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Cam chain tensioner failure survey

432K views 687 replies 357 participants last post by  <G Man> 
#1 ·
I would be really interested on who has actually had a cam chain tensioner failure, what year of bike and how many miles. Also was it covered under warranty. It does not have to be a catastrophic failure can include worn beyond factory specs.

It would be interesting to see if there is a pattern that developes.

I had a 2003 Ultra with 40,000 miles that was beyond factory specs and replaced under extended warranty in 2005.

Doug
 
#499 ·
I own a 2002 Road King with 160,000 miles on it. The cam chain tensioners have gone out 3 times, at 32,000, 65,000 and 95,000 miles. All were covered under extended warranties.
At 95,000 the dealer installed the Bearing kit 24984-99 which replaces the entire guts of the cam tensioners.
Just recently I replaced the whole thing with the new hydraulic stuff to support my 103" big bore kit.
From 95,000 to 160,000 miles I had no failures and the tensioners,chains and pads etc all look in good condition when I installed the hydraulic version.
 
#501 ·
I have a 2003 Dyna Superglide and had an egine failure at 30,000 miles. Not covered under any warranty. Spent $3200.00 for a reman. engine. I now have 16,000 miles on the new engine and cannot enjoy riding my bike worrying about the damn thing going out again. I was told unless the engine was purchased six months ago, the problem still exists. Going next week to get the Screaming Eagle upgrade kit at a cost of about $1200.00.
 
#504 ·
I bought a 2006 Ultra two years ago and now have 28K on it. I just got a quote to change out the chain tensioner from local dealer. The quote was for cam chain tensioner kit, SE 203 cams, oil change and the SE tuner. Total $2418 with almost $800 of that to re-tune the bike. OUCH!:( Will probably do it :yes: as I like the bike (done a lot to it already) and plan on keeping it for a while and will have peace of mind with the upgraded cam chain tensioner and new cams and cam bearings as well.
 
#508 ·
If you were just replacing the cam chain and tensioners it would be about 1/4 that price. Your paying for the cams and tuner upgrade. I went 30k on my 2003 Utlra and had everything in the cam chest replaced due to tensioner failure. I had 60k on my 2006Ultra and had the tensioners checked twice and never had to replace them...

I would just ride it another 20k and check it again. If it fails before then, then you could replace the cams......
 
#509 ·
The cam chain kit is is $550 and labor is about $530 (6 hours). The cams are $330 and will be no additional labor since the jobs already removes the cams. The tuning is about $800 with the tuner and labor. I want to get the bike tuned anyway. When I bought the bike it had Rinehart true duals on it but still had stock air cleaner:dunno:. It was only getting 30mpg. I added a SE AC (I actually pieced together my own AC in order to get a K&N filter and the black backing plate on the advice from V-Twin forum). The mpg went up to 33-35mpg. I then decided to go with a quieter set of mufflers so I installed a set of Bub Stealth mufflers which I really like (also from advice on this forum). The bike was never re-tuned. So I convinced myself if I am going to re-tune the bike I should go ahead and update the cam chain tensioner and while in there change the cams. Pretty good job of convincing myself huh! :)
 
#510 ·
Sounds like your going hydralic for that price. I ran V&H on my 2006 for 60k with no tuning. The bike sounded and ran great. I had done all that with my 2003 and saw no benifit.

Your mileage problem may be coming from something else. You may be disapointed after spending all that money on cams and a tuner....

You can inspect your cam shoes with little work. The inner is harder to see but you can do it.

With my 06 I got into the habit of tearing apart my oil flter at every oil change to inspect for orange flakes from the shoes. It's some work to cut it open but can give you some advance warning...
 
#511 ·
Thanks 1L243 for the jolt of reality. The bike runs just fine like it is except for the mpg is a little disappointing. I may just wait till I get 40K on the bike and reinspect the tensioner shoes. Removing the exhaust is the only hard part of checking them. To change out just the shoes is about $500 mostly labor at the HD dealer.
 
#512 ·
I pulled the cam cover off this weekend and was very pleased to find that I have virtually zero wear on the tensioner shoes. No grooves at all, the shoes look almost brand new and the front chain is as smooth as a baby's butt.
2003 Duece, 23,8XX miles. Based on my annual mileage so far, I may not have to look at the tensioners again for a long while. Stage 1, V & H straight shots, all good. Don't need a hot rod HD, so it will stay as is.
Many thanks for this forum and the great information.
 
#514 ·
Just changed my 2003 RK to gears after a failure of the tensioners at 80k Km and I LOVE IT!
I can hear the whining sound above my Rerker Exhausts (turn down pipes) however it doesnt bother me. I know it is a better system and I have no more worries about the tensioners being worn out.
I feel the bike a bit more powerful at low rpms probably due to the new S&S 510 camshaft.
 
#515 ·
I took my 06 Ultra in to get the hydraulic cam chain tensioner conversion kit installed. I decided to stick with the stock cams because installing different cams would require another $700-$800 to re-tune the bike on top of the $300 for the cams. Well when the dealer pulled the cams they found one of the inner cam bearings bad and the cam was scored. So guess what I went ahead and gave them the go ahead to install SE 203 cams and do the re-tune (I tried to listen to ya 1L243). I was lucky I took it in when I did as there could have been more damage and left me stranded somewhere. I only have 26K on the bike. The dealer stated this was unusual as the he normally sees tensioner pads go before the bearings but in my case tensioner pads were good and the one bearing was bad. I had the inner cam bearing go bad on my 94 Low Rider at about 40K and it did leave me stranded. I had thought the newer model bikes had better cams bearings. I should get the bike back later this week.
 
#519 ·
I realize RB's post is 2 years old, so any body is welcome to answer the question (post # 518.) With out this forum, I would not have known about this problem, great forum, thanks. 1999 FXDWG with 23K miles. I do all of my maintence, but have never been into the cam case, did not know I was supposed to. If I have to replace the inner tensioner, I have to remove the outer plate. How do you keep the cams in time when you put them back in. Or do you have to take the cams out to remove the outer plate? I love this bike and wont to keep it, have done a lot of custom work to it, engine is all stock though, and I wont to keep it that way. I have the shop manual, change all fluids at 5K, like the book says to do. About the cam roller bearings, how do you tell if they are bad and need replacing. Thanks,

James Lee - TN
 
#520 ·
I have catastrophic bearing failure on my 2000 FLHRI at 2600 miles. I still have the little jar of debris that was cleaned out of the area. The motor locked up but it didn't trash anything but the cam area. Currently have 30,000 and haven't checked the shoes for wear since 10,000. If they fail again I am going to gear drives.
 
#524 ·
You should replace both tensioners. If you look back a few posts I've got a link to the tenioners I've used and they are pretty nice. The cams have to be pressed out to get the rear shoe out. Not a big deal if you have a local Indy to do it. I had mine pressed in and out for 20 bucks. The cams have notches on them to keep them in time, and ounce the tenioner is back on it puts pressure chain. Yes the cam plate has to come out also. Your gonna need a cam service kit gasket set. It includes everything you need. Hope this helps.
 
#525 ·
You should replace both tensioners..
You need the Harley workshop manual, a most excellent publication. Also "Donny's (Petersen) Unauthorised Technical Guide - Twin Cam" will help. I deem both books as mandatory literature for anyone working on Twincams. There are some excellent webpages also, to be found with a little research. Apart from that, if you can wield a spanner and know what a torque wrench is, you can do this.

Project Twincam at www.space100.com
 
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