twin cam B lifters? : V-Twin Forum: Harley Davidson Forums

ourglide · 08-12-2008, 08:21 PM

i have a 2003 electra glide, 26G andrews gear drives, i has alot of lifter noise, the stock lifters have 27,000 miles on them.It is fine when cold, at operating temp sounds like a bag of marbles. i have been reading alot about "B" lifters on this site, will these make this normall sounding, what is the difference between the "A" and "B" lifters, can i get a P/N#....I am taking to the shop to re-adjust the valves to see if will quite down, it has 100 miles since cam swap...looking for a solution...Thank you....

nighttrain67 · 08-12-2008, 08:34 PM

The stock harley B lifter is a very good piece. You should not have a "bag of marbles" sound with those, or any lifters especially with a mild cam such as the 26G.

2002classic · 08-12-2008, 09:37 PM

The stock lifters in your 2003 are "B" lifters. The part# is 18538-99B. Hope this helps.

Roy

TXCHOP · 08-12-2008, 09:39 PM

Unless your backlash is wayyyy loose,p-rods are rubbing, or any other clearance issues, having the shop preload the lifter .140 with some good, non piss thin oil should do it. Oh and the "b" lifters.

ourglide · 08-12-2008, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TXCHOP

Unless your backlash is wayyyy loose,p-rods are rubbing, or any other clearance issues, having the shop preload the lifter .140 with some good, non piss thin oil should do it.

Thanks for your help ( everybody) I will have the shop check this.

razorsedge · 08-12-2008, 11:06 PM

When you go back to the shop you might ask them what the total crank run out was on your bike. If they can't tell you then you probably should have other concerns. As Txchop said, make sure and set the pushrods preload at .140. If you bike has more then .003 run out, it is not advisable to use gear drive for cams. Too much noise.

pig pin · 08-13-2008, 09:08 AM

I have a 2002, 26g. Bought the b. lifters and still sounds like what you describe. Doesn't mean it wont work for you.

hodawwg · 08-13-2008, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pig pin

I have a 2002, 26g. Bought the b. lifters and still sounds like what you describe. Doesn't mean it wont work for you.

I have a 03 FXST. It was doing what you are describing, so I had it checked out and found the run out was very bad. Going to send
the crank out to be rebuit and will send the case for th timken bearing upgrade.

pig pin · 08-13-2008, 03:57 PM

I have also had my bottom end done and still sounds that way.
Not trying to discourage anyone! Lots of noises in these bikes.

newultraclassic · 08-13-2008, 08:03 PM

If you have the original non-adjustable pushrods, noisy lifters are generally a sign of low oil pressure.

If you have adjustables, it can mean that the pushrods are improperly adjusted and/or that the engine has low oil pressure.

You might want to do the standard oil pressure test as shown in the service manual. You will need a known-good oil pressure gauge and it will need to be connected to the oil pressure port on the right crankcase near the oil pump filter adapter.

I had noisy ifters on my 2004 Ultra TC and I installed the Latus-Baisley relief spring and that cured the problem.

My 2 cents.

fastroadking106 · 08-13-2008, 08:15 PM

alot of good key points here a short sum of them is frist check oil presure (hot),Check to see what the oil looks like hot if it runs like water change it for good oil, then crank runout and also inner cam gears and outter cam gears backlash they do make larger dia. gears if you have too much lash alot of shops do not check this part close enough in om opinion I would len towards that is were your problem is I have seen it many times

cts1950 · 08-13-2008, 11:23 PM

I was plagued with engine noise. It started after doing a 95 upgrade on my 99 ultra. I always thought it was the tw6 cams and it was normal. When I did the upgrade I stayed with the chain drive for money reasons but put in new lifters which were the A lifters just because the originals had 30K on them. I put up with the noise because I thought it was normal and just got used to it. Well this spring I completed a 103 upgrade to the same engine. This time I went with the tw6hg cams and woods bee hive springs. And B lifters just to be safe. Well it was not, I hated the sound of my engine. The noises would come and go and at different rpms I was getting discouraged that I had made a mistake in building this engine. It wasn't lack of oil pressure I had 50 psi at anything above idle. Well yesterday I read a post talking about the changes in lifters over the years and discovered I had taken out the best lifters at the beginning of my motor modifications. The A and B lifters are delfi manufactured small block chev lifters. The original 1999 lifters were made by Johnson Hy lift built especially for the twincam engine. For some reason Harley quit using them and the A and B were added to the original part number. I got inspired last evening and took out the B lifters and took them apart and compared them to the A lifters and the original 99 lifters. The 99 had a much larger inner piston inside the B was larger than the A. The internal valving was much different in the 99 I would say more complex than the delfi. Well I installed the 99s back into my 103 build and I have to say what a difference. It is a completely different sounding engine now it no longer sounds like it is going to come apart at rpms over 2500. I wont say it sounds like a BMW but it is now becoming a joy to ride. More info on the evolution of the lifters can be found at this web site.
http://www.automotivemachine.com/harley.htm

HugoBetz · 10-14-2009, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cts1950

I was plagued with engine noise. It started after doing a 95 upgrade on my 99 ultra. I always thought it was the tw6 cams and it was normal. When I did the upgrade I stayed with the chain drive for money reasons but put in new lifters which were the A lifters just because the originals had 30K on them. I put up with the noise because I thought it was normal and just got used to it. Well this spring I completed a 103 upgrade to the same engine. This time I went with the tw6hg cams and woods bee hive springs. And B lifters just to be safe. Well it was not, I hated the sound of my engine. The noises would come and go and at different rpms I was getting discouraged that I had made a mistake in building this engine. It wasn't lack of oil pressure I had 50 psi at anything above idle. Well yesterday I read a post talking about the changes in lifters over the years and discovered I had taken out the best lifters at the beginning of my motor modifications. The A and B lifters are delfi manufactured small block chev lifters. The original 1999 lifters were made by Johnson Hy lift built especially for the twincam engine. For some reason Harley quit using them and the A and B were added to the original part number. I got inspired last evening and took out the B lifters and took them apart and compared them to the A lifters and the original 99 lifters. The 99 had a much larger inner piston inside the B was larger than the A. The internal valving was much different in the 99 I would say more complex than the delfi. Well I installed the 99s back into my 103 build and I have to say what a difference. It is a completely different sounding engine now it no longer sounds like it is going to come apart at rpms over 2500. I wont say it sounds like a BMW but it is now becoming a joy to ride. More info on the evolution of the lifters can be found at this web site.
http://www.automotivemachine.com/harley.htm

Is there any truth to this? Are the original lifters produced from 1999 to 2002 the best of the three types produced by HD?

buddyrm · 10-14-2009, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HugoBetz

Is there any truth to this? Are the original lifters produced from 1999 to 2002 the best of the three types produced by HD?

Yup I have to agree, the Hylifts are the best. Changed mine when I had a B lifter fail on my 2006 road glide. Swapped them for the A2313S from HyLift and could not be happier. Got them from parts4powertoys.com. They have them for all engines models and year for Harleys.

nw_guy4_fun · 10-14-2009, 03:34 PM

Just a few random comments
You have B lifters the latest revision unless you have changed to another. Use them. If you have a lot of miles on them change them out
Try different preloads
Be sure the pushrods are not rubbing in the tubes. Look for witness marks.
Oil pressure only needs to be ~5# to fill a lifter, the lifters are not hydaulic jacks just cushioned take up devices.
The valve spring pressure is??? The gear lash is ?? The crank runout is ??
All potential issues.