Cold Start Lifter Noise
Road Warrior
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 1,334
Likes: 17
From: Rosamond, Cali
I had my lifters replaced when I had cam work done. They're stock Harley lifters, but the "C" variant versus the B's. On cold mornings, they clatter for a few seconds on cold-start. Then, they're only a little noisy until the oil warms up a little. Warm weather, 60*F+, they're lots quieter. I just accepted it as, once the bike warms up, they don't rattle any more, and, they've always done it (from the time they were installed). They haven't gotten better. But they haven't gotten worse in 6, 7 thousand miles.
I took it to the Indy who did the work. He checked my adjustable push-rods, and they were adjusted ok.
Alan
I took it to the Indy who did the work. He checked my adjustable push-rods, and they were adjusted ok.
Alan
Last edited by AlanStansbery; Jan 3, 2012 at 04:57 PM.
Bob has probably forgotten more than I'll ever know about cams and I am not trying to take anything away from him, but, his ramps are pretty dang aggressive. That may be part of the issue but I'm not convinced that it is all of it because lots of guys run his stuff on this forum and this is not something you read about a lot here. Those steep ramps throw those valves open and slam them shut which is probably in part why they build good numbers but for a street bike, I personally don't see a need to beat the valve train like that on a street bike. Obviously racing is another story. Please let me know how this turns out. On the measuring part, that's how I would measure it and three full turns on the tapered pushrods should be plenty deep enough. I almost always set them at 2-1/2. I have not used any of the Wood directional lifters, what is different about them? What kind of check valve do they have? Why do they bleed down slower?
We use the Wood's lifters with all of our engine kits, one of the most unique characteristics is the very slow bleed down rate. It is not uncommon for them to take and hour to bleed down when adjusting pushrods, and we have had a couple times we left them overnight. Fortunately they are shipped with mineral oil so during first assembly they are easy to work with. They do take a few seconds to bleed up, however I have not ran into any issues where they made noise for more than 5-10 seconds when the bike sat for an extended period.
__________________
Jamie Long / Fuel Moto USA
The USA's Leader V-Twin EFI & Performance www.fuelmotousa.com
Contact 920-423-3309
Email jamie@fuelmotousa.com
Jamie Long / Fuel Moto USA
The USA's Leader V-Twin EFI & Performance www.fuelmotousa.com
Contact 920-423-3309
Email jamie@fuelmotousa.com
Last edited by fuelmoto; Jan 3, 2012 at 06:57 PM.
I personally feel it is likely a lifter issue, if you have your stock lifters I would try swapping them to help troubleshoot the problem. If there was another issue with the valvetrain it most cases would not go away after a couple minutes
Thread Starter
|
Road Master
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 886
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Thank you for answering my emails today and responding here as well. I'm thinking it may be a lazy lifter or two not pumping up right away. Here are the results from measuring my two sets of lifters and my attempt at measuring the lifter bores.
Ok, here are the OD comparisons between my stock Harley Lifters and the Comp Camp 850-1.
They both seem to be very consistent at the size they are. We are talking about 0.0003 difference between the two.
I would say the Comp Cams are as good as the B lifters in OD, if anything a ever so slight egg shape of 0.0001, which shouldn't make any difference.
Standard bore to lifter tolerance listed in the Service manual 0.0008 to 0.002, and if more than 0.003, replace lifters. They should work better in a slightly worn lifter bore.
Harley B Lifters Comp Cams Lifters
Front Exhaust Flats Round Flats Round
Top Diameter 0.8422 0.8422 0.8424 0.8425
Bottom Diameter 0.8422 0.8422 0.8424 0.8425
Front Intake
Top Diameter 0.8422 0.8422 0.8425 0.8424
Bottom Diameter 0.8422 0.8422 0.8424 0.8424
Rear Exhaust
Top Diameter 0.8422 0.8422 0.8425 0.8424
Bottom Diameter 0.8422 0.8422 0.8425 0.8424
Rear Intake
Top Diameter 0.8421 0.8421 0.8424 0.8425
Bottom Diameter 0.8421 0.8421 0.8424 0.8425
Lifter Bores all are with in 0.8435 to .8440, I've never been too good at hole telescopic gauges, but I'm sure I'm with in a few tenths.
All four lifters were well loaded with oil on top and in the oil passage which I checked when pulling them out.
I have SE Tapered Adjustable lifters and wouldn't you know it I broke a nut tonight. Guess I will be getting some grade 2 or 8 5/16 nuts tomorrow morning on the way to work, and modify them to 3/8-24 for replacements, otherwise the Harley lifters would be in tonight.....
Last edited by Hog Yild; Jan 3, 2012 at 10:33 PM. Reason: Not Grade 8 too brittle, use 5s or 2s
Thread Starter
|
Road Master
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 886
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Thank you Jamie, I may take you up on that offer! I'll see how tomorrow goes, if I can find a 3/8-24 tap at work.
HD Forum Stories
The Best of Harley-Davidson for Lifelong Riders
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Verdad Gallardo
8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In
Verdad Gallardo
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Verdad Gallardo
Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept
Verdad Gallardo
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Verdad Gallardo
10 Motorcycles You Should Never Buy
Joe Kucinski
10 Things Harley-Davidson Needs to Fix in 2026
Verdad Gallardo
I actually do have a used set of TW-555's we pulled out of a motor we are adding some compression and Wood's 8-6 cams. if you would like to try them let me know