I just put in a new cam bearing on my 98 Roadking with 32,000 miles on it. The old one had not failed but was blued on the race so it was going to fail. I have ridden it about 60 miles so far and it has sounded fine and running great except for a whine coming from the new M6 chain tensioner which I hope will go away. Anyway Saturday after I had ridden for about 50 miles round trip I stopped at a light and had a lifter tapping. I reved the engine and it went away and I didn't hear it again at any stops for the next 10 miles or so home. Sounds good cold and running in the garage now. Should I be worried or could it have been just a lifter with some trash or dirt causing a temporary collapse? I hate break downs and noises so I am wondering if I should bite the bullet and tear off the lifter blocks again and put in new lifters like I should have done or leave it alone and wait and see. Also can someone tell me how to adjust the adjustable push rods? I went by the andrews site instructions even though my cam is stock and set them 4 turns tight after 0 lash. Does that sound right? If I should replace the lifters what lifters would be best to go with?

 

Hope you replaced the INA cam bearing with a Torrington!Might as well replace the lifters use HD P/N 18523-86B You might want to consider another cam I use Andrews EV-13 in my 93 FLHS Good midrange It will make some noise ( several beers dulls the clicking noise or just turn the radio up ! As far as adj pushrods all manuf have different threads per inch on adjustment some 32 tpi some 24 etc Go with the puchrods manufacture specs

 

Yes I did put in the Torrington bearing. I wish I knew the manufacturer of the push rods but they were in there when I bought the bike. I tried again this morning and can't hear any noise so i think it was just a stuck lifter. I can't go out and ride today to see though as we are under a tornado warning and severe thunderstorms. Guess it is a day of cleaning today.

 

Do you have Andrews pushrods? If you don't know what pushrods you have, you can't just adjust them per the Andrews site. The key is to adjust them down 0.100" from zero lash. All the "counting flats" or "counting turns" comes down to 0.100". Different manufacturers have different threads per inch on the adjuster, so thus the different number of turns/flats. If in doubt, measure the TPI with a thread pitch guage and then go from there. There's a good how-to out here somewhere with a chart that's like, if you have 32 TPI, use this many flats. Or you can do the math yourself.

Ahh, if'n ya'll don't like noises, ahh, maybe you need to learn to tolerate them a bit. Harley's are many things, but noise-free ain't one of them. And a colapsed lifter doesn't make a little noise. It makes a hell of a lot of noise. Is that what you had or a little valve noise?

 

I wouldn't get too excited about it. Possible that you didn't have the engine positioned correctly when you adjusted them. I'll post a link at the bottom that will help you go over them again.

Typically a misadjusted pushtube will make a thack- thack - thack noise. If they are starved for oil, they will most often make a deep, but soft knock. These are typical, but there are always exceptions.

They're an oil screen under a slotted plug between your oil pump and oil pressure sender (on the engine case) that is directly in the oil journal to the lifters. Seldom they get clogged, but since the bike is new to you, certainly worth checking, because few people do check them these days (even dealers).

In any event, if the oil light didn't come on, assuming it works, and adjustment is correct, they should not be noisy. If you get totally worried about it to the point of replacement, I recommend OEM HD lifters.

I don't know whether you got the spring-loaded auto tensioner or the hydraulic style. Spring type is all I've used and had no problems at all. If the whine is excessive (and they generally run near whisper quiet) you might invest 45 minutes in pulling the outer primary and taking a look to be sure everything is in place. It won't hurt a thing to start it with the cover off and take a listen, but be aware of flying oil. Best to pull the cover and let it totally drain overnight before starting ... and you'll still get a little bit if you rev it up.


Again, I usually pull the plugs, turn the engine until the front exhaust is about have way up, then adjust the rear ones. Wait till they can be spun with your fingers before turning engine again. Then position the engine with the rear eaxhaust half way up and adjust the front 2. Button up the rear covers while you wait for the fronts to bleed down till they turn and button it all up - done... uh, don't forget the spark plugs like I did last time

http://www.harleyhelp.com/pushrod.html And it's safest to measure the threads with a thread pitch gauge, as mfg's have a habit of changing "stuff" without notice.

 

Yes it was a thack-thack-thack noise, but it only happened at one red light and then I didn't hear it again. I am going to take it out again tomorrow now that the rain has quit and see if it does it again. The chain adjuster is an M-6 spring type, I made sure I had the correct gap when I put it in there. I checked the web site and they saidthat the noise should stop in about 200-300 miles so I will see what happens there I guess. I need to get a thread gauge and see what I have and then if I here the noise again I will re-adjust the pushrods. I think the push rods are the screaming eagles from the dealer as near as I can tell but I have no idea what threads they have. I have checked the lifter oil screen and it is clean. Thanks for all the advice.

 

You don't need a thread gauge. Just take a tape measure or caliper and count the number of threads in 1/4" and multiply that by 4 to get the number of threads per inch (Ex. 6 threads X 4 = 32 TPI). Then divide 1 by the TPI to get the pitch (Ex. 1"/32 TPI = .03125"). Then divide .100" by the pitch to get the number of turns (full turns, not flats) to get your adjustment (Ex. .100" / .03125" = 3.2 turns). Multiply that by the number of flats on your pushrod adjuster to get the number of flats to count instead of the number of turns (Ex. 6 flats X 3.2 turns = 19.2 flats).

Or just do the first step and look at the chart in the link that t150vej provided.

 

I've never been able to accurately count threads and come up with a useable TP. Is it metric or SAE? Some of the differences are pretty darn small when you're trying to tell on the bolt. An Chineese tap and die set at HF is $13, comes with a thread pitch guage and will be a very handy tool to have around.

 

Ok I will do that if I gat the noise again, I just came back from a short ride today and no noise from the lifters so I am thinking it was a one time stick of a lifter. The M6 noise is still there but I only have about 100 miles on it so far. Thanks again.

 

Maybe you need a new prescription! J.K.

If you're not sure if the thread is metric or imperial then yes, it could be difficult to tell. The pitch gauge is pretty foolproof. And yes, a tap and die set is nice to have when you need it. I was just putting my rocker covers on the other day and one of the fasteners wouldn't thread in right. I grabbed the appropriate tap and ran it through with my fingers. The fastener went right in.