Lifter noise

[xxxflhrci]

I swapped in 26Gs, Crane lifters, and SE adjustables. The lifters are quiet until the bike gets hot. Then, they get pretty loud. You can let it cool down 5 to 10 minutes and it is quiet again until it gets up to operating temp again, then it gets noisier. I adjusted the pushrods according to the directions, had the noise, then went back and adjusted them 1/2 turn longer with not change. I also put in a Baisley spring. It made no difference. Any ideas?

[HDMD88]

Originally Posted by xxxflhrci

I swapped in 26Gs, Crane lifters, and SE adjustables. The lifters are quiet until the bike gets hot. Then, they get pretty loud. You can let it cool down 5 to 10 minutes and it is quiet again until it gets up to operating temp again, then it gets noisier. I adjusted the pushrods according to the directions, had the noise, then went back and adjusted them 1/2 turn longer with not change. I also put in a Baisley spring. It made no difference. Any ideas?

The lifters are bleeding down when the oil is getting hot....try the stock lifters see how they perform, if its still noisey look at the oil pressure galley (where the Basiley spring goes) for irregularitys....the bore should be smooth. I have seen some before that the plunger gets hung up in the bore or sticks in a certin area not letting the plunger do its job to regulate to oil pressure.

[drdevon]

Originally Posted by hdmd88

The lifters are bleeding down when the oil is getting hot....try the stock lifters see how they perform, if its still noisey look at the oil pressure galley (where the Basiley spring goes) for irregularitys....the bore should be smooth. I have seen some before that the plunger gets hung up in the bore or sticks in a certin area not letting the plunger do its job to regulate to oil pressure.

I have stock lifters in a Harley 95" setup with the 203 cams. My bike is at the dealer because of this noise that happens after heating up, and they agree it might be lifters bleeding down - thanks to you (very much!) and many other people here, i knew just enough to ask about it when dropping the bike off and giving the techs a listen. First of all, is it possible one of the lifters simply "went bad" due to unacceptably low oil pressure with the stock setup and needs to be replaced? I have no idea what to expect from the dealer, but thankfully, the head tech and service writer both agreed this certainly did not sound right.....



If so, should I ask them to install the SE lifters? Would SE lifters reduce the possibility of this happening later?

Also, I plan to build my motor up starting in a couple of weeks - have mild heads on the way, Andrews 37 cams with gear drive, and the Baisley Spring. Is there anything else that I should do at that time that would promote this (apparently common) situation from happening?

Thank you for your advice.

[HDMD88]

Originally Posted by drdevon

I have stock lifters in a Harley 95" setup with the 203 cams. My bike is at the dealer because of this noise that happens after heating up, and they agree it might be lifters bleeding down - thanks to you (very much!) and many other people here, i knew just enough to ask about it when dropping the bike off and giving the techs a listen. First of all, is it possible one of the lifters simply "went bad" due to unacceptably low oil pressure with the stock setup and needs to be replaced? I have no idea what to expect from the dealer, but thankfully, the head tech and service writer both agreed this certainly did not sound right.....



If so, should I ask them to install the SE lifters? Would SE lifters reduce the possibility of this happening later?

Also, I plan to build my motor up starting in a couple of weeks - have mild heads on the way, Andrews 37 cams with gear drive, and the Baisley Spring. Is there anything else that I should do at that time that would promote this (apparently common) situation from happening?

Thank you for your advice.

I think you are covering all the bases, but I wonder why you are spending the extra money for the S/E lifters when the stock ones will do for the 37 cam and valve spring pressure you have with that cam? If you were running a tw6h, tw9b, or a cam in that caliber, the valve spring pressure would be greater than stock lifters can handle so the S/E lifters would be necessary. If you want to be over kill on the lifters go ahead, it won't hurt a thing.
The low oil pressure you experienced WILL damage lifters. The lifter piston will travel up and dpown in the lifter bore because of the lack of oil to lock it in place scarring the piston and bore. The clearence between the piston and bore is VERY critical....any damage to this area the lifter can not hold the pressure to lock up so it bleeds off the oil faster than you can pump it in when the oil gets thin. No mater what lifter you go with it can and will be damaged if it runs dry....!
Good Luck

[GRock]

Originally Posted by hdmd88

I think you are covering all the bases, but I wonder why you are spending the extra money for the S/E lifters when the stock ones will do for the 37 cam and valve spring pressure you have with that cam? If you were running a tw6h, tw9b, or a cam in that caliber, the valve spring pressure would be greater than stock lifters can handle so the S/E lifters would be necessary. If you want to be over kill on the lifters go ahead, it won't hurt a thing.
The low oil pressure you experienced WILL damage lifters. The lifter piston will travel up and dpown in the lifter bore because of the lack of oil to lock it in place scarring the piston and bore. The clearence between the piston and bore is VERY critical....any damage to this area the lifter can not hold the pressure to lock up so it bleeds off the oil faster than you can pump it in when the oil gets thin. No mater what lifter you go with it can and will be damaged if it runs dry....!
Good Luck

Another great explanation by the Doc!! I'll repeat this for the umpteenth time. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE STOCK LIFTERS FOR MOST BUILDS!! Devon's may be bad but it's because they were damaged. And if you do wish to part with your money anyway, there are plenty of good lifters to be had for under a hundred dollars. Hell, we use a Crane lifter for GM V-8's that are an exact replacement for the HD twin cam and they cost about $150 for a box of 8. NEVER a failure. Those that buy the things for 3 times the money because it has the letters S E in front of the part # deserve to take in in the wallet and up the poopchute. It just continues to shock me that everyone seems to feel obligated to spend twice as much as they have to. Trust me, the bike doesn't run that much faster with less money in your pocket.

DR. D,

The build you are planning is a strong smooth and reliable build that will be fine with the stock lifters and the Baisley spring. We have used the stockers in engines up to 114". No problems.

[drdevon]

....I asked about the SE lifters only because it was mentioned they have better tolerances and maybe could put up with more punishment. It is clear from your responses this is not necessary. I really appreciate you guys preparing me for talking this over with my dealer (it's warranty) and getting the right parts in there for me to work with when I add some more go-fast here pretty soon.

Thanks again -

D

[Duoglide_62]

Check the obvious first and if you can't find anything, take a look at this thread http://65.38.172.84/forums/showthrea...hlight=Houston

Had the same symptom and couldn't get it quiet no matter how many times we adjusted the pushrods.