Engine noise
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Intermediate
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 28
Likes: 0
From: East Peoria, IL
Engine noise
02 night train, 25-30k miles started knocking one day then quickly advanced to an awful banging noise, sounds like its coming from the front cylinder so i first assumed a bent valve, but I can't be sure. I took the engine down to the cylinders and noticed a lot of carbon, I assumed the noise was detonation, cleaned everything up, nothing looked bent or torn up, reassembled, started it again and the noise is still there. Now my best guess is maybe a lifter collapsed and it's just slamming against the pushrod, also I can smell a faint burning smell coming from the intake. Before I take the engine apart again, does anyone have any suggestions on where or what to look at?
Ps...about 25-30k miles
Ps...about 25-30k miles
Road Master
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 911
Likes: 9
From: colorado
been here a long while and am still waiting to see a helpful comment from purpledouche. I looked all through the manual, and for the life of me, I cant find the section that tells you how to fix a "banging" noise in your engine. Since the OP tore down the top end, perhaps he has a manual and cant find that section either. Just sayin
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2010
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From: Honah Lee
If you get some trash in a lifter and it bleeds down it will make a terrible banging in the head. That is what I would check. However unless it just sounded like it was going to blow up I would have let it idle and put a stethoscope on it to determine as well as possible were the noise was coming from. If it is a lifter it will be a clatter up in the head. When you pull the lifters pull the oil pump and check to see where trash came from.
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Intermediate
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 28
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From: East Peoria, IL
I tried listening with a screwdriver but that noise is making my butthole pucker so I don't want to let it idle, If a lifter just all out goes bad is it possible to be more than a ticking? I've never actually heard a bad lifter before, but just have been told its a ticking...this is more of a gremlin with a hammer inside there.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 38,460
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From: Honah Lee
I tried listening with a screwdriver but that noise is making my butthole pucker so I don't want to let it idle, If a lifter just all out goes bad is it possible to be more than a ticking? I've never actually heard a bad lifter before, but just have been told its a ticking...this is more of a gremlin with a hammer inside there.
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Stellar HDF Member
Joined: May 2009
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From: Middle of Kansas
Cam chain tensioners is where I would look first also. Do you still have oil pressure? Sometimes trash from the bad tensioners goes to the oil pump, and shears the key. Or maybe just plugged up the screen to the lifters. Might check the screen to the lifters first to see if there is any blockage there.
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Intermediate
Joined: May 2011
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From: East Peoria, IL
Aftermarket gear driven cams, and fueling cam plate, and fueling oil pump, this is my cousins bike and apparently he had a catastrophic bearing failure, he paid a shop to put a bunch of aftermarket components in it, this was 5-6 years ago though. So probably a good idea here would be to first remove the lifters and see if any gunky nasty bits got into them?