I have an early 99 twin cam 95 inch conversion with SE203 cams no head work and Ive had a rear exhaust lifter noise that developed after 28000 miles. Cam chain shoes were badly worn so i replaced the chain and shoes, cleared all oil holes of any possible debris and installed new S&S lifters after 300 or so miles the lifter would take a minute to pump up. So despite replacing all 4 lifters again (with factory units), inspecting oil pump, checking all oil passages are clear and free flowing, replacing cam plate recall screw and sealing washer after 300-400 miles the rear exhaust lifter started to tick again. It only ticks after sitting over night. The more miles i put on it the longer it takes to pump up. About a minute to completely quiet down with 600 miles since last tear down. any ideas?

 

I had a comp cams lifter do the same thing, was it dirt ir a slow lifter? I put my old stock lifters back in to test. No noise with the stock lifters. I was so fed up with the Comp Cam lifter by that time I bought Woods lifters. You may just need to replace that one lifter.

 

Did you ever on this bike have the exhaust Y pipe crack on you and you didn't notice it for awhile?

I'm suggesting that the valve itself might be sticking a bit. I ran mine back from Myrtle 250 miles in 95 degree weather one day, parked it for the night and the next morning, the rear exhaust valve hung up long enough for the piston to actually tap it, ultimately leading me to replace the heads on the bike, ( at 67,000 miles.) When I took the top end off, I noticed that my Y pipe had a crack in it, and based upon the amount of carbon under the seat, it had been broken for awhile.

I don't know if what I suggest is really possible, ( to 'burn' an exhaust valve into sticking,) but my rear exhaust valve did indeed stick after the exhaust pipe broke on mine.

Also a 95" Stage II btw...

 

I replaced the lifters twice and both times it was the rear exhaust lifter that is ticking. Since its the last lifter to get oiled, that lead me to check the oil flow. Before i dropped in the lifters the last time i reassembled it, I removed the plugs and free spun the motor over to check oil flow and its flowing like a bitch. The bike has individual duels and I checked for exhaust leaks at the rear pipe the first time I heard the ticking. Changed the oil yesterday, ran down to south beach and back no problems. Started it this morning and same lifter ticking for 20 seconds.

 

Have you ruled out top end noise? I assumed you have done the screwdriver or stethoscope to confirm it's down at the lifter?

 

Yes confirmed with stethoscope every time.

 

nomadiain how much preload are you doing on the lifters?

 

Are you using adjustable pushrods I assume? What brand and how many turns are you doing? Another idea which would involve popping your lifter covers again, but take your rear exhaust lifter and pushrod and swap it with your front lifter and pushrod (roll the two) and see if the problem moves to the front. That will narrow down a few possibilities. As often as you've done this, you know how quickly it can be done. That's what I would try next.