Men, I am going to readjust my SE tapered pushrods and Woods directional lifters to .150 preload to try to remove the noise from my 2013 Road King. All the procedures make sense , but after getting lifters on the low point of the cam do I have to wait or can I readjust right away on the first set? I realize about bleed down before doing the other set. Also should I add the half turn or start from scratch and then go to 3.5 turns . Thanks I am obsesseed with the noise that has been there from when I left the dealers lot when new.

 

You don't have to wait until after you adjust the first set

 

A trick many do not do... sometimes you have chase the gremlin & adjust each p-rod differently. Its often no more than 1/4 turn to reduce the clicking. I always do this tweeking when the bike is hot because thats when the noise is. Its a pain, messy, gets you burnt fingers and takes time but often the outcome is worth the trouble.

The trick is to get a trouble shooting stethoscope, available from a parts store or a piece of rubber hose and start with the loudest p-rod first.

Patience is key here.

 

Jim, thanks for that advice, it is good to hear that after the money spent on the cams, lifters etc that there still may be hope. I am hoping that the extra half of a turn will get me there. Do you start from scratch or just add the amount of flats needed?

 

My preference is to always start back at zero lash and then apply the appropriate turns for the desired lifter preload.

And if you think the factory didnt preload the lifters properly, then why would you want to assume they did by just adding a turn or so? So "start over".

 

Joe, these pushrods were installed a few weeks back to try and rid the top end of noise. I went three turns and it was not enough. To my knowledge the factory does not adjust lifter preload.

 

All rotating/moving metal mating parts have to have tolerences built in so the oil can get to the moving surfaces. It is these stacked up tolerences that when put all together will give you the noise we all chase.

When you have new parts it always takes miles before the metal parts mate up with each other. Generally I go 500 miles before starting the clicking chase & sometimes it has to be done again many miles later before it finally settles in.

I dont start back to zero...after 500 mi I get out the stethoscope & find the loudest p-rod and always increase the length 1/4 turn, put it back together, fire the motor up & listen again to see if it made a difference. If it got louder then back it down 1/4 turn ( where you started ) & fire the motor & listen again. Sometimes reducing the length by a 1/4 turn is whats needed. I have made as small as 1/8 turn adjustments. Its purely based on how **** one wants to be in chasing the noise.

Its more of an art than science... determination & patience is the key.

Sadly all of this p-rod work can be in vain if your rocker & shaft assemblies are banging around. Its just easier to start w/ the p-rods.

 

Please let us know your results. I would love to quiet mine down too.

 

I'm getting ready to install new SE rods as well and looking to get rid of the noise coming from the front cylinder exhaust push rod as it is the loudest. Please let us know your results as well. Very interested.

 

Yeah.....me tooI would be very interested also, that's where mines been since 5k miles. Good info to know the option of 1/4 turn is there. Sounds like the fun just begins after you put it all together.
Update:
I just took everything apart in preparation for the lifter and SE rods coming next week the hardest part of the project is complete. I'm starting my pre-load at 15 flats putting me at .105 pre-load. I will post my findings but I have no illusion the rods and lifters are only two components in many. Right now I want to restore perfect function to the lifters. With the bleed down I'm getting after just 15 minutes of sitting after complete warm up I've got at least one failing lifter. One thing I did notice that I found interesting, all the lifters had the oil hole facing to the center except one (front exhaust lifter). The jug that's been getting noisy since the 5k mentioned above. Notelling if this is the bastage that's been bleeding down but replacing em all rules out not getting to the right one.