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Hi all, so when my 114 twin cooled just got torn apart for a new cam, there was some moisture in the cam chest. A bit milky looking. Also, coolant level was down about half an inch in the reservoir. Mechanic is suspecting a cracked head. Any ideas? The rest of the oil looked clean.
Hi all, so when my 114 twin cooled just got torn apart for a new cam, there was some moisture in the cam chest. A bit milky looking. Also, coolant level was down about half an inch in the reservoir. Mechanic is suspecting a cracked head. Any ideas? The rest of the oil looked clean.
With the two symptoms you have, slightly low coolant and milky looking oil in cam chest I would not suspect a cracked head esp since the rest of the oil is fine. Can I assume the bike was running fine before you decided to install a new cam? No loss of power or overheating?
I should add that the stock lifters did have a little of the shine worn off them, nothing you could feel. He suggests thats not normal for a bike with only 6000 km on it. I only know enough to be dangerous, so not sure if that is just normal wear or not.
And Im not trying to second guess a trained mechanic, just looking for opinions, experiences, and to educate myself a little.
Last edited by jlasoftail; Aug 30, 2023 at 05:04 PM.
I don't have a good picture angle here but the stock shine worn off is probably "Frosty" is what I described my lifters when I did my Stage II at roughtly 5k miles. They got replaced with my kit from FM I bought.
Give it a good long hour or two run at interstate speeds. Top up and check the coolant level. If no change, I would say it’s probably just not getting warmed up enough to evaporate the humidity and moisture in the air.
“frost” on lifters is a common issue with the m8 and the twin cams. Some say it’s bad, Harley says it’s ok. All I know is my aftermarket lifters used do not seem to do this.
Give it a good long hour or two run at interstate speeds. Top up and check the coolant level. If no change, I would say its probably just not getting warmed up enough to evaporate the humidity and moisture in the air.
frost on lifters is a common issue with the m8 and the twin cams. Some say its bad, Harley says its ok. All I know is my aftermarket lifters used do not seem to do this.
Ill definitely keep an eye on the coolant level. Im not sure if Id really call it a frost on the lifters, more like the shine worn off, but again, nothing you can feel.
I honestly think Im worried over nothing, but I figured it doesnt help to get some feedback from others.
I should add that the stock lifters did have a little of the shine worn off them, nothing you could feel. He suggests that’s not normal for a bike with only 6000 km on it. I only know enough to be dangerous, so not sure if that is just normal wear or not.
And I’m not trying to second guess a trained mechanic, just looking for opinions, experiences, and to educate myself a little.
If you are doing a cam then I would replace the stock lifters with aftermarket no matter what their condition is. I would second guess a mechanic that told you probably have a cracked head, did he suggest big bore jugs since you have one of he heads off?
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Cracked head
