1974 flh
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Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,252
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1974 flh
Gentleman, I am new to this forum and am looking for advice. I am an old ironhead man but recently I have acquired a 1974 FLH complete. The motor has a blown front gasket and the rear cylinder smokes bad when hot, so im pulling the entire bike down and cleaning, painting and redo/buiding everything from the ground up.
What are some of the bug-a-boos and such that I should be wary of? What should I spend close attention to as far as Oil leaks? My 65 ironhead does NOT leak anywhere and that is rare, but that's the amount of time and effort I am willing to put into this shovel as well.
Anyway, Hello All and I hope to keep you all informed as the build comes along with pics as well.
randy
What are some of the bug-a-boos and such that I should be wary of? What should I spend close attention to as far as Oil leaks? My 65 ironhead does NOT leak anywhere and that is rare, but that's the amount of time and effort I am willing to put into this shovel as well.
Anyway, Hello All and I hope to keep you all informed as the build comes along with pics as well.
randy
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 12,878
Likes: 5,449
From: la la land jerzey
First off welcome to the site === good bunch on most nights great info to be had by all - with the factory books parts and service, and using the correct names for items pictures will help a lot, you will find it easy to repair just about anything on the machine with the help that can be had on the site -- good luck on your new adventure - jz
Club Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 66,122
Likes: 51,434
From: Niles Canyon Ca.
I'll second the welcome to the forums and the factory manual will worth it's weight in gold to you trust me .
You can make a shovel motor leak free biggest trick use the newer higher end metal silicon gaskets not the old paper one and invest in a 3/8" and 1/2" torque wrenches with a set of torque adapters . Shovels are very forgiving beasts as long you follow the steps and pay attention to detail , fix the little stuff before it becomes big problems .
You can make a shovel motor leak free biggest trick use the newer higher end metal silicon gaskets not the old paper one and invest in a 3/8" and 1/2" torque wrenches with a set of torque adapters . Shovels are very forgiving beasts as long you follow the steps and pay attention to detail , fix the little stuff before it becomes big problems .
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 12,227
Likes: 7,802
From: Along the shoreline in SW FL
Head gasket....you got that figured.
Rear jug smoking....gotta put some eyes on her when she's hot. Went through this myself last spring when I picked mine up. Try to find the source of that oil leak. Hose 'n clean her down...go for a ride to get her hot...keep to slower roads so the wind won't splatter oil and make it hard to find the source. she'll start smoking, hop off 'n leave her running. Get down and look. You can usually follow the trail of that hot oil and find the spot she's leaking out of.
With mine, I found it was the rear corner of my rocker box ...figured it was the gasket. Could see the hot oil seeping along that seam....and down eventually onto the header pipe. Yup she smoked a lot at stoplights....LOL.
Pulled the heads in my garage, found the rear left stud for the rear jugs rocker box wasn't "sealed" in there from the prior guy that rebuilt her...she was loose. Took her out..cleaned...put back with a drop of loctite red.
I picked up James gaskets for the rockers 'n heads. The ones with the red silicon bead all along them. James head gaskets are blue...got them too. Many members here seem to prefer Cometic gaskets as a brand...I'll prolly get them for the next time.
Rear jug smoking....gotta put some eyes on her when she's hot. Went through this myself last spring when I picked mine up. Try to find the source of that oil leak. Hose 'n clean her down...go for a ride to get her hot...keep to slower roads so the wind won't splatter oil and make it hard to find the source. she'll start smoking, hop off 'n leave her running. Get down and look. You can usually follow the trail of that hot oil and find the spot she's leaking out of.
With mine, I found it was the rear corner of my rocker box ...figured it was the gasket. Could see the hot oil seeping along that seam....and down eventually onto the header pipe. Yup she smoked a lot at stoplights....LOL.
Pulled the heads in my garage, found the rear left stud for the rear jugs rocker box wasn't "sealed" in there from the prior guy that rebuilt her...she was loose. Took her out..cleaned...put back with a drop of loctite red.
I picked up James gaskets for the rockers 'n heads. The ones with the red silicon bead all along them. James head gaskets are blue...got them too. Many members here seem to prefer Cometic gaskets as a brand...I'll prolly get them for the next time.
Novice
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
From: East coast
New guy here also and welcolm. Looking forward to a build thread always nice seeing how others do things the same or diff. Have fun enjoy my find is safety wire tie on bolts where needed. Inside primary/rear sprocket ahh pesky exhaust bolts enjoy......
