Cam bearing change question
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,615
Likes: 50
From: Baton Rouge, LA
The reason I asked the original question is I remember something about the earlier twin cam models have cam bearing problems (I don't remember which years) and you needed to replace them whether you changed the cam or not, I was hoping/thinking that Harley had corrected the problem in later models.. I'm still debating whether to change the cam bearing out or not
Evos had very small 3/4" inner bearings with a configuration similar to the INA's (made by Shaeffler Technologies) in today's stock bikes, and may have been INA. When you did a cam job on an Evo you were never given an option, and changing to Torringtons was the rule, not just a suggestion.
Early TC's went to 7/8", which was an improvement, and I don't know how prone these are to failure. Most of the cam-bearing failures in these bikes were the outer bearings.
Newer TC's have 1" INA bearings and I've never heard of these failing. My dealer uses the INA on cam installs and HD includes them in their cam-install kit which I assume makes them approved for every cam upgrade, so at least HD and some of their dealers are convinced they are safe. All that said, I would still swap them with Torringtons.
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Cruiser
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 179
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Iclick, Thanks for the info, now I feel like I can make an educated decision about the bearing install, I'm waiting on the parts to come in and I have purchased a set of bearings in the order and if I do the swap myself I'll need to round up some sort of bearing removal/install tool. Two reasons I'm shying away from installing the cam bearings is the cost of a tool and 35 years ago I had a VW that I was always chaging the seal in the transmission, and I remember always struggling with the getting the seal to seat. But everyone is correct, if I'm already in there, go ahead and change out the bearings for insurance, they aren't that expensive.
Cruiser
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 146
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From: Boise Idaho
I am still researching my upgrade also so I have not tried this but I have read that putting the bearings in the freezer overnight will make them easier to instal using the old cam as described in post #2. Somewhere on line is also a series of good pictures showing how to get the bearings out using the blind puller you can borrow from Autozone. It looks very easy.
Road Warrior
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,498
Likes: 213
From: Atoka, TN
I am still researching my upgrade also so I have not tried this but I have read that putting the bearings in the freezer overnight will make them easier to instal using the old cam as described in post #2. Somewhere on line is also a series of good pictures showing how to get the bearings out using the blind puller you can borrow from Autozone. It looks very easy.
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