Hey guys..new member here.

2006 FLHTPI TC88 EFI 46k miles.

Bike starts running like crap so I exit freeway and pull off in a Texaco. Power would 100% cut out and motor would be dead for 2-3 seconds at highway speed then light back up. Thought it was battery or connection related. Wasnt. Now I have no oil pressure. Bike starts...ok...coughs a bit and blows smoke. Top end noise sounds like a diesel freight train after it warms up a bit...20-30 seconds. Doesnt like to idle. No oil pressure.
I was told by the dealer I bought it from that chain tensioners had just been changed at the recent service.

Before I pull the motor and disassemble what are some ideas? Tensioner shoes shredded? Failed lifters? This is my first harley so I'm fighting my way through.

should I even tear the damn thing apart or just find a low mile 88A EFI and swap them out?

much appreciated and thank you in advance.

 

Any warranty from the selling dealer? Most give 90 days or 3000 miles. If not start by pulling cam cover and see what's going on in there. If that looks good pull rockers and get to pushrods and lifters. Doesn't sound good with no oil pressure...sounds like something came apart. I'd spend some time looking at your current motor before I started shopping for a replacement motor. Good luck

 

 

 

Really hard to diagnose something from a description on the internet.

My first thought was.....

Kind of sounds like it sumped. That means the crank case filled up with oil, it wasn't properly scavenged back to the tank. You lose power & overheat as the crank is now slugging through a bunch of oil, which it is NOT designed to do in a dry sump engine. Not common on twin cams, but will happen if something "breaks". If it just had cam chest work, they MAY have buggered up the main o-ring to the oil pump, behind the cam plate. At highway speeds, if that o-ring let loose, that could cause the sumping (resulting in heat & loss of power), and a lack of oil pressure. Or, debris of some kind went through and scored the oil pump, reducing it's flow.

The bad news is that if you did sump to the point of losing power, that can cause cylinder scoring,and overheating. If it was due to the o-ring and/or damaged oil pump and then loss of oil pressure, that can damage numerous other parts...

The good news..... I could be totally wrong... it could be so many other, less serious things.

Rule out the easy stuff: spark, fuel, restrictions/leaks in either of the air /fuel circuits....

If no joy on the easier stuff, I believe you will have to check the work done in the cam chest. Look for that o-ring, and signs of oil pump damage. I'd bore scope the cylinders to check the condition of cylinder walls, before getting into the cylinders. I'd probably pop the rocker covers and inspect the valve components.

I would absolutely check with the shop that did the work/sold it to you, and see if they will stand behind it... Ddi you get any kind of warranty or was it "as is"? With those symptoms, they would have to suspect that something might have been messed up when they put the cam chest back together... time to check their integrity...

Good luck with the fix, I certainly hope it's not as bad as it first sounded when I read your description.... make sure to post a follow up with the actually problem, and if the dealer helped you at all.....