My '98 Ultra has a tapping/knocking noise.....

I did the Stage 2 upgrade.....SE adjustable pushrods, EV27 cam, and the cam bearing. About a thousand miles later, it had a knocking noise at idle. It would knock for a minute or two and then go away. Knocking....pause......knocking.....pause.....

I thought it would be the lifters and I had a Indy listen as well....we both thought it was the lifters. So, I replaced the lifters with the Harley ones. The knocking seemed to go away...

The bike sat for about a week. I started the bike yesterday and it knocked immediately.

Riding down the interstate.....approx. 2500-3000 Rpm. It would knock for two minutes and then pause for two minutes much like a pattern.

The oil pressure light also seems to come on more than it use to. The idle is 1000 rpm, but if it drops just a hair below, the light comes on.

I'll try to get a dealer to listen as well over the weekend.....what do you all think?

I'm leaning towards a problem with oil pump....all still original.

 

lack of oil pressure would be my first guess as well.

 

Oil pressure

 

Did the knocking occur before the upgrade?

 

The link below gives some basic instructions on how to adjust the pushrods with hydraulic tappets. Check your adjustment before you spend a bunch of money!

http://www.revperf.com/Tech/Instruct...nstruct14.html

 

I was able to let a dealer listen to the bike......they said it sounds like carbon buildup to them. However, it was not making the noise before the upgrade!

I mentioned oil pump as the potential problem.....they said the EVO oil pump never goes bad. Uh....anything can fail or get weak!

I am planning on checking the pushrod adjustment sometime during the week. However, I adjusted them according to the HD instruction sheet.

There are two indy's in my area.....I'll try to get them to listen as well.

 

I figured it out.....

One of the oil lines partially collapsed. Oil line on order.....hopefully this will cure the problem.

The oil lines looked fine on the outside....but the inside. Definately not much oil could flow through there.

 

Good to hear you found something but if a problem still exists, a cam gear with just a fine line of too much play can cause a noise that is hard to pinpoint from the teeth chattering.

 

i did the same kind of upgrade to a 89 ultra classic with a evo too as well.it has a s&s oil pump on it.put fueling lifters and blocks with adjustable push rods set at 2.75 turns into the lifters.and screaming eagle ignition box... it has that same kind of noise right around 2500-2800.dont want to start a oil pressure thing but at idle is 10 psi and at 2800 is 13 or so.... timing is at 35*.. when i put the cam in i measured the gear was bang on right out of the box..was thinking of backing the timing off a few degrees and see if that makes a difference..let us know if you beat it!! i would like to get rid of that pia noise as well ...

 

Well, the oil line was a problem....but not the problem causing the noise. I had one indy listen and ride it as well. He thinks it's in the cam gear as well with too much play.

He also noticed when the bike is knocking....the bike struggles to accelerate past 75mph. When the knocking stops.....then the bike has more power and accelerates easy. This is something I did not notice.