Hey y'll. I have had my 1985 evo flhtc for about 2 months now and hear a noise in the front of the motor on the right side. It sounds like play in the lifters or something. The thing is I hear the same noise on my 2003 flhtchu/I. I have it about two weeks. The noise is the same just not as loud in the 03. It may be the way Harleys sound being these are my first. I run 20w50 synthetic screaming eagle in the 85 and dyno 20w50 in 03. Any ideas and if I am just looking for problems than just say so because I am good for that!:icon Thanks!

 

is it a whine sound or a ticking sound ? on the 03 I would ask the person you got it from if they did any work in the cam area next to right foot board they might have put a gear to gear drive cam set up in there or the se cam plate/oil pump kit, both are good but you'll need to have one or the other being the age of the bike , on the 85 cam is in the same place just a little bit different set up & a little easier to work on

 

I wouldn't put synth an an '85 engine. That's been around since long before synth became widely available and won't benefit from the stuff. Try a change back to dyno and see if it sounds any better. As for odd noises, they are best diagnosed by an expert who can actually listen to them, like a local friendly indy.

 

Unless you know for a fact that the `85 has the upgraded "B" type lifters (with less than 40,000 miles on them), I would replace those lifters.

 

Thanks y'all!

 

Should I replace the pushrods too?

 

I replaced all 4 of mine with oem HD ones only cost me 27$ from local HD dealer, so yeah I would.

 

If you are in far enough to change lifters and pushrods I would change the cam bearing as well.

 

The cam bearing is already a Torrington B-138.

I still have the original in my `89, over 140,000 miles so far.

I don`t think I have ever heard of a failure.

Only if you see some damage or excessive wear (unlikely).

 

I've never heard of one failing, either, but, as long as I was in there, I'd probably change it anyway, just for peace of mind.