Since I installed S&S gear drive cams and quickie push rods in my '05 TC88 it's been noisy as heck after it gets hot, Cold it sounds normal. I used the stock tappets as a money saving effort, could that be the source of the noise ? It sounds like an old iron head Sportster. Hopefully someone can help me out with this.

 

Lifters are the earlier "B" lifters, so unless high mileage, they are probably OK. Sounds like you may need to readjust or perhaps the gear lash is too loose and that is what you are hearing. The gear lash spec is pretty tight; .0005" to .0001" IIRC. Too loose and they gears "clack"; to tight and the gears "whine".

 

Thanks for your input, the lifters have less than 20,000 miles on them that's why I thought it was ok to reuse them. I adjusted them 4 turns after no lash as you would an S&S tappet, was that the right adjustment for a stock lifter ? Thanks again.

 

Depends on the TPI of the pushrods. If TPI = 32, 4 turns would be about .125" which should be enough; some go 4.5 turns. I would have used the lifters with only 20K miles as well. The fact that there is no noise when quiet but noisy when hot could indicate that the lifters are bleeding down when hot and the oil thins out. Try readjusting the pushrods at 4.5 turns, if they are 32TPI and see if that helps. If it does, you know the lifters are the source of the noise and you can replace them. Or spend about $60 for a set of CompCams VThunder 850-1 lifters and see if that clears up the problem.

You would think just the opposite if the gear lash was loose; noisy when cold but quieter when hot and everything expands

 

Yes 32 TPI on the push rods. Thanks again for your help, I have a better idea now what to try. The bike runs great but the noise bothers me. I always figure that if something is making excessive noise then something is wearing out prematurely.

 

You can adjust those lifters seven ways to Sunday, won't make any difference. Its the gear lash.

 

I encountered the exact same problem with a 96". Threw in some big S&S cams and cold the bike was awesome! Once it got hot and the oil pressure at idle dropped below 15psi the lifters lost their oil prime and in turn lost the correct valve lash setting causing the noise and even causing the engine to run like crap at idle. You could bring the rpms up and get some oil pressure to the lifters and it was fine until you let it idle again. I have honestly been scared to death to do cams again in another one for fear of encountering this problem.

 

Axtell bypass will take care of that issue.

 

Why? What you have learned is that the next time you install "big cams", replace the OEM lifters with better ones.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. Next time I will for sure add that Axtell valve. We ended up going with S&S lifters with limited travel spacers which effectively makes it a solid lift valve train. While it still makes the noise but not near as bad they cant leak down to the point of causing running issues. I am thinking we are gonna pull the cam plate and install the Axtell valve as suggested and get rid of the spacers.