Ok not sure if this is your problem but after reading the last post I'm thinking... the rocker cover is off ( I use a cut down allen key ) now for the rocker middle spacer it should come right off and the rocker section has to slide out with the bolts still in it , you have two short bolts on one side and two longer bolts on the other side that have to stay in while you slide it out, same putting it back the two bolts have to be in it raised, the only thing I can see is if someone replaced the longer bolts with even longer bolts when the motor was out, worst case senario you'll have to get a dremel and cut the heads off the bolts, something not quite right going on there.

 

No, I can't get top off. Its loose I can wiggle it, but not enough clearance between frame to get it high enough to clear inside lower rocker bolts. Even after front engine mount is removed. I just tried again and I see the primary hits the frame and won't allow engine to drop any further. Just a note- When I wiggle engine the entire assembly moves: engine, trans, swing arm & wheel.

 

As you would expect.

 

I may have missed this in the thread but do you have the 2 rear motor mount bolts removed?
Man your in a real pickle here I'm thinking your going to have to remove exhaust pipes away from the heads if not already done and move motor ahead. As well as if not already done which I would imagine is , remove top stabilizer mount.

 

I got it with help from a friend. I had to push engine hard to the right side while he wiggled the rocker top off. It gave just an 1/8" more room. Now how do I get middle section off? Wouldn't come off using that same method, guess it will come with lower section when I release those bolts. The lower rocker (spark plug side) threads are gone, in fact a chunk of the corner of the thread is gone, so no re-drilling that. Need to buy a new lower . Hope I can find that chunk!!!!???????

 

Good to hear your getting somewhere finally, when I pulled a few cylinder stud rod threads right out of the casing I used time-serts but for you I don't think there's a whole lot of torque on the rocker bolt, I basicly tirghtened mine by hand so you may get away with heli-coils.

 

Stuck again. Got all the bolts out and the lower and middle are loose, still not enough headroom to get it off, I don't see how the hell I will get it past valve springs. I got the rods out , can I get valve springs depressed someway to get it up and over them.? This SUCKS!!!!! Can't believe they would design it this way, genius engineers like the architects I have to deal with, no freaking different, they have no clue!!!!

 

I'm not sure I understand whats going on here. It would help alot if you could take a pic. Are you sure these are the stock HD rocker boxes? I remove the heads off my 93 dyna wide glide I used to own, and although the frames are slightly different between the 93 and 97, there was no drama whatsoever. You need at least 1/2" clearance above the box to allow for engine movement, that should be enough to slide the box out.

 

I finally got it, but I had to drive out rocker shafts and remover rockers to get middle section off. This is worse than a rubix cube, you have to bring lower rocker cover forward toward front and wiggle it out the spark plug side, only took me 4 hrs to figure this out. And it was not easy, have to pull out and push down to compress spring and squeak it out.
Now it it took me another hr to figure out how to get new lower back in, but I got it. I feel like kicking somebody in the *** at Harley, or whoever put this together. If this was a paying job, I would have lost my shirt, I am on day 4 with this.

 

I am now getting everything back together, tried getting rocker top on and now its the same fight, will try again tomorrow. The picture shows the rub marks where top rocker cover hits bottom of frame when its back together.
How do I get this away from frame? This is obviously where my vibration comes from.

Joe