Hello to everyone on the forum. I bought an 02 FXST a while back and it's become my project bike. Even thought it's 20 years old, not many circles I run in are interested in a TC88 over an Evo or a Shovel for their project. Long story short, I'm on a bit of an island. I'm approaching this rebuild in a slightly non-traditional manner as well. I'm not looking to restore it to stock and I am not overly interested in getting more power into the engine. I am interested in upgrading the bike for durability. I'd like to upgrade and replace the things that Harley may have cut corners on or in areas where an aftermarket upgrade brings stability and longevity to the bike's life. For example, the first thing that comes to my mind are the cam tensioner shoes and their wear issues.

I'd appreciate any input from the forum on known issues with the TC engine or things that you've found working in your own garage. It will help me put together the list of projects. Thanks!

 

An '02 should have the Forged crank and Timken crank bearings. That's a plus for starters. If it hasn't had the crap beat out of it, I'd put in a S&S 509 or Andrews TW21 drop-in cam. Both are about the same specs. Nice bump from stock cams. Pulls well off idle and down the road. The Cyco shoes for tensioners. All cam bearings and misc items to go with it. New rocker box breathers. Tune and better breather than what's showing in the picture. Keep serviced and you'll be good for many miles. Any more than that you'll be looking more $ for head/valve spring work. Just depends how far you want to go.

Edit; If you want to go gear drive cams, you'll need to measure the crank run out for <= .003
Even at that spec, you may or may not have gear whine noise.
Keep the forum update.

 

I agree with the above post on the cam choice unless you do head work & bump compression - If you do a gear drive at .003 runout you will probably need to run undersize gear to allow for the wobble - If you hear gear whine it is too tight and may break a gear

 

Like the above posts mentioned, make sure to run inner timken bearings, hydraulic cam tensioners, or gear drive. Also upgrade the valve guides on the heads, and go with beehive springs

 

You don`t mention miles
All you NEED are Cyco shoes and bearings

 

I picked this up with around 12k miles.

 

I know you said you’re not looking for more performance just better reliability. But if I were opening up the cam chest to do tensioner shoes, might as well toss in a set of cams. Great bump in power for the money spent and will improve your enjoyment as well!

 

Robarosa and 88 have it right. CYCO tensioner shoes, Koyo/Timken inner cam bearings and upgrade the head breathers to the later stamped version (PN 17025-03A). I would also vent the head breathers to the atmosphere; plenty of YouTube "how to" videos and members also have posted pictures of their DIY systems.

Upgrade the air filter to the SE version (PN 294000240) or an after market piece, not a durability upgrade but if installing a bolt in cam set, better breathing. As Robarosa mentioned, while working in the cam chest, dropping a set of mild cams is worth the extra cost and labor. Of the two Robarosa mentioned, I like the S&S 509 a little better than the Andrews cam. Changing cams will require replacing the outer cam bearings as well.

Upgrading the head breathers requires removal of the rocker support plates and on many early models the rear support plate is a PITA to get out but it will comeo out. The new breathers come with shorter bolts. Be sure and blow any oil out of the threaded bosses for those bolts.

I have assumed that the bike is EFI and, if so, spend the money to get the motor dyno tuned when done. The cam and air filter upgrade will need tuning to optimize the mild boost in performance. Most tuners these days sell a Power Vision license so the customer doesn't have to buy the hardware/software; just pay for the license and tune.

Softails have an oil tank which will drain into the crank case while the bike sits between rides; some will drain faster than others. Many softail owners have not been aware and check the oil before a ride, stick reads low, they add oil and two blocks away from home all that addes oil is being puked through the air cleaner. Check softtail oil hot and on the jiffy stand; never check it cold.

'02 is a great year. My last project bike was an '02 FLHT; should never have sold it.

 

Totally agree with this. You mentioned "Stock" so you don't need cams if you're on a budget. Just the shoes and inner bearings at 12k.

 

Not sure I would worry about bearings at 12k.