Lifters
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Cruiser
Joined: May 2023
Posts: 118
Likes: 55
From: Ont.ca
Lifters
Can someone explain to me why Harley's eat lifters?Having a hard time getting my head around the fact that a GM lifter with nearly identical construction(yes I know there's a difference in orifice sizes)but otherwise the same will go over a 100 k miles minimum(probably double that)In a higher reving engine but HD seems to want new ones at 20 or 30 k?Is it the angle of the pushrod(don't think so),is it the valve springs(could be) or is it a combo of not much oil pressure at idle and heat being air cooled.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 5,071
Likes: 1,006
i do not think that that is a wide spread issue. spring pressure do have an effect but hd R&D on stock can easily go 100K+.
so that leaves rider style and maintenance.
big diff in auto and hd cam profile.
so that leaves rider style and maintenance.
big diff in auto and hd cam profile.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 19,930
Likes: 8,033
From: poway
Can someone explain to me why Harley's eat lifters?Having a hard time getting my head around the fact that a GM lifter with nearly identical construction(yes I know there's a difference in orifice sizes)but otherwise the same will go over a 100 k miles minimum(probably double that)In a higher reving engine but HD seems to want new ones at 20 or 30 k?Is it the angle of the pushrod(don't think so),is it the valve springs(could be) or is it a combo of not much oil pressure at idle and heat being air cooled.
The problem is that the later lifters are not the same.. FWIW the HD 99B lifter (dephi) was the holy grail in lifters.. They worked just fine. They were in demand after HD went to the 99C. BTW you can still get them through WFO Larry and other sources.
The 99C lifters are crap. What HD did was outsource the lifter to someone that could make them cheaper. What they did was change the fitting of the roller pin into the lifter body. Before the 99C the lifter pin was driven in and the pin swagged on the end.. This caused issues with manufacturing. Swaged wrong and the lifter body was out of round. It had to be checked and corrected which likely caused an extra step. The 99c lifters use a lighter pressed pin and pin clips to hold in place.. Unfortunately the pin comes loose and works it's way out into the lifter bore. I've seen a few and it ain't pretty.
I bought a 17 RK which uses the 99C lifter.. At 2000 miles the lifters were switched to Johnson Hylifts which are manufactured the same way as the 99Bs as far as roller pin goes.
Road Master
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,101
Likes: 425
From: Pennsylvania
Can someone explain to me why Harley's eat lifters?Having a hard time getting my head around the fact that a GM lifter with nearly identical construction(yes I know there's a difference in orifice sizes)but otherwise the same will go over a 100 k miles minimum(probably double that)In a higher reving engine but HD seems to want new ones at 20 or 30 k?Is it the angle of the pushrod(don't think so),is it the valve springs(could be) or is it a combo of not much oil pressure at idle and heat being air cooled.
Last edited by chunks; Aug 11, 2025 at 03:06 PM.
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Road Master
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 811
Likes: 1,527
From: Bloomington, IN
I put 160,000 miles on Delphi lifters before swapping them out. Couldn't find them anywhere so went with Feuling HP+ at that time. Those now have 60,000 on them. No complaints, but will try to find the Delphi units again when it's time for another lifter replacement.
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I think what we are seeing here is the sad truth that there used to be 2 or 3 major manufacturers in THE USA making lifters, now we have a ton of Chinese companies doing them for the big companies. Their quality control is terrible, sizes vary, and if you don't at a MINIMUM flush them out when intalling them they will bite you. Measure everything, and flush them with oil to clean the grit out that they almost certainly have in there. We have seen TONS of bad ones from every reputable company there is... Bottom line CHECK EVERYTHING these days. We even made a special tool to flush them for that reason. Soaking or vacuum absolutely won't do it.
Last edited by R&S CNC/Head Hoggers--; Sep 23, 2025 at 02:44 PM.
