I just bought my first Harley and thought I would check in here. I picked up an 02 Ultra Classic with 36,000 miles on it. It seems to be in really good shape but I'm a little concerned about cam chain tensioner issues. Should I be looking at a hydraulic upgrade right away or can I let it ride for a while.

 

I wouldn’t be overly concerned. Keep an eye on your oil, cut your filters open and see if any plastic shavings are being filtered out. If you change the pipes, maybe pull the cam cover and inspect them. If you change the cams, just go gear drive and be done with it. It’s something to keep an eye on, but no need for paranoia.

 

I had no shavings in my oil, no noises, no anything and my rear shoe was worn to the metal at 30k. For peace of mind it wont take an hour to check the things. Next time you change your oil, pull the front exhaust and the cam cover. Have replacement gaskets on hand. If theyre ok it shouldnt take more than an hour to do. Guessing at it and guessing wrong will smoke your bottom end. The dealers near me knock money off trade on anything over 30k that they didnt do the upgrade on.

 

It is an issue but I often think it was way overblown and not nearly as common as some people lead you to believe. I've heard of them failing at as little as 5000 miles and also heard of bikes with 50000 miles with hardly any wear at all. I had an 03 Road King and an 04 Electra Glide, both of which had around 40000 miles on them when the wear was just starting to be a concern. At the mileage on your bike its probably worth taking a look.

 

If you can't get any info from a previous owner, it would be wise to just check them. As someone said, this problem was probably overblown but if you have one of the bikes with a problem..well.
I have an '04 Electra Glide and at 72,000 miles I decided to upgrade to the Screaming Eagle kit. After pulling the original cam chain tensioners out, there was about .030" wear on them. According to the service manual, they should be changed after .090". So, mine were practically new and after all those miles.
Good luck with your bike.

 

That year, at that mileage, you should definitely look at them.

I would be prepared (fix decided on & money ready) to get them changed when inspected, to save the time/trouble of finding them in need of replacement and not being ready to fix'em.

You have 4 choices:

1) Replace the spring tensioner shoes with OEM or Cyco shoes. This is the cheapest fix, and the Cyco shoes are much better than the OEM. Should last at least as long as the 36K you have now. Still need to occasionally check wear.

2) Upgrade with the HD SE hydraulic cam plate conversion. Not a bad choice, but while it upgrades to the hydraulic cam plate and tensioners, it uses the OEM linked cam chain on the back of the of the cam plate and the better o-ring cam chain on the front. Some believe the linked chain is as much to blame for the tensioners being eaten away as the spring tension. Probably good to monitor rear tensioner wear.

3) Upgrade your cam plate to an '07+ cam plate with conversion cams. This is an excellent choice. You get the new style cam plate with hydraulic tensioners, and o-ring chains front & back. You will need to buy a conversion cam and get a tune. Should be able to go well over 50K miles before inspecting for wear.

4) Upgrade to gear driven cams. Obviously it would take wear on the tensioners out of the equation. However, you MUST check your crank run out. Too much and the run out will destroy the gears... I've read it must be less than .004, yet many believe it should be less than .003. You obviously must buy a gear set, cams, and retune. If your runout is within spec, this would be the best choice... never check tensioner wear again!

It's a great bike (I have an '03 w/95" kit) and you should enjoy it for many years to come....

 

02’s still had the forged crank with the runout spec of .003”. While it’s always wise to check, most likely your bike can run gear drives.

 

I'd go ahead and change out the OEM shoes with the hybrid cam plate, check your run out if it's good the gear drives would be along term fix. While you are in there cams with more torque and new cam bearings should be on the list. I upgraded my 02 SuperGlide to 95" with SE 203 cams and the hybrid plate for better oil pressure. The extra torque and ponies works fine for two up riding.

 

Doing the hydraulic upgrade and as long as i'm there putting in Andrews TW26s a set of Rinehart 4" slip ons and a tune.

 

I agree, go over the "consumable" parts like brakes, cam tensioner, and make sure to change all fluids. Spend some time on Youtube to find out how to do it yourself. Also put out the $$ for a service manual from Harley.....not Clymers, etc. It will be well worth it if you plan to work on your own bike......RIDE