Cam Chain Tension shoes

[luzierg]

Has anyone had any trouble with the wear pads on the cam chain adjusters?:Shrug: I just turned over 40K mile on my '11 TG and was going to pull the cover this winter and check the wear pads. I changed the cams at 20K and they looked pretty good. I've had quite a few Harleys in the past but have never kept one past 50K miles......

 

[Bikerbozo]

50K on my '10 TG. Running synthetic oil. Not aware of any issues with tensioner.

 

[trikermutha]

the newer tensioners are hydraulic if I remember correctly..should be better than the older versions for shoe wear

 

[msocko3]

The only time I've seen the newer style shoes wear quick is when some have been assembled wrong, the plunger and spring gets reversed. I replaced on on my dads just shy of 20,000 that was assembled wrong. I'll be inside the cam chest of his this winter checking things, so I'll have a chance to see how the tensioners are wearing.

The new style are very much heads and tails better than the older ones. The old style had quite a high failure rate which Harley knew about yet took 8 years to acknowledge and rectify in the 06 Dyna and 07 and later twin cams. They also offer a conversion kit for those who have the old style and want to switch to the new style, of course it will cost you.

 

[Lee H. Mann]

I have used stock replacement shoes, SE hydraulic cam plate and gear drive. Stock shoes should last another 40K. I had one in 2 weeks ago with 50K and they had virtually no wear at all. On my own at 30K they were ready to split at the pin. The stock replacements are the inexpensive route to go, but if you are a mileage rider and your shoes are showing the average wear at 40K you might take the plunge for the hydraulic cam plate with the high volume oil pump.

 

[Rick Kay]

I upgraded the oil pump/hydraulic cam plate on my '06. I have better peace of mind, now.

 

[Tommy Sidelko]

I relaced the cam tensioners on my 2004 Road King at about 40K. They were in terrible shape, especially one side. I also have a 2002 Road king that I replaced them at 42K. They also were in poor condition. I was lucky to replace them before serious trouble occured with the engine. I replaced them with the Screamin Eagle hydraulic kit which included the tensioners, cam plate and oil pump. I understand that I should be good for at least 50k now. I'm told that even the new kit should be inspected periodically. I'll do it after I put on 50K. Any more questions?

Tommy

 

[luzierg]

Thanks to everybody for the reply. When I pull the cover I'm going to replace the wear pads even if they look good. Better safe then sorry. One question... Does the '11 TG have the new hydraulic tensioners or are they spring activated. The part numbers are 39968-06 and 39969-06. I'm assuming that -06 means they were designed in '06....Thanks again
:wave4:


Gary

 

[msocko3]

Thanks to everybody for the reply. When I pull the cover I'm going to replace the wear pads even if they look good. Better safe then sorry. One question... Does the '11 TG have the new hydraulic tensioners or are they spring activated. The part numbers are 39968-06 and 39969-06. I'm assuming that -06 means they were designed in '06....Thanks again
:wave4:


Gary

The 11's are running the hydraulic tensioners, your correct the 06 is when they added the part. Harley Davidson used the 2006 MY Dynas as their beta testers for the new cam chest components, 6 speed trans, new Primary drive components and the 06 Dyna is the 1st year of O2 sensors and closed loop operation.

 

[luzierg]

Hi All,
Update on the Cam Shoe Adjuster wear. I changed my wear pads on my '11 TG expecting a lot of wear after 40K miles. Instead I found about 10% of wear on both the inside and outside wear shoes. I have used Mobil1 Vtwin synthetic from day one. The bike should be good for 100K at this rate. Attched are some pics........



Gary

 

[msocko3]

Hi All,
Update on the Cam Shoe Adjuster wear. I changed my wear pads on my '11 TG expecting a lot of wear after 40K miles. Instead I found about 10% of wear on both the inside and outside wear shoes. I have used Mobil1 Vtwin synthetic from day one. The bike should be good for 100K at this rate. Attched are some pics........



Gary

They look great, the new style shoes sure are a huge improvement over the old style. I can remember years ago folks going gear drive to get rid of the old style shoes, now they hardly ever bother. I've seen some pretty aggressive cams using the stock shoes vs gear drive and their holding up great also.

 

[trikermutha]

just had my cams out and my shoes had barely any wear on them at just over 10k so I left them in the bike..

 

[DTR 11TG]

... Any more questions?
Tommy

About how long does it take you to do just the inspection?
Can we buy just the shoes?
Would you replace shoes during inspection even if shoes show just a little wear?
How much did it cost you to upgrade to the SE Kit?
What oil do you use?
Are there any aftermarket shoes available?
Does the SE Kit help with the oil pressure, if so, how much?

Thanks for the help

 

[Krautster]

I have gear dive cams in mine..

 

[Lakeman]

I don't know much about this but I have an 05 Ultra/Lehman conversion with 33,000 miles on it. Is this something I should have checked?

 

[msocko3]

I don't know much about this but I have an 05 Ultra/Lehman conversion with 33,000 miles on it. Is this something I should have checked?

