Hello. I'm new to this forum, I have a softail deluxe 2005 carbs, with 40,000 miles that makes a very annoying noise. I already changed the lifters, SS adjustable pushrods, camplate SE and respective bearings, cam teensors, primary tensioner, new oil, rockerlockers. 145 pSi compression test on each cylinder. I don't know what else to do for you. Any idea? The bike handles well, has no faults in motion and pulls very well. it's really the annoying noise.

 

Welcome to the forums. You are going to have to do a little more as to what hind of noise it's making. (Ticking, knocking, whirring, whining or ???)

 

i have a vídeo with the sound. I dont Know Who upload. But its more like a whirring i think😅

 

 

Anyone sugestion ?? Please..

 

Sounds like it's in the valve train? Pushrods hitting the tubes, not adjusted right? Get a stethoscope at (Harbor Freight) and narrow the noise down to a certain spot. Just guessing and throwing parts at it without resolve is expensive and irritating.

 

I change the pushrods to adjustable. ... new ones from S&S ... and whit the stethoscope the sound its the same in all the motor !!!

 

What initiated the noise....???

Has it been doing it for 40K miles, or did you fix/mod/change something and it suddenly started...??

It is a known fact that some twin cam engines, either OEM or with various cam upgrades, are just noisy....

Sounds travel... a noise can originate in one place and travel to appear like it is coming from someplace else...

Remember the old adage... noise when cold, that gets quiet when hot, could be piston related (ie: piston slap) / quiet when cold, but gets noisy when hot, could be valve train noise.... If it's noisy all the time, it could be something loose... This is not gospel, but can be strangely accurate when searching for a rattling/tapping noise..

I suspect that you did some recent work, and then the noise started.... If you check that work, you will usually find the issue... but below is a list of some of the noise makers I've read about, or experienced, over the years...

Start with metal to metal contact from loose items; heat shields, foot pegs/boards/linkages, and finally trim... I once had a rattling sound come from a loose "Heritage" emblem vibrating on the front fender. A clip holding it to the fender had come loose... Took a while to figure that one out... new clip & sound gone..... certainly not your issue, but an example of how sounds are hard to locate..

Check the primary.. for a loose, slapping primary chain, or loose comp nut, etc..

If it is definitely from the engine..... that leaves valve train, pistons/cylinders, crankshaft, or maybe the balancer on a "B" series twin cam...

If it is the valve train, make sure your prior work is done correctly... adj pushrods adjusted correctly and locked well. Even though they are adjustable, some adj pushrods will have an exhaust and an intake pushrod... make sure everything is to spec and done right...

There have been some lessor known issues found over the years ... but these issues aren't from basic wear, they usually surface when changing cams/pushrods/rocker arms... If you have not done valve train mods, these probably are not your issue..

I learned of these from another forum, that is about Harley tech problems, and the posters are techs, shop owners, machinists, etc... They are a very knowledgeable and experienced group.. much smarter than I am..

1) Pushrods contacting the upper part of the PR tube(s) .... Sometimes there will be witness marks, sometimes it's very minor contact with minor or non visible marks on the upper portion of the tubes... the fix is to clearance/open the tops of the PR tubes down 1.5 inches from the top of the tubes.. They widen the tube openings to 5/8". You'll need a lathe to do it, or a machine shop..

2) Rocker arms contacting the rocker cover(s)..... Check the area above the rocker arms, on the underside of the rocker covers. There may be witness marks, but they can be very small. The fix is to use modeling clay in the areas above the rocker arms, put the covers on, rotate the engine by hand several times, then check the clay to see if it shows rocker arm contact with the actual covers. Then clearance the covers where the clay shows contact point(s).

3) The valves contacting the rocker housing(s).... Kevin Baxter has a youtube video showing how he measures the gap between the valves and the rocker housings (the bottom rocker cover) and clearances that gap if it's too close. He finds it can be a source of noise when making changes to the valve train.

4) The rocker base position causing pushrods to contact rocker housings .... As you may have noticed when you installed your rockouts (which I am assuming haven't stopped your noise), the rocker arm bases have slight movement, side to side, when the 4 mounting bolts are loose. The rockouts take up this slack, so these adjustments are not possible with them installed. Some techs will cheat (move) the bases close to the cam chest side of the engine, to see if that minor change to the pushrod angle, affects any possible contact with the rocker housings.

5) Possible sticking valve(s)/ valve seat issues... This can usually be checked with a leak down test


If you're confident the valve train is good, then bore scope the cylinders... look for obvious scoring or gouging to the cylinder walls from broken rings. Look at the piston tops for any contact marks or damage... A compression test, followed by a leak down test could pinpoint a problem with the pistons/cylinders....

If you have to take down the top half of the engine, you would then have access to the connecting rods and could feel for excessive play or stiff movement, suggesting a crank/flywheel issue...

I've only heard/read of one or two Twin Cam "B" series balancer issues, and they were on very high mileage engines... but if there is an unusual sound, and all else checks OK, this would be the only thing left... For my part, I would need a serous issue to split my cases... that's either a lot of work, or an expensive job...

Many things to check, but again, it's usually it's something you have recently touched or changed...

Good luck with your diagnosis and keep us posted...

 

Thanks 🤟🤟 i Will try the options 😈