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hey guys, I have 01 rkc, when gearing down coming to a stop and letting out on clutch lever I hear a squeak, like possibly coming from the primary and clutch side, mainly does until motor is warmed up fully, its in the 70s here, I have adjusted the primary chain, but it still does it. Could it be in the actual clutch? Clutch does not slip and never has, and since adjusting chain the trans shifts better and smoother in to 1st from neutral, ALOT LESS clunking. And the motor sounds a lot like loose rocker arm noise, the faint chatter of rocker arms. The cam chain tensioners replaced about 4000 miles ago, they still look new. Motor runs great other than that. It does not have adjustable pushrods, it has factory pushrods. Motor has 42,000 miles, could it be the compensator? But it starts right up. Thinking about pulling primary cover, if nothing there, may pull lifters to check those. Anybody have any idea where to start? Thanks for any info.
hey guys, I have 01 rkc, when gearing down coming to a stop and letting out on clutch lever I hear a squeak, like possibly coming from the primary and clutch side, mainly does until motor is warmed up fully, its in the 70s here, I have adjusted the primary chain, but it still does it. Could it be in the actual clutch? Clutch does not slip and never has, and since adjusting chain the trans shifts better and smoother in to 1st from neutral, ALOT LESS clunking. And the motor sounds a lot like loose rocker arm noise, the faint chatter of rocker arms. The cam chain tensioners replaced about 4000 miles ago, they still look new. Motor runs great other than that. It does not have adjustable pushrods, it has factory pushrods. Motor has 42,000 miles, could it be the compensator? But it starts right up. Thinking about pulling primary cover, if nothing there, may pull lifters to check those. Anybody have any idea where to start? Thanks for any info.
Well, the bad news is that you have a 2001 Twin Cam...
That year Twin Cam had an almost bullet proof, long lasting compensator... That design has survived years of abuse from Shovel Heads, EVOs, and early Twin Cams.
That year had a solid, virtually problem free manual primary chain adjuster. It was the first two generations of automatic primary chain adjusters that were problematic ('06+).
That year had the "B" lifters, thought to be as good as any aftermarket lifters by many techs, and home garage mechanics. It wasn't until 2010 when the "C" lifters were introduced that Lifter issues appeared.
That year had the left side Timken bearing, and forged crank. A very solid bottom end. That was before the "loose compensator bolt", and comp "bolt stacking" issues that popped up for 2003-2006 Twin Cam models.
So your bad luck is that a 2001 Twin Cam didn't have any of the issues later Twin Cams had, that could cause your noise. You basically have no "usual suspects" to start rounding up.
So if it's a comp, lifters, primary chain adjuster, comp bolt, or whatever... there will be no diagnosis short cuts.
Unless of course, I've forgotten, missed, didn't know, about an issue that was known to cause that noise... In that case, someone smarter than me will hopefully chime in and educate us both... Always a possibility...
Until then, you'll have to diagnose it with the old fashion methods of tracking down a noise...
I would start by checking with a good stethoscope, to see if I could narrow down the actual area of the noise...
Then without any guidance, I would check out the clutch rod bearing (aka:throw out bearing), and the clutch itself...
Check the belt for being loose. If you don't understand the proper tension, spray it with some water and see if it goes away - very fast test. Loose belts squeek on initial decel and on/off throttle.
Last edited by Ed Ramberger; Sep 16, 2025 at 07:17 PM.
Ok guys I have an update, I was checking the drive belt, seems correct tension but some thing in there is laying down on the belt! When I touched the belt to check it, I got what looked like black soot all over my hands and something is laying down on the belt! Im gonna include a picture so anybody can kinda see what it might be! The belt itself looks fine, what ever is laying on the belt is not part of the belt.
Last edited by Sevenznuf; Sep 19, 2025 at 03:08 PM.
Ok I just seen that its called the lower drive belt cover, the pictures Ive seen of those do not anything loose that hangs down on the belt, do u think I could have picked something up and it stuck in there? It seems to be either attached and made to the cover or its stuck in there real good. Should I try to just pull it out or cut it out? Thanks for any replies
The belt guard is basically an attempt to keep rocks and stuff from the belt. Your pictures look like the rubbery/fiber piece that runs vertically along the inside of the belt. The other portion of the guard is a hard plastic. The belt guards are there to help keep out rocks, so next time you have a tire off inspect it all.
The sprocket is starting to square, so it looks like it has miles. How much deflection is in the belt pushing up in the middle of the from the bottom when it is cold in inches?
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Squeaking noise
