Ok …… Back into the engine last night. Removed cam cover and support plate. Found the chirp !!! The front jug, inner cam bearing failed. Bits of bearing allover. This bearing failed with 28,500 miles on it. When the bearing failed it severely damaged the casing the bearing was pressed into, the oil pump and front jug exhaust valve guides in addition to the cam shaft itself. Questions that come immediately to mind are:
1) Why did the bearing fail with only 28,500 miles on it ??
2) Why didn’t I purchase the extended warranty ??.
3) What other damage has been done; crank bearing, connecting rod bearings, etc ?

Just for the record, the bike has averaged 2,500 miles between oil changes with the longest interval being 5,178 miles. That occurred last year when sweetie and I road from PA out to Jackson hole Wyoming. The bike is meticulously cared for as I take several long trips each year (40,000 miles on bike in 3 years) After my first long trip (PA to Colorado) had HD put a 103 SE engine on it.

Now I have some decisions to make, I am packing bike up to take to local HD shop for evaluation ….. not sure what that means. In all fairness to them they have treated me well in the past ….. I’ll hope for the best ….. As I see it not many dollars separate me from a re-build of this engine verses a new 103 or 110.

Stay tuned for the next chapter.

 

right away i was thinking heat shields for the exhaust system. would not have thought of the end play for the rocker shafts. good information. glad you got it fixed.

 

I have an engine speed related chirp too, I can make it chirp loud by goose-ing the throttle at idle. I thought mine sounded like either an exhaust leak at the front jug, or as was already mentioned, a compression leak due to a bad gasket. I certainly hope it isnt bearings, only 9k miles on my bike.

 

D@mn! I have had the cams out of my bike twice and checked the bearings. Didnt see anything wrong with mine but may be worth taking a closer look. Glad you found it before total melt down.

 

Have you checked the crank runout? I have heard that excessive crank runout can cause cam bearing and oil pump failure.

 

Well its now been several weeks since we found the chirp ..... failed inner cam bearing after 30,000 milee on the engine. Bike is at the dealer who has been very good through-out this. Dealer has keep me well informed and has made very good and sound recomendations regarding the re-build of my engine. Part of this re-build involves a new engine case. Now for the latest set back. HD send a new case, the engine almost completely assembled and back on bike when the dealer found the primary cover would not fit. After inspecting the hell out of the new engine case it appears that HD's vendor mis-machined the case !!!!! Now I have another 5-7 days to wait for HD to make a new one !!!! So much for HD QUALITY !! ..... If you are wondering if HD is doing anything for me on this ......... no, they are not !!! All I want is the level of quality I and the rest of us paid for when we decided to purchase a HD. You get what you pay for .... and nothing is for nothing !! Stay tuned for the conclusion .... next week ???

 

Just curious, you said the oil was changed ever 2500 miles. What oil do/did you use?
Thanks

 

HD Syn-3

 

Yes !!!!! ..... Bike is back on the road !!!

HD came through 5- days ahead of schedule with a new, and correctly machined engine case this time. The dealer, (HM-HD) did a outstanding job re-building the engine. I need to note, that one of the best attributes of this dealer is the willingness to communicate. They kept me informed every step of the way, whether the news was good or bad.

Ok, so bike now has a 2009 style oil pump w/ hyd. cam chain tensioners. New rings, cam bearings (as this was the source of failure), cams, S.E. cam plate, cranks bearings, new lifters, valves, rocker bodies, rockers, etc.

Well got to go ……. Need to make up for some lost time !!

 

Good to hear...now you get to enjoy that oh so fun break-in period, but the way you ride it could be over tomorrow.

Adam