I may have to drift over to the mechanical section, or ask my mechanic when I go to pick up me new pistons and jugs....but, it's been a while since I was in an EVO. When I pulled the cam, I rotated the crank to line-up the timing marks and marked the position of the breather. However....while I was removing the pistons, I rotated the crank a bit to get each piston high enough to remove it. I am sure I did not turn it a full rotation, but I need to get in my head just how to make sure I get the cam back in the correct position and not 180 degrees out of phase. Somebody may can tell me here how I prevent that....like what position should what lifters be in to insure I have it mechanically timed correctly. One could be exactly right and lucky, or one could be 180-degress out of phase.

Yep....I know....look in the manual dummy! When I sold my last EVO, I gave the guy a service manual. He is suppose to be bringing it back.

 

There was a guy here in North Carolina that put 426,000 on his Electraglide with no "major repairs. They only repair he had was a cam bearing at about 80,000. When the MoCo took his bike for a brand new ultra it was running great and was his daily rider. He apparently used Revtech oil and filters and was a stickler for keeping his bike serviced. The bike was bone stock as I understand it. It was a 1986 or 87 model.

 

The issue with my cylinder bores was some longitudinal scratches.....not deep, but running the full length of both jugs. I would guess carbon deposits that had fallen down on top of the pistons and worked there way over to the rings and cylinder walls. There was a lot of carbon build-up on the valves and pistons.....and it flaked-off when I pulled the heads. Short of some jerk throwing some sand in each plug hole, or it ingesting some road trash, I don't know what else could have caused it.

Believe this or not, but years ago I had a friend with a 95 Dresser that had issues so bad that it started smoking, using oil and fouling plugs. He discovered that he had either left out, or a plug that was once on the back face of his breather had fallen out and it was open. The stage 1...etc. has a plate that does have two holes on the back side for a breather-hose attachment. He had to go for a top end and his cylinders were pretty scratched up. It's a balance that has to be achieved.....how well do you want it to breath weighed against how much trash do you want it to ingest. Just a couple of grains of sand in the wrong place is all it takes.

 

grbrown wanted a picture. Here is one of the color scheme and the badging. Man-o-man....I hated that color back in 98. Now I have #0734 of 3500 made. Got around 100 miles on the rebuild and so far (breaking it in right)....it's running-out great.

 

Gee thanks! Looks fabulous.

 

That year of bike will be reliable if you remember the following.
1-The cam position sensor will melt if original and cause difficult starting(see melted goo under timer cone at wire exit by right foot) an easy DIY for about $190 since it is model specific and you can not use another harley part without using a different cup and playing with the timing..The original is easy to install
2-Fuel lines will leak at swivel after about 10 years..go with goodridge HDFL005 for about $160 total for both or Harley for about 3 X that amount.
3-Please check the connector on throttle side, behind plastic painted side panel, under the seat...crank position sensor connector...runs from oil filter area to ECM but the connector at this triangle frame location is hidden and can get loose and cause all kinds of driving problems...load-up on the zip-ties so it never gets loose.
I keep reminding folks but they do not check and then when the problem comes they seem surprised. It is a simple fix that works forever.
Note: The timer cone area by your right foot is chrome from the factory and yours is NOT...Did you change this? The original bearing worked for the cam but problems came fast when folks changed the cam and did not upgrade the bearing. If pipes or air cleaner are changed this bike will run hot hot..a fuel adder will be needed...If you add some kind of fuel adder then make sure not to over fuel because it will cause carbon build-up on the pistons.
I would imagine someone has changed the primary gasket by now and rocker cover gaskets. The rocker cover gaskets are finicky and do not play well with any additives during installation.
The speedo of that era had a tendency to leak at the LCD odometer screen..Does not alter performance but the replacement requires about 12 wires to be cut. The speedo is NOT plug and play like the others on EBAY since it requires an adapter and multiple wires spliced...If changesd use the posi-lock connector system to keep connections simple.
Almost forgot: you had or will have a piece of grey painted gas tank liner come loose from the exact center bottom portion inside tank..very clear to see when the top access panel is removed with special bit ( it was either a torx or a triangle but my little $10 for 100 piece harbor freight bit kit had it) ....That piece of liner will be at least 1 inch square and will plug the inlet fuel filter in the tank..this will happen several times during an outing and cause the bike a loss of power and great frustration until you identify the problem mentioned.Then just drain(suction) and fill the tank several times while filtering fuel with a kitchen coffee filter..Liner will get loose at that one spot only and then you will feel better. As mention the repair is simple and does not require removal of tank just the access panel..If you are careful you can re-use the same screws (they say one time use) and the little collars the screws have but only if placed in the same locations...The large cork access door gasket is probably dry and might require replacement but it is rather inexpensive (under $15). I would purchase the gasket before looking in order to avoid down time. This will be a one time required repair/ maintenance.
This is an older bike so keep that in mind when selecting an oil...The synthetics are great but they will locate every gasket that can leak...stock oil is fine.
Folks have spent lots of money going back and forth to dealers and mechanics who failed in identifying and repairing these very simple items but instead charged them for non-required repairs.. when you have a moment i would suggest you review them all.
Some that may occur:
The circular chrome cover cap on the starter will have one of the two bolts get loose from under it and cause a weird rattle of the decorative chrome cover..You will scratch your head several times trying to locate it.
The rubber slider supports at the rear for mufflers..They support the mufflers and are replaceable. They harden & bind after several years..look like rubber blocks under saddle bag support frames..binding is not good and increases vibration....The little metal "L" bracket that supports muffler to starter triangle support . The "L" might be cracked. The metal "L" is replaceable and under $10..rather hard to see without a good little flashlight..Supports helps to avoid cracking of pipe near jug.

 

Unfortunately, no longer an option. I guess I'm going to get to find out just how long an Evo motor will last. 99K and counting.

 

Thats a bitch for sure Beaux ., im no expert but my experience with automotive oil filters has usually shown that although there are a lot of different part #s and applications out there , the filters all work in the same way.? The main differences are in the filter canister size and the thread size of the screw on .? The canister must be of the correct length to fit in the area provided and the o'ring must be correctly mated etc.
As stated , im no expert but im very interested in more info. regarding your motor failure that resulted from a wrong oil filter .
Thanks in advance .

 

I don't think anybody is second-guessing anybody...I'm not and we all know s- - t happens. I would also like to hear more about this. The EVO filters the oil after it leaves the engine unlike a TC which filters it B4 it enters the engine...more-or-less. I would think that the by-pass would not have allowed the oil to back up. If the filter clogged....it must have had one hell-of-a strong by-pass valve in it. If it clogged and the by-pass worked, I can't see running it enough miles with dirty oil to destroy an engine, but it's possible I suppose. All it takes is one grain of sand in the wrong place.

This 5-micron vs. 10-micron thing can be way overblown. A 5-micron filter (Twin Cam) will not stop every particle of 5-microns in size that passes through it. It's based on a percentage over time and flow as I understand it. There are some lab-test and math involved in the determination of what an oil filter will or won't do and I never did look good in a lab-coat. I only know what I read about such things.