Club Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 66,122
Likes: 51,434
From: Niles Canyon Ca.
Remember the 3 L's rule when working on a shovel Loctite , lock washers and lock nuts , use 2 outa 3 and you'll find the bike doesn't rattle apart anymore . There's a cure for the shovel pipes blues , lose the bolts and install studs in the heads and use aircraft 12 point locknuts and use a smear of Permatex Ultra Gray up inside the port and on the gasket & flange , once that stuff cures if you cleaned things well it will hold the pipe on with no bolts . Other thing is take the time to align them and work the rear support bracket so it's solid and you don't have to pull the pipes into it to bolt them up , thats what causes most problems with them .
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Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,252
Likes: 142
Thankyou all for the welcome. The rear cylinder smoked through the exhaust not from leaks. When she got hot it would start to clang and bang too. I found the front head gasket leaking badly and the rear pipe would really smoke with oil in the pipe as well.
I tore the engine down this weekend. Cylinders were honed from the PO and pistons look not too bad but something is a miss. Im taking it to a machine shop and having them bore the holes and ill put in new pistons anyway. Thinking of going 9:1's. Are there any issues with that as far as clearances or should I stay stock? The heads too, Im going to have checked and have the valves reseated and hardened guides install as well.
I checked the side play with the rods and found them to be within spec according to the HD manual I have. Yes I learned to have one from my ironhead builds. Bottom end looks good as long as I did it right. I measured the rod side ways play from the edge of the hole to the rod and its relative horizontal movement. Rods were extended all the way. I hope I did that right.
Anyway, I will start to post pics maybe today so stay tuned.
randy
I tore the engine down this weekend. Cylinders were honed from the PO and pistons look not too bad but something is a miss. Im taking it to a machine shop and having them bore the holes and ill put in new pistons anyway. Thinking of going 9:1's. Are there any issues with that as far as clearances or should I stay stock? The heads too, Im going to have checked and have the valves reseated and hardened guides install as well.
I checked the side play with the rods and found them to be within spec according to the HD manual I have. Yes I learned to have one from my ironhead builds. Bottom end looks good as long as I did it right. I measured the rod side ways play from the edge of the hole to the rod and its relative horizontal movement. Rods were extended all the way. I hope I did that right.
Anyway, I will start to post pics maybe today so stay tuned.
randy
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Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2007
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First pic is what I started with and the next two where I am currently at. Lots of pics to come as the build goes on.
randy
randy
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Intermediate
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 49
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From: north bend
Welcome... new guy here too and also an ironhead fanatic.
In general, you'll find the shovel a whole lot more forgiving to work on than your ironhead. I'll chime in for the value of a factory manual as well. As long as you have it apart, here's some of the things I'd check.
1) Lower end end-play. You'll find specs on rod end-play in the manual. Any good indie can give it a look-see too. (oops, just re-read and saw you did this. never mind)
2) If you're putting in new pistons, put in new wrist pin bushings. First, check the rods out for bend and twist.
3) You're getting your top-end checked out by someone else, so we'll just leave all that out.
4) Check out the hole and slot for the crankcase breather gear. Check the hole for wear and scoring. Check the slot for dremel marks. Too many of these got enlarged - and incorrectly and now have sumping issues.
The rest of the issues, like lifter blocks, lifters, cam wear, etc are the same kinds of things you'll find on your ironhead. What you won't have is cam bushing alignment problems, transmission trap-door alignment problems and all those lovely ironhead things.
In general, you'll find the shovel a whole lot more forgiving to work on than your ironhead. I'll chime in for the value of a factory manual as well. As long as you have it apart, here's some of the things I'd check.
1) Lower end end-play. You'll find specs on rod end-play in the manual. Any good indie can give it a look-see too. (oops, just re-read and saw you did this. never mind)
2) If you're putting in new pistons, put in new wrist pin bushings. First, check the rods out for bend and twist.
3) You're getting your top-end checked out by someone else, so we'll just leave all that out.
4) Check out the hole and slot for the crankcase breather gear. Check the hole for wear and scoring. Check the slot for dremel marks. Too many of these got enlarged - and incorrectly and now have sumping issues.
The rest of the issues, like lifter blocks, lifters, cam wear, etc are the same kinds of things you'll find on your ironhead. What you won't have is cam bushing alignment problems, transmission trap-door alignment problems and all those lovely ironhead things.
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