Noisy lifters
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Road Master
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 817
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From: N.E. Ohio
Noisy lifters
I think it's time for some lifters. I am getting a lot of valve train noise. I stopped at my Indy and he took it for a ride and said that it didn't sound bad to him. Sometimes it is louder than others and seems to be getting worse. Especially around 2500 RPMS. If I play with the throttle it gets louder and if I back off it quiets down. I have never done lifter before. The Indy wants 2-3 hours labor to do them all. Does anyone have simple instructions to adjust the valves? The manual says I need an alignment tool, do I ? I have SE adjustable push rods and a slip in SE cam. They are early push rods. The push rods and cam have been in since the early 90s. The lifters were replace a while back, but I didn't do it. the noise is mostly coming from the front cyl. So I figured I would do both the front ones. I will just go with OE type B ones from what I have read here. Thanks for any help
Last edited by BB4xl; Aug 20, 2011 at 03:44 PM.
Road Captain
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 601
Likes: 6
From: Aruba
The alignment tool is just a flared bolt because there is some play in the lifter guide holes so the lifter guide can be moved around a bit. All the tool is really doing is centering the screw hole of the the bolt closest to the oil feed hole. That said, the tool is less than $10 online.
As far as lifter noise, Evos make valvetrain noise; especially with a bigger cam. Your indy is probably correct in that there's noise but this is normal. Really the only improvement of the TC over the Evo is better valve train geometry. If you're that worried about the noise, I would pull the rocker covers and make sure everything looks good up there before investing in another set of lifters. Also, you might check your push rod adjustment.
Turn the engine so that both valves of the cylinder you are working on are the lowest position of the cam. The pushrods should be set to zero clearance. Depending on the manufacturer, this is 2.5 complete turns from closed to 3 complete turns. I believe the SE pushrods are 2.5 turns. You need to wait until the lifter is totally bled down then be sure that you can spin the pushrod freely. At this point, you could make small adjustments to be sure you have zero clearance but can still spin the pushrod. Do the same for the other cylinder. Be sure the lifters are bled down before you start the bike or you could bend your pushrods or valves.
If you want to just replace the lifters without inspecting the top end, you can pull the pushrods then lifters without taking the rocker covers off because you have adjustable pushrods. Turn them all the way in and everything can be removed. Note that each pushrod is a different length and that they need to be installed right side up. Also, any time I replace the lifters, I replace the pushrods with them, but that's just me.
The OE B lifters seem to work good for everyone. No need to spend more money on something more elaborate.
As far as lifter noise, Evos make valvetrain noise; especially with a bigger cam. Your indy is probably correct in that there's noise but this is normal. Really the only improvement of the TC over the Evo is better valve train geometry. If you're that worried about the noise, I would pull the rocker covers and make sure everything looks good up there before investing in another set of lifters. Also, you might check your push rod adjustment.
Turn the engine so that both valves of the cylinder you are working on are the lowest position of the cam. The pushrods should be set to zero clearance. Depending on the manufacturer, this is 2.5 complete turns from closed to 3 complete turns. I believe the SE pushrods are 2.5 turns. You need to wait until the lifter is totally bled down then be sure that you can spin the pushrod freely. At this point, you could make small adjustments to be sure you have zero clearance but can still spin the pushrod. Do the same for the other cylinder. Be sure the lifters are bled down before you start the bike or you could bend your pushrods or valves.
If you want to just replace the lifters without inspecting the top end, you can pull the pushrods then lifters without taking the rocker covers off because you have adjustable pushrods. Turn them all the way in and everything can be removed. Note that each pushrod is a different length and that they need to be installed right side up. Also, any time I replace the lifters, I replace the pushrods with them, but that's just me.
The OE B lifters seem to work good for everyone. No need to spend more money on something more elaborate.
Last edited by 95yj; Aug 20, 2011 at 04:47 PM.
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Road Master
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 817
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From: N.E. Ohio
Thanks for your help 95yj. Since my Indy took it for a ride it has gotten louder. It seems like the front one is making most of the noise. I am going to adjust the valves and see if that helps. I have read a few different post here on adjusting the valves. I am still a little confused on the procedure. How long should I let them bleed down for? I have read 20 mins one place and an hour on others. It has been a while since the lifter were changed. Probably around 96-97.
Last edited by BB4xl; Aug 21, 2011 at 07:02 PM.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 21,207
Likes: 12,795
From: South Carolina
I would not take a chance, bite the bullet and replace all the lifters.
If the engine has suddenly started to make valve train noise, you are not going to adjust it out, the engine has hydraulic lifters.
Either a lifter is getting weak, or a roller is failing.
If the engine has suddenly started to make valve train noise, you are not going to adjust it out, the engine has hydraulic lifters.
Either a lifter is getting weak, or a roller is failing.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 4,468
Likes: 12
From: Bluffton, South Carolina
I've posted this sort of post before, so here it goes again. We've been adjusting valves the same way since the begining of the internal combustion engine era. Put the cylinder to TDC and adjust both valves. If you look at you cam card you will see the modern performance cam has lift at TDC. The average lifter in an EVo has about .200" of travel. The average preload on the lifter is about .100". The average EVO cylinder,etc grows about .040", add to this the amount of lift at TDC and you end up with very little preload on the lifter. This will/can give you lifter noise. We set our lifters one at a time making sure that it is on the heel of the cam. You do this by lifting the rear wheel off of the ground, putting the bike in high gear and turning the wheel forward until the valve being adjusted just closes. Then we put a piece of tape on the bottom of the wheel. Next we turn the wheel forward until the valve starts to open and put another piece of tape. Halfway between these is the heel of the cam. Now you can adjust the lifter. repeat for the rest. Hope this helps!!
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