Hi guys, just a short note to let you all know the the problems with the cam chain tensioners is real, it's not over stated, and is not an old wives story!! My 2002 Road King Classic has just a hair over 28000 miles on it. So I decided that this spring I would pull the nose cone and check the cam chain tensioners. After the nose cone was removed and I got a good look at the outside tensioner I thought that I took it all apart for nothing. There was only about .015 wear on it at the most. But when I looked over the edge of the cam plate with a mag light and seen the inside tensioner my heart almost sunk. It was totally shot. After I got the rocker arms loose and the push rods and the lifters removed, I pulled the cam plate with the cams. I could see that the inside tensioner was severely worn, but wasn't rubbing metal against metal yet. I think that it would have in another 500 - 1000 miles. The other thing I found was that the front cam on the needle bearing end had a wear spot about .250 wide and maybe .005 deep about 1/2 way around it. I don't know if this was caused by a soft cam or an issue with the INA B-148 bearing. I do know that I will be replacing the INA bearings with the Torrington brand with the longer needles. I guess the good news is that my oil pump looks good and I was lucky enough to check things out before I had major damage. I know in my own mind that if I would have kept riding it that I would have been shelling out the big bucks. Call me stupid, but I decided to stay with the chains. I polished both chains on a buffer so the back sides are completely smooth and shine like chrome. I'm just waiting for the inner cam bearing removal tool that I ordered from "George's Garage" should be here on Wednesday. then back together using SE-203 chain driven cams.
As I mentioned above, the stories are true! So if you have a few miles on your baby, do her a favor and check out the tensioner shoes and the cams before you have major problems. My Road King has been perfect, this is the first expense I've had other then tires and chrome do-dads.
Good Luck,
Bruggy

 

My 1999 FXDS-Conv....after the cam bearings went out around 25,000 miles...of course the entire engine had to be gone through. Mine had the exact findings you encountered....

HD could have done a much better job at designing the Twin Cam. I've seen various problems in the EVO, but nothing like the Twin Cam. With all the years and hours they put in designing the Twin Cam....and how they really boasted about longetivity and the realiblity of the engines...why do they still have problems? I do not get it at all......

Long Live the EVO.....

 

07 fixed the cam issue.

 

Hammer02,
I really hope that you are right. But are there enough high miler 07s out there to really tell?
I guess the other thing is that I think that Harley is kind of leaving the rest of us with the twin cam 88's holding the bag. Its not a question of whether or not the cam chain tensioners will fail on the twin cam 88's, its a question of when. It appears to me that the only sure fire way of curing this problem (providing your crank run out will allow it) is toswitch to gear drive and change out the inner cam bearings to the torrington b-148s. This is what I will eventually do, but I can't afford to right now, so I'm sticking with the chains.

Bruggy

 

I did the same thing you did. I decided to have my Cam Tensioners checked this Spring after 32000 miles. To my surprise they looked almost new (both) with minor equal wear. Don't know the answer but there it is.

 

Glad you started this thread. It matches my experience exactly. At 30,000 the inner tensioner was shot. I too caught it just in time. Although this topic has received extensive coverage on the HD Forums, it needs to be reposted regularly for the sake of the newbies coming on board.

 

Have any of you had any experience with polished chains? My thoughts are that anything that we can do ti minimize the friction should increase the longevity.

Bruggy

 

That sounds like a sound theory for a new chain. However, I don't see it with an old chain. The old chains should be worn down pretty smooth after tens of thousands of miles of rubbing across those tensioner pads.

 

I don't know if my TC88B is in the same condition as yours was. But, I wonder if there are any diagnostic tests which can be run without removing the cam cover? I purchased my Standard w/ 11,000 miles, and it now has 22,000 miles, with all required service work done as scheduled. So, what do I look for or what do I feel which would lead me to say, 'it's time?'

 

I would highly recommend pulling the nose cone and checking the chains. As far as when, I don't think any of us know the answer to that question. There appears to be some relationship to the amount of miles. Mine had 28000 on it when I checked it, and I almost waited too long. I think they should be checked at 20-25 thousand miles. The only problem with this theory is that there are cases where the tensioners have failed at 8-10 thousand miles. But anyway in regards to yours, If it were mine I would be checking it now!! If its OK all it is going to cost you is a little time and some gaskets.
Good Luck!
Bruggy