I am in the middle of upgrading my 04 FLHRS to 95". I removed old lifters without noting orientation of oil holes. Nothing in the shop manual. Do the oil holes face the outside or inside of the motor? Thanks for the help.

 

Page 3-41 of the 2004 HD Service Manual for Touring Models says:

"Install the hydraulic lifters in the crankcase bores with the flats facing forward and rearward. To preserve existing wear patterns, orientation of the oil hole (inboard or outboard) should have been noted during disassembly. To avoid damage, do not drop lifteronto cam lobes."

 

It really doesn't matter but I see most of the lifters set in with the hole faced toward the cylinders.

 

I am finishing up my AMS 96" build. The holes in all my lifters were facing away from the cylinders. They were all facing the right side of the bike.

Good luck.

 

I have an 02 fatboy and the holes were facing outwards. In other words you should see the holes as you are putting them in.

 

The last 3 I have done also faced away from the motor. I know the manual says the holes face in but that is not how they are being put in at the factory.

 

It doesn't really matter, on my 04 they were all facing outward. Having said that, depending on the mileage and assuming you are doing cams with this, I hope you are replacing the lifters anyway.

 

If the hole is placed inside of the large radial groove machined into the lifter body, it makes no difference which way you put it in. Some automotive rollers are made with "edge oriface" oiling where the groove is eliminated and oil is only passed through a small hole while the cam is on, or just off the base circle. This type needs to be aligned to function properly, and I think it was designed to keep more oil in the lower end, but these are only used in extreme applications and would have no buissiness in a harley.