Did the push rod adjustment with no change. Got a bubbling base gasket so I think it's time this winter to open it up and freshen it up. It's got Delkron cases so I think a big bore is order--any suggestions?

 

Well it's been a while but life is busy and bike has been parked with this issue. I'm trying to be as helpful as possible because I believe I found the issue with the bad noise my bike is making.

If your bike is making a sound that sounds like a small ball peen hammer hitting an anvil. I would suggest parking it immediately and checking out the lifters.

As much info that is on the net I had an extremely hard time finding any follow up for my problem. Plenty of people talking about a noise and plenty of suggestions, just no one coming back and explaining what they found.

Basically in trouble shooting I began to replace my lifters. Found I had JIMs Power Glide Big Axle lifters #2456-1. Roller was shot with lots of slop and the roller had flatish spots on it. Source of the cause and the noises. Going to try and post a video as a follow up. Hope it helps some one out there.

 

Here is the link to the Youtube video of the Jims lifter roller slop.

 

I had that happen with my first motor in my bike at 46,000 miles. The stock Harley lifters gave out. In my case, the needle bearings fractured under the repeated stress of running and just disintegrated and spread out through the motor. This happened on the front exhaust tappet, and was with the stock cam.

For the record, I heard the noise off and on for about a month, but It would come and go again, so I couldn't pin down exactly what it was. One day, the noise came back and wouldn't go away. By then, I figured out what it was, but the damage was already done. Ended up costing me an engine.

 

Uncle G.--how did you know the motor was junk? Did it take out a crank bearing or something later or did you just tear it down because of the metal going through the motor?

I'm going to put a new cam back into it...has a HQ-0023 in now. My lifter failed on the rear intake and cam is pretty badly scored. Motor ran good so going to put the same cam style cam back in.

 

I had a similar thing happen, I caught it early and was able to account for all the rollers.


https://www.hdforums.com/forum/evo-c...ing-sound.html

 

At the time, we flushed the motor, installed new lifters and a new cam and I ran it for another 40,000 miles. When I went to change the lifters a second time, I found that the outside end of the pinion shaft (right flywheel shaft that rides in the bushing in the gearcase cover) was shot. instead of a bearing surface, it looked like a thread was cut in the end of the shaft. Apparently a piece of bearing remained in the engine after flushing, and got caught in the pinion shaft bushing in the cam cover, where it destroyed the pinion shaft. Without support, the cam gears wore excessively. To replace the pinion shaft/right flywheel, the whole motor has to come apart. At 85,000 miles, you're not going to just do a lower end job, so you might as well do the whole motor, and so I did.

So you could say, it didn't cost me the motor right then and there, but it WAS the cause of the eventual rebuild. The top end was still fine. Ironically, the engine was still running fine, even with the worn pinion shaft, just some excess noise in the gearcase.

I guess if I were you, I'd still probably do what I did. Flush everything thoroughly (including the oil tank and lines and the passages in the gearcase cover) and hope for the best.

 

Best procedure to flush everything?

 

All good advise but i was just about to say check those lifters .!
Only thing i dont understand is that the big bucks JIMS BIG AXEL lifters were designed to actually prevent this type of failure !?

 

Buy a bottle of Marvel Mystery Oil add the appropriate amount to your gas and see if that will clear the carbon build up over a couple tanks full if that is what the issue is.