Cam Bearing info/advice needed

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May 13, 2014 | 11:58 AM

br549A1

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Cam Bearing info/advice needed

tmanbuckhunter has me concerned about my cam whine. I did some work today trying to dig up service history and came up empty, was trying to find out if anyone had changed the bearing or cam at any point in time but the only two dealerships within an hour of where I got the bike never had it in for service and the previous owner said they only went to that dealership. It's a 98 FXDL with 42,000 on it now and there's a whine when holding it at a specific RPM, it's not there at every RPM. I pulled the cover off and the rivets in the ignition cover were drilled already so someone was at least that far into it. I don't have a local repair shop yet so bringing it somewhere is out of the question for now.

Would a bad cam bearing be noisy at all RPMs or just one?

Is there anyway to check what cam is in there without tearing it down?

What's a reasonable estimate of the time needed to replace the cam bearing if I went with the bolt cutter pushrod method or removed the rocker covers?

Whats the bare minimum in parts I can get away with replacing if I just want to do the bearing and not upgrade the cam, assuming it's stock. Can I just get in there and replace the bearing and be safe?

May 13, 2014 | 02:20 PM

Spanners39

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From: Coromandel Peninsula New Zealand

Bearing usually whines all the time but someone has been in there so taking a look would be sensible. You have to remove cam to identify it. Adjustable push rods is a retrograde step if you ask me. Do it properly and do rocker base gaskets. Its three hours to do it properly. Four if you not done it before. Half that time if you insist on adjustable rods and your lifters are due for replacement.

May 13, 2014 | 02:43 PM

br549A1

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Good info thanks. I'd probably take the cheap route since it seems better. To check if there's adjustable pushrods on it do I just lift the covers from the bottom or is this going to screw up the seal? Its suppose to rain from now until Sunday so it's looking like sufficient down time if I decide to tear into it. So basically I need a b-138 or whatever they sell now, top and bottom rocker gaskets, the nose cone gasket and the cam is optional. I can rent the blind hole puller for free local parts store

Edit. EB atmus is down the road. They sell koyo b-138 for $4.47. Seems like that's the one I want

Last edited by br549A1; May 13, 2014 at 02:47 PM.

May 13, 2014 | 02:53 PM

tmanbuckhunter

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From: Houston, TX

Quote:

Originally Posted by kp877

Correct on all points.

It doesn't take long to look. If that cam bearing goes out, it goes from a few hundred dollar job to several thousand dollars... I learned the hard way. Usually if they're howling loudly like mine it's too late... yours is quiet so it could be gear whine from an aftermarket cam, or the bearing is just starting to go out. Just pull the gas tank and pop the rocker gear off.. won't take long. You'll need to cut down a 3/16th's allen wrench for the rear rocker box. You can get the magnets to hold your lifters up which make the job of checking a little bit easier, but at 40,000 miles I would consider changing the lifters as well. HD issued a service bulletin to check the lifters at 20k, and replace if needed. Johnson Hylifts are like, $130 from parts4powertoys. Cheap insurance.

May 13, 2014 | 03:09 PM

br549A1

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This is what burns me. I know someone was in there but I can't locate any history on it. It could have been done last year with a new bearing and cam. If the rain holds out a couple more hours I'm going to give it a good listen at various rpms and decide after that. Appreciate the responses I'm not against replacing a $5 bearing i just don't like going through the motions for nothing, the rainy forecast helps too!

May 13, 2014 | 03:12 PM

texashillcountry

Dirt don't hurt

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From: Haslet Texas

Quote:

Originally Posted by kp877

There is a lot to be said for piece of mind.

May 13, 2014 | 03:47 PM

tmanbuckhunter

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From: Houston, TX

Quote:

Originally Posted by kp877

I thought someone had been in my bike as well, but no one had been. The old timing cover was gone, but that doesn't mean anything. I did have the assumption that my bike had popped a head gasket at one time because it had a black burn mark on a jug, and the rocker gaskets were black like James, not white... but again. That doesn't mean anything, and the moco could have used black gaskets at one time. The black burn mark could have been dirt. Pop it open and look... it's cheaper than finding out when your motor sounds like a metal shredder.