Plastic Lifter cuff failures ?
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Joined: Mar 2021
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From: Beaver Falls PA
Plastic Lifter cuff failures ?
Has anyone heard of the plastic Tappet lifter cuffs / guides in the M8 engines which Harley has made of plastic failing and twisting under stress ? This is a bomb just waiting to happen ! You would think the bean counters at Harley would of learned a lesson with all the ruined engines with the Twin Cams and the plastic guide shoe on the cam chain, I guess it saves them a couple of dollars . Really Harley, you have lifter rods pumping up and down and you use a piece of plastic to keep them stable and straight ! I guess I now have to go after market and buy new ones made from billet aluminium and install myself , this will be my last Harley .
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Mar 28, 2021, 07:39 PM
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From: Las Vegas
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When removing the bolt heat it with a heat gun not a torch. Back it out a little turn it back in \then out a little back and forth all the way out . Many do keep the HD plastic in place and pull lifters out the bottom. never seen the plastic fail. But on mine the S&S steel went in came with the kit anyway.
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Joined: Mar 2021
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From: Beaver Falls PA
I will heat the engine with a heat gun to loosen the locktite , better than a lifter rod blowing through the engine . What is Harley's malfunction ? Do I need to go to the BMW's or Asian bikes ?
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From: Inland NW
But seriously, I don't think I have ever read or heard of an actual failure? There are a lot of these out there, now, and most of us changed to S&S billet just because we were in there, doing a cam.
I never lost sleep over it. It was one of the "cheaper" upgrades. I would not change them unless I had a reason to pull it apart.
I never lost sleep over it. It was one of the "cheaper" upgrades. I would not change them unless I had a reason to pull it apart.
Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2016
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From: SE Washington
Has anyone heard of the plastic Tappet lifter cuffs / guides in the M8 engines which Harley has made of plastic failing and twisting under stress ? This is a bomb just waiting to happen ! You would think the bean counters at Harley would of learned a lesson with all the ruined engines with the Twin Cams and the plastic guide shoe on the cam chain, I guess it saves them a couple of dollars . Really Harley, you have lifter rods pumping up and down and you use a piece of plastic to keep them stable and straight ! I guess I now have to go after market and buy new ones made from billet aluminium and install myself , this will be my last Harley .
To answer your question... No, I havent heard of any "bomb" issues related to the factory lifter cuffs. Have you?
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From: Inland NW
A "lifter rod" won't blow through the engine. If a roller lifter rotates, it takes out the camshaft. The pushrod just becomes extremely loose when a lifter or camshaft fails.
There may be some isolated failures out there on HDs, I will ask Steve Cole if he has seen such a thing.
@Steve Cole
Like I said, I changed mine, but it was small change compared to the rest of the kit, and I was already in there.
Last edited by NorthWestern; Mar 28, 2021 at 03:41 PM.
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Has anyone heard of the plastic Tappet lifter cuffs / guides in the M8 engines which Harley has made of plastic failing and twisting under stress ? This is a bomb just waiting to happen ! You would think the bean counters at Harley would of learned a lesson with all the ruined engines with the Twin Cams and the plastic guide shoe on the cam chain, I guess it saves them a couple of dollars . Really Harley, you have lifter rods pumping up and down and you use a piece of plastic to keep them stable and straight ! I guess I now have to go after market and buy new ones made from billet aluminium and install myself , this will be my last Harley .
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Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2016
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From: SE Washington
WTF is a lifter rod???? Lol
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From: Inland NW
2nd bomb thread in as many days. BATFE is going to be all over us.