After HD came out with the Twin Cam Engine there were lots of stories of the cam chain tensioner wearing out and destroying the engine after only 30,000 miles. The stories are here and on other forums.




In 2007 Harley Davidson changed the tensioner from being spring driven to being hydraulically activated. This was a big improvement but it didn't fix the problem. I am looking for people with real world experience with the 2nd generation (post 2007) tensioner. How long does it last? How often should it be checked? Everything I read talks about the pre-2007 tensioner and they all say the post 2007 is better. But how much better? Does anyone have any specifics on the new style and it's longevity?

 

The new hydraulic tensioners will last much longer; lighter pressure and a roller chain.

The problem with the early tensioners was the result of heavy pressure from the link chain. Failure was hit/miss and there are some that have lasted 50k miles without issues. I have two Harleys and tensioners were worn past the service limits at 12K and 25K miles.

The new tensioners are under much less pressure and once the outer links wear a groove in the tensioner it is contact with the chain rollers. While the new tensioners have a good history and will last much longer, IMHO, they are still a maintenance item. Checking every 25K miles would not be unreasonable.

There are no guarantees but there are not many posts on this and other HD forums about failures.

 

Easy to pull cam cover if you worried about it.

 

Still need to pull the cam plate to check the rear tensioners.

 

I would have to remove the exhaust to check the tensioners.
I use my cycle every day. It's only got 33,000 miles on it. If no one has these fail that soon on the hydraulic tensioners I may wait till winter to check them.

 

You will be fine waiting on checking them...

 

Found a easier way.Use a dental mirror or something like it and you can see the rear tensioner shoe without pulling the cam plate

 

I changed these out at 43k just because I was replacing lifters. There are many more miles left. This is from a 06 conversation using the 07 cam plate and conversation cams.

 

43k on these... The pic didn't go through on my last post

 

Thanks ses!
That's the real world experience I was asking for. They show wear but nothing like something that is about to cause catastrophic engine failure. I feel much better now. I think the new hydraulic adjusters pretty much fixed the issue.