I've been stumbling across posts that express a problem with the stock TC88B cam chain tensioners. I have 19K on my '00 Deuce. Should I be concerned? Bike runs perfectly at this point. What's the estimated cost of the repair (parts and labor seperately if possible).

 

There's several pictures of worn cam tensioners floating around on this forum. Harley says inspect every 25000 miles, but some folks have reported them wearing pretty badly sooner than that. Problem is, once they start making noise (which is the only way short of visually inspecting to tell if they're bad), they are already shot and causing damage.

The tensioners themselves run about 35 bucks each for two, but you can probably find them discounted on the net. Factor in a new cam cover gasket, oil, orings,etc and parts would run about 100 to 125 bucks. My local indie shop says 2.5 hours labor (have to get the exhaust out of the way to access the cam cover, remove the valve covers and rocker arms to get the pushrods out if non-adjustable, etc).

Hope this helps.

 

If you get an oil filter cutter, cut the old oil filter apart on each oil change, and inspect the filter media in good lighting, you will know when the chain tensioner shoes are coming apart. But you have to check the old filter at each oil change to be able to tell when there are excessive plastic particles trapped in the filter media. Don't use a hacksaw because all the metal filings from the saw blade will be inside the filter when you cut it apart making it impossible to see what you are looking for. I got my filter cutter from a Matco tool vendor. He offered several models ranging from $35 to $150. You just need to be sure that it will accommodate the diameter of the filter you are using. At 19k on a 2000 model there is a good chance the tensioner shoes are on their way out. I've heard of instances where they were completely gone at less than 10k!

 

I have a 2003 Dyna, so it is not a counterbalanced motor,but does have the same tensioners.

I changed my oil every 2,500 miles and used the Syn 3 from 300 miles on the odometer. At 20,000 miles the tensioners were inspected and they had 1% wear.

You are in a crap game when it comes to the tensioners. Good Luck

PS, I had the S&S gear drive put in at the 20,000 mile inspection as I do not need the aggravation of a ticking time bomb in the spring loaded tensioners.

 

These were mine after 25k. Cost you about $100 for the tensioners. You should do the work yourself and save some cash, replace the inner bearings while your in there.

 

On the same subject, read some threads on changing over to gear driven cams. Expensive but they fix the problem once and for all and you will get new found power by selecting a good cam.

 

Has anyone looked into upgrading pre-2007 Twin cam engines to the new hydraulic tensioners? The problem with gears is that the lash has to be set just right or you get a lot of noise. It's also expensive due to the labor involved in changing over to gears. The Andrews website shows how by using A couple of Andrews cams and parts coupled with 07 HD parts you can convert for about $650 if you do it yourself. There's also an article in American Rider that discusses this. Unlike the gear conversion, no special tools are needed. That's much cheaper than gear-driven and promises to be quieter than cams and longer-running than the current spring-loaded tensioners. What you're doing is basically installing the 06 Dyna components. That model was the first TC 88 to have hydraulic tensioners.

I have 35,000 on my 2005 Road King and the tensioners seem to be doing well. But I'll probably replace the tensioners at 50,000 or so and install a little hotter Andrews cams to give me more power in the touring range.

RB

 

RBJones,

I was reading about last night a post on another forum from an indy wrench in a large shop. He said they are seeing the same kinds of wear patterns on thehydraulic tensioner pads in the newer bikes.

650 bucks to add a set of cams and update to '07-up parts is more than an Andrews gear drive set up.

Mostgear drives are very quiet when you put them in...Maybe a slight whine, but that is it. If it whines a lot, generally changing the pinion gear will take care of the problem.

A buddy and I both installed gear drives ourselves. We both just followed the instructions and stuck them in. No special tools to set them up...Nothing... There was no procedure outlined in the instructions for measuring gear lash in either set of instructions from S&S or Andrews. I knew about the procedure from whatI had learned on the internet, but chose not to do it. Both of them are pretty darn quiet. Mine whines just a little when it is cold and quietens as soon as it gets up to operating temp. His is dead quiet.

 

Thanks for the feedback. If the new tensioners aren't any better I can't figure out why Harley chose to continue with them. Guess I'll reconsider and look to changing to gears after all. The Andrews site does discuss valve lash as it pertains to evos.

RB

 

Left one is inner, 38,000 miles on 01RG.
Had the dealer install , new shoes, inner and outer bearings, new lifters, adjustable pushrods, gaskets, came to 650.00.
I`m confident that i will get many more miles on second set then first, using synthetic oil now.