cam chain tensioner
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Novice
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
From: New Jersey
cam chain tensioner
have a 01' FLHTCI. I bought it two years ago with 43000 miles on it. I love this bike. been riding for thirty odd years and driven almost every kind of bike. honda, kawosaki, yamaha, and so on. in short i finally found the bike that i love driving. the bike now has 62000 miles on it. the last trip my wife and i took, i noticed some engine noise coming from the front of the bike. I took it to my nearest HD dealer who claims that the cam chain tensioner is whats making the noise. the bike has not lost any power and still rides like new. now talking to a few people they claim that its time for a rebuild. and some say just fix whats ever is wrong (i'm one of those people). being that i have a forum which i can pick other bikers knowledge, what are some of your opinions??? also i was told that HD has a gear cam drive that i can convert to. is it worth to convert with a new cam at this amount of miles??? I am **** about maintance and care of my machine w/ above norm oil changes w/ mobile 1 V-twin oil. So what do you think??? 
You can put in the new cam chain setup but gear drive cams are not really necessary with that setup. The main advantage to gear drives is they eliminate the need for the can chain tensioner setup by harley. The newer cam chain setup has not had any catastrophic failures like the older steup in teh twin cams. If you do different gear drive cams that will also elimiante the problem. Or, you could jsut replace the tensioners, but then you would ahve to chck them in about 25K. Do a search as there are plenty of threads on this subject.
Road Warrior
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 1,282
Likes: 2
From: Yukon, OK
If it was me i would just swap them out for gear drive and keep riding.....you can find a set of cams real close to stock so it wont affect the motor anymore than normal......I am on the last leg of my tensioner and I am going to just go to gear drive and be done with it.
But you could just replace the tensioner's and that will give you time to find a good cam....for your style of riding.
But you could just replace the tensioner's and that will give you time to find a good cam....for your style of riding.
Road Captain
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 724
Likes: 2
From: Cincinnati Ohio
I just replace the tensioners every 22,500. So I've done it once. I'll see how the new tensioner style holds up. So far so good, but there are reports of them failing on some of the 07's already. Not many reports, but some.
Cruiser
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 153
Likes: 0
From:
My 2001 FLHRCI's inner cam chain tensioner was nearly "sawed" through at 24,000 miles. Since the engine's crank shaft runout was within the specifications (.002), I had an Andrews 21 gear drive set up installed. The bike does whine a little but I wanted a permanent solution to the tensioner problem instead of an upgraded product. I think this cam change was worth it. Following Joe Minton's engine build recommendation, combining the Andrews 21 to a 95" big bore resulted in my having a highly reliable and great performing engine. Last week my wife and I rode 1600 miles to and through the rocky Mountains and the new cams made it "pull like a mule" up the steepest of grades. There was no pinging and very little downshifting was required.
Knowing that I'd never get any kind of return on the money I spent for these modifications would not keep me from doing the same thing again - even if my bike had 62,000 miles. Many people believe that the 2000 to 2002 Twin Cam engines were very well made with regard to crank shafts, bearings, etc. Our 2001s are great bikes! I have no regrets building the bike the way I like and plan on keeping for many more years.
Knowing that I'd never get any kind of return on the money I spent for these modifications would not keep me from doing the same thing again - even if my bike had 62,000 miles. Many people believe that the 2000 to 2002 Twin Cam engines were very well made with regard to crank shafts, bearings, etc. Our 2001s are great bikes! I have no regrets building the bike the way I like and plan on keeping for many more years.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 10,033
Likes: 29
If you want to keep you stock cams, simply replace the tensioners and ride on. If you want to swap cams, go ahead and go with gears. The cost of upgrading to gears compared to swapping cams and new tensioners is only about a 200 buck difference. With gears, once it's done you don't have to worry about checking it again.
As posted above, your bike is a well made machine. '99-'01 bikes have the stronger and truer forged crank in them compared to the cast crank in later model bikes.
As posted above, your bike is a well made machine. '99-'01 bikes have the stronger and truer forged crank in them compared to the cast crank in later model bikes.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,615
Likes: 50
From: Baton Rouge, LA
FWIW, I changed cams at 25k and the tensioners of my '07 had barely any marks on them, certainly enough pad surface to last several 100K miles based on present wear patterns.
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Cruiser
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 173
Likes: 0
From: Brighton Mi.
I changed mine at 29000 and they were worn vary thin but did not make any noise. If they are noisey I think they my have shatered ,that is what they do just befor the engine seizes. Check them quick. I think gear drives are costly but worth it if your **** about mechanics and if the money is flowing i thinf roller rockers are cool to. Fuel injected? retuning is needed with some other cams but close to stock will be ok. Did you get 60000 on the original tensioners? must be second set or you have lots of ground up metal in the engine. Get a manual and do it at home just for the fun of it. 02FLH over and out>>>>
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Cruiser
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 208
Likes: 0
From: Colorado Springs, CO
Do some searches on cam chain tensioners. There are a lot of posts on the subject. I bought and extended warranty and it would have fully covered putting them back to stock but it is not fixing the problem. They extended warranty would work if you nuke a motor due to bad tensioners. Harley knows this is a problem but will not issue a recall. I had to pay for parts to to the hydraulic upgrade but the warranty covered the labor. Check my recent post on this issue.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 5,072
Likes: 104
From: Prescott, AZ
Do some searches on cam chain tensioners. There are a lot of posts on the subject. I bought and extended warranty and it would have fully covered putting them back to stock but it is not fixing the problem. They extended warranty would work if you nuke a motor due to bad tensioners. Harley knows this is a problem but will not issue a recall. I had to pay for parts to to the hydraulic upgrade but the warranty covered the labor. Check my recent post on this issue.
I have the 7 year ext warr HD and would love to get them to replace the tensioners - However, I still have just under two years left on the warr, may just wait it out... it it fails,, HD eats it, less the 50 bucks, yes - if it breaks while I am on a trip - I am some what screwed - ???
Last edited by harley0711; Jul 10, 2009 at 11:34 PM.