Yes I would have them checked, the 99 - 06 TC's with the old style tensioners were a mixed bag. Some lasted 10,000 miles and grenaded in the cam chest, others have gone 70,000+. I changed one on my neighbors 02 Road King a couple years back with 57,000 miles, the outer was toast yet the inner was fine.

 

[msocko3]

I have gear dive cams in mine..

Gears are great as long as the crankshaft run out doesn't get much past .003 and some can still run them at .005. Get much more than that and you'll have something like the picture below. People think gear drive is install it and forget it, which isn't the case unless you address the crankshaft by having it trued and plugged, or plugged and welded. Without addressing the crankshaft you still have to pull the cam chest apart from time to time and inspect it and check the crankshaft run out.

 

[Lakeman]

msocko3 thanks for the info. What is the cost and the consequences if I do nothing? I feel sure I will get it checked don't like to let things go and don't want to hurt anything or get stuck somewhere.

 

[msocko3]

msocko3 thanks for the info. What is the cost and the consequences if I do nothing? I feel sure I will get it checked don't like to let things go and don't want to hurt anything or get stuck somewhere.

The cost and consequences of doing nothing could be a new oil pump, cams, bearings and possibly pulling the engine to flush all the trash out of it and pulling the oil pan to wash the crap out of it also. The bill could make the $1,000 mark seem like a fond memory. I'd be inspecting them every 25,000 - 30,000 miles.

 

[trikermutha]

Couldnt the cam plate be upgraded to the Hydraulic version and not have to check it so often..

 

[Lakeman]

The cost and consequences of doing nothing could be a new oil pump, cams, bearings and possibly pulling the engine to flush all the trash out of it and pulling the oil pan to wash the crap out of it also. The bill could make the $1,000 mark seem like a fond memory. I'd be inspecting them every 25,000 - 30,000 miles.

Thanks, but I didn't follow you. What would (ball park) it cost to check and what would it cost to replace the shoes? Sure don't want any part of the problems you listed. Thanks

 

[trikermutha]

since most of it will be labor and you have to take off the headers,mufflers,top end and the cam cover and cam support..I am guessing 500-1000 bucks??

Call the dealer as they can give you a ballpark price..

 

[msocko3]

Couldnt the cam plate be upgraded to the Hydraulic version and not have to check it so often..

Yes it could be upgraded to the hydraulic version which would stretch out the inspection to the 50,000 mile mark. You have to get some sort of baseline so you can figure when to do future inspections. A couple years ago I replace a rear tensioner on my dads when it had around 15,000 miles, didn't like the amount of wear so I changed it while I was swapping cams.

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks, but I didn't follow you. What would (ball park) it cost to check and what would it cost to replace the shoes? Sure don't want any part of the problems you listed. Thanks

Trikermutha is on the money for replacement cost.

 

[engprosinc]

I upgraded the oil pump/hydraulic cam plate on my '06. I have better peace of mind, now.

Did you do the work yourself? Does your trike have floorboards (ground reaction)? Did you have to pull the entire exhaust or only the front cylinder's head pipe? Is this the type of project one can do in his garage?

- - - Updated - - -

I don't know much about this but I have an 05 Ultra/Lehman conversion with 33,000 miles on it. Is this something I should have checked?

What did you find when you checked the tensioners? I have an 05 with 20K, and wondering if I should convert to the S&E support plate.

 

[rider1234us]

Did you do the work yourself? Does your trike have floorboards (ground reaction)? Did you have to pull the entire exhaust or only the front cylinder's head pipe? Is this the type of project one can do in his garage?

- - - Updated - - -


What did you find when you checked the tensioners? I have an 05 with 20K, and wondering if I should convert to the S&E support plate.

when i changed my 01 cams to gear drive the shoes fell apart as they were totally shot. i did this at 29,000 miles, some riders have not had an issue and some have. supposedly harley has fixed this problem, i'd keep an eye on mine just the same. it takes longer to get all the dresser stuff out of the waythan it takes to do the job, just pay attention, anyone that is the least bit handy can do this and not have to pay the harley dollarson dealer thier outrageous fee. the best money spent on accessories is your service manual.

















than it takes to do your work

 

[zeman 1]

05 Electraglide TC88. Replaced tensioner shoes at 17,000 miles. Outer was shot - piece had just fallen off and metal to metal contact with chain. Inner was worn about 90%. Engine was run with synthetic oil since day 1 - same mechanic worked on bike since new. Replaced with S&S gear drive cams. Guess I just had one of those problem tensioner shoe motors. :Shrug::Shrug::Shrug:

 

[Lakeman]

05 with 37,000??

 

[engprosinc]

I upgraded the oil pump/hydraulic cam plate on my '06. I have better peace of mind, now.

I'm doing the same conversion on my 05 Ultra SE103 and Lehman rear. It's worth it for the peace of mind.

 

[waynerid1]

just had my cams out and my shoes had barely any wear on them at just over 10k so I left them in the bike..[/QU

why did you have the cams out , was it for replacing with a bigger one or what