Hi,

I have a 2005 Road King FLHRCI EFI. A couple of weeks ago I upgraded to a Screamin' Eagle cam plate upgrade kit with the bigger oil pump along with the inner and outer cam bearings. I installed Crane lifters (the ones that fit TCs), and put in adjustable pushrods by S&S (not the quickees). After buttoning everything back together I had a horrible clacking/knocking noise coming from the crank case area. I shortened the pushrods 1/2 a turn and tried again. No better. Swithced out the Crane lifters with the stock Harley lifters. A little better, but still a loud clacking/knocking noise. Contacted S&S and looked up info on here and decided that the lifters hadn't pumped up fully. Re-adjusted the pushrods to the full 24 flats as per the instructions. After about 40 miles the noise started to come and go. After another 10 miles (50 total) the noise stopped. After the noise stopped I was cruising down the highway at about 70MPH and the bike just stopped running. I had electrical power, but the motor stopped. No loud noises, nothing. Pulled over and tried to restart. Turns over but will not start. Trailered home. Pulled codes. P1080 code shows up. MAP sensor failure. Clear the code and check the MAP sensor. All buttoned up, no visible damage. Try again. Same, turns over, but doesn't start. Pull codes again. All clear. This is driving me crazy!!!! Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

 

I'd say the first thing to check is see if you still have good compression. If not, you're in for a teardown for sure. If you do, check for oil pressure - use a good mechanical gauge on the oil pressure port.

Given teh amount of noise you had, I'd tear down the cam chest again and check everything really carefully for damage, cam surfaces, oil pump innards, look for any small loose thing that might have gotten left in there, etc. Check the assembly against the handbook and pictures on the web to see if anything got left out, maybe. Drain the oil and look for metal in the residue, cut open the oil filter (use a chisel not a hacksaw) and look for metal and small bits.

That much noise usually indicates some pretty serious damage if it continues very long.

 

Is there any way to check the engine compression and oil pressure when the bike won't run? I'm going to open the cam chest area this weekend and check things out. I was reading that a loose compensator nut can cause a noise similar to the one that I was having. If the compensator nut came off would it cause the bike to quit running and also prevent it from firing up? Thanks for the reply.

 

I set my pushrods between .140-.150 per recommendation from the various builder here. Try setting at 4 1/2 turns on your 32tpi rods. As far as motor stopping on while riding....you got a code for map sensor. Id start there. Did you check the wires to it? I'm guessing you pulled your air filter backing plate to get better access to your pushrods. Maybe the sensor connector came undone or loose? Check if the sensor is dirty in the throttle body. Also...and i know this may sound stupid, but did you run out of gas? I've done it before on the freeway and thought I had more gas than I did and never thought to check.

 

Thanks for the reply. I didn't take the backer plate off when changing the pushrods. I did take the cleaner filter off though. In the process of removing the fuel tank to better inspect everything underneath it. I'm going to get a new MAP sensor as well. I'll readjust the pushrods as well. I noticed that prior to the bike shutting off the noise from the lifters disappeared. It was running smooth and strong right before it died. Also, it had plenty of gas, found out when I disconnected the crossover line. It was about 3/4 full

 

Also forgot to mention, yet you can check compression even if the bike doesnt run. Pull the spark plugs and ground them to the frame. Pull the fuel pump fuse. Remove air filter. Screw in compression tester into front cylinder head. Open throttle wide open and crank until needle doesnt move any further on the dial....bout 5 cranks. Wait some time for the starter to cool and repeat for the rear. If compression is low in either, put 1/2 oz oil into the spark plug hole then test again. If compression is better most likely your valves are good but may have issues with rings.

Funny I just did this last week on my ride to check my ccp. Was at 200 for both front and rear.