree with Djl that end play most likely is not your issue but without seeing the parts it's pretty hard to diagnose a noise on the internet. Look for witness marks in odd places, look at how the arm contacts the valve stem and compare that to what the one that doesn't make noise looks. spin the engine over by hand while comparing the motion of the noisy one to the other. Watch from the top and see if the pushrod is doing something different. It's going to be something weird or you would have found it already