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I bought my ‘06 in 2015 with 6k on the clock. I checked the tensioner, which looked good. I pulled the cam chest apart a year later with 13k on the clock, and the tensioner had severely degraded. They look good now, but could disintegrate in short order. My advice would to replace soon.
I bought my 06 in 2015 with 6k on the clock. I checked the tensioner, which looked good. I pulled the cam chest apart a year later with 13k on the clock, and the tensioner had severely degraded. They look good now, but could disintegrate in short order. My advice would to replace soon.
Man that's awful. Still have no idea how Harley got away without a recall. Just seems unfair. I ordered the cyco shoes and adkustable push rods from s&s. Bike is apart now in the garage. Sucks because the weather is beautiful and I can't ride it.
The choice should be based upon how many miles you rider per year and thus how often you want to replace this durability defective design. With so little miles on your bike replacing the tensioners with cyco tensioners will probably last you until you can't stand to ride your old bike anymore. You are the rider who Harley is designing their their bikes for. Of course those who trailer their bike, ride no more than 2k per year, or trade in every 2 years don't even think about what you are facing and never have a complaint and to them the design isn't defective. It used to be said that 35k (when HD was pressed for a true response) was the time to make the change. You can watch your oil filter by cutting it open and looking for little orange plastic flecks if you want to push your luck... because some have failed at 20k... the real problem is when they break in half. If you want to have a trustworthy bike for 100k+ then you need to plan on a new cam plate, hydraulic tensioners, and cams that let you get completely rid of the multilink chains (the primary cause of the problem).
I replaced the tensioner shoes on my 05 springer softail with the CYCO shoes. I also replaced the inner cam bearings, installed Andrews TW21 cams for low end torque, and used S&S quickee pushrods. Heartland products makes a reasonably priced inner cam bearing tool. I was surprised to see that my TC had the same INA bearings that was a problem for the EVOs. I replaced them with the Torrington bearings. Harbor Freight has a good press for pressing in new cams. You'll need the cam jig … check J&P cycles. FSM and you tube are good resources.
Probably... the real problem is when you want to fix the other dumb stuff that requires a fancier tool set than it makes sense to own when you are working on a single bike. You will want to get rid of the multi-link chains and the INA bearings and oh, hey, what the heck... let's pump up the cams and the oil pump and get rid of the spring tensioned shoes while we're at it... all stupid designs for anyone that rides any distance. My inner cam journals were shot, my shoes were shot, and with what I paid for a HD that was the status at 45K? I called B.S. and fixed it all... not cheap back then, either.
I replaced the tensioner shoes on my 05 springer softail with the CYCO shoes. I also replaced the inner cam bearings, installed Andrews TW21 cams for low end torque, and used S&S quickee pushrods. Heartland products makes a reasonably priced inner cam bearing tool. I was surprised to see that my TC had the same INA bearings that was a problem for the EVOs. I replaced them with the Torrington bearings. Harbor Freight has a good press for pressing in new cams. You'll need the cam jig check J&P cycles. FSM and you tube are good resources.
Thank you! I actually found a local repair shop ran by one guy. Hes letting borrow the tool and is going to press my bearing on my cam plate. Thanks a ton!!!!
Replaced mine this week after 27000 miles, really not a big deal just take your time. Also replaced bearings, cams, followers and pushrods while I was in there. Inner shoe had more wear and basically fell apart when removing it.
Replaced mine this week after 27000 miles, really not a big deal just take your time. Also replaced bearings, cams, followers and pushrods while I was in there. Inner shoe had more wear and basically fell apart when removing it.
How did you press the bearings on the cam plate? My local shop said they do it for $85 and assemble the camp and bearings for me. That a good deal anyone? Is it worth it?
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