delkron motor

[Grizzlybob57]

Hi everyone ... hope all is well around the country,
I am a long time rider but this is the first time I have had a Harley in 30 yrs
It is a 1991 FLHS w/lehman trike kit milage is unknown
supoably a "fresh" motor
the bottom end is a Delkron
rev tech heads
fueling HP+
adjustable push rods
so far it is all i know about the motor
A lot of noise come from the bottom end .... it is not a hard knock but more like a rattle it isn't much worse when warmed up than when it is cold
all I have done to it so far is adjust the lifters
changed oil ,,,, I put Mobil 1 synthetic oil in it .. I don't know if I should change oil again and put regular oil in it.
It is making a lot more noise than i think it should

any help or suggestions would be most apreciated ..
thanks

 

[peteg59]

Welcome to the Talk Griz.ThumbUp
If you run a synthetic or dino straight weight, (60), that might help quiet down some of the noise.
Assuming since you have adjustable pushrods, you likely have solid lifters. Solid lifters will add some mechanical noise, but not enough to really be concerned with as long as they're adjusted correctly.
Assuming all adjustments are right, the noise is probably normal for the engine.
You could try taking it to an indy shop or two for their opinions if you are really concerned, as Harley likely won't touch it due to its age, aftermarket parts, etc.
Let us know how you make out...

 

[Dirtydan]

Most likely what he^^^ said. Evo's can have a slightly noisy valve train anyway. Especially if cammed and running solids. At least 50 straight Dino. Personally I'd stay away from synthetic. But that's just me preference for that engine.

 

[pcombe]

Hi everyone ... hope all is well around the country,
I am a long time rider but this is the first time I have had a Harley in 30 yrs
It is a 1991 FLHS w/lehman trike kit milage is unknown
supoably a "fresh" motor
the bottom end is a Delkron
rev tech heads
fueling HP+
adjustable push rods
so far it is all i know about the motor
A lot of noise come from the bottom end .... it is not a hard knock but more like a rattle it isn't much worse when warmed up than when it is cold
all I have done to it so far is adjust the lifters
changed oil ,,,, I put Mobil 1 synthetic oil in it .. I don't know if I should change oil again and put regular oil in it.
It is making a lot more noise than i think it should

any help or suggestions would be most apreciated ..
thanks

:Shrug:Are we actually noise talking in the crank case or coming from the primary drive system?

 

[1dn5up]

Try asking the prev owner if he knows the eng history, being the rebuild is fresh, supposedly, he might know the builder then at least you have a direction to go. Otherwise it's a crapshoot. Should not have any lower end noise. Evos like dino oil 50wt. JMO

 

[Lee H. Mann]

No one mentioned cam bearing. Is the noise on the right, left or top side ?

First thing that comes to mind is CAM BEARING. Earlier EVO"s were notorious for cam bearing failure.

Another thing is tappet roller bearings but they usually are pretty loud. The upgraded cams are usually hard on these too.

I had a customer with a 1992 FLH ride in with a rattle and as it idled in front of my shop it made a loud clunk and stopped. I asked him how long it had been rattling and he was unable to give me a definitive answer. I pulled the nose cone and the cam bearing had failed and the cam was freewheeling inside the case. Destroyed everything.

He bought a used engine on eBay.

 

[1dn5up]

Hay Lee, is the Delkron a racing case/motor?

 

[Lee H. Mann]

Delkron is like S&S. Mostly high performance stuff.

 

[pcombe]

No one mentioned cam bearing. Is the noise on the right, left or top side ?

First thing that comes to mind is CAM BEARING. Earlier EVO"s were notorious for cam bearing failure.

Another thing is tappet roller bearings but they usually are pretty loud. The upgraded cams are usually hard on these too.

I had a customer with a 1992 FLH ride in with a rattle and as it idled in front of my shop it made a loud clunk and stopped. I asked him how long it had been rattling and he was unable to give me a definitive answer. I pulled the nose cone and the cam bearing had failed and the cam was freewheeling inside the case. Destroyed everything.

He bought a used engine on eBay.

I was wondering about the cam bearing myself and gave thought to the crank also?
How's your oil pump? new? did they re-use old pump parts?

If its actually coming from the primary on an evo so many folks forget about the washer behind the compensator, they are not one thickness fits all. and they can make a really uncomfortable noise and eat a hole in the outer primary cover besides putting metal flakes in the clutch assembly etc.

Truth is you haven't given us enough info?

 

[Grizzlybob57]

Thanks Everyone for all the Info ... used my stetascope .. main noise is coming out of lower end or on the cam side of lower in .. best i can pin point it..previous owner had no idea about it at all ... when i adjusted the lifters they got tight then they bled off "finger loose" right now is all i know .. i am going to change oil in it and put 50wt in it .. will keep you all updated
thanks again ..

 

[pcombe]

Thanks Everyone for all the Info ... used my stetascope .. main noise is coming out of lower end or on the cam side of lower in .. best i can pin point it..previous owner had no idea about it at all ... when i adjusted the lifters they got tight then they bled off "finger loose" right now is all i know .. i am going to change oil in it and put 50wt in it .. will keep you all updated
thanks again ..

something I noticed on my 80" motors!

I will get some argument for it but my motors ran quieter with Harley oil in them than other brands I used the standard 20-50 weight in it, over 95,000 miles and engine was running just fine I had developed leaks under the cylinder head ( as the evo is prone to do) never had any problem otherwise. I would think it would have gone another 20-30,000 otherwise but no sense in doing a top end without doing the bottom at that point. Truth is your going to hear some noise in the old evo's unless it sounds really evil it may be natural? Stock engine is a single cam and all I ever did to my engine was to put an E-27 (mild) cam in it just to get a little more umgh out of it.

I am of the school that the more you do to an engine the more you will have to do to make it run right, The evo is damn near bullet proof if you do it right. I added an oil cooler right off the bat even though it was said the evo didn't need one, It sure never seemed to hurt it and as I said im old school where we were rebuilding at about 50,000 mi. on our old scoots. I have had my old tour glide for 27 years and really have no need for a new one.

When Harley designed the 80" evo it was promoted as being tough and long running, It was never promoted as a speedster. Mine pulls my trike down the road 90 mph and that's plenty enough to kill me. The 5 speed tranny works great for me in Wyoming where I seldom wish for a higher gear due to terrain.
If I am two up and pulling my small trailer out here where the damn wind speed usually exceeds the ambient temperature I have wished I had a little more power every now again since I converted it but not often. People out here often judge the 103 tri-glide as underpowered when it seems to me that running it in 5th gear instead of sixth would take care of the problem? (lugging) The tri-glide in the pic beside mine has a thundermax kit in and damn sure runs good! I just don't really one.