TC88 Cam Chain Tensioners

I have a 2000 FLHTCI with worn out cam chain tensioners. The local HD dealer said that HD does not have an improved tensioner fix for this problem and suggested I replace the chains with a very expensive cam and gear set to the tune of about $1,500 which I do not have. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Mick

Mick, how many miles did you get out of the first set? Depending on the mileage you may want to go back to them, especially if the gear set is out of $$. I don't know of any fix either, but then again someone else may have other info for you. Keep us posted.

How many miles before this problem starts to show itself?

I just copied this from one of CD's articles on oil pressure. Maybe the problem has been fixed on later models.



"Coincidentally, he found that his tensioner shoes were not worn at all. He had been told that Harley Davidson changed materials in the 2000-year production probably in the late 2k and 2001 models. I could not dig up any information on this other than this is what he was told. The bottom line here is to keep and eye on your motorcycles oil pressure. Listen for unusual sounds and increased heat. The only indication we had was the oil pressure light coming on at idle."

AFAIK most problems seem to show up at over 20k miles. I think the wear problem was still an issue all along and HD is hoping that the new design will work better. Think about it, there is nothing left from the TC88 (all but the 06 Dyna line) in the cam chest. I have looked at shoes that were trashed down to metal and no reason for it other than poor material an insufficient surface area for the job.

Before CD hung up his hat, I bought two complete gear drive cam kits from him for under $600.00 each. The dealership is raping you on parts and labor if they want $1500+

These included your inner cam bearings, outer cam bearings, gear drive cams, gear drives, and cam cover gasket....

It is really a simple job to do, if you have any mechanical ability...just take your time. Read the instructions carefully and perform each step in order.

For the specialty tools, there are places you can rent the tools from that are very affordable. You simply need a credit card to put a deposit on the tools, in case you don't return them. I had the rental tools from a source on harleytechtalk for just over two weeks and it was $40.00 to rent.

The other option, that I'm thinking of using this year is to buy my own set of cam chest tools from http://www.georges-garage.com/ ...They have much better prices than Jims or S&S tools.

A friend of my father in law's had his tensioners fail completely; taking out the entire motor with metal and plastic fragments. It was almost $4,000.00 to get his bike repaired by the dealer. My wife was with the day we heard his story, and she said "I'm glad you took care of those before that could happen to us"....First time she ever gave me kudos for tearing into the motorcycle.

P.S... www.Wallyscycleworld.com and www.jirehcycle.com both have similar gear drive cam package pricing to what directparts gave me. I just always gave CD first dibs on all my large purchases. The only downside to the package deals I've seen is you usually only have the choice of Andrews or S&S cams....not that there is anything wrong with either's line up...just that it somewhat narrows your choices.

I would not go past 15,000 miles with out checking them for wear. There has been a very big inconsistency on how long they are lasting, some have gone out before 10k and others up to 25k but they are a part that will wear and go out so don't put off checking them out. As stated, waiting too long will be costly.
The labor involved is almost the same as replacing cams so if the idea of upgrading cams has ever tempted you, this would be the time! The gear set adds $400 to the cost if you were doing cams anyway, besides eliminating the tensioners and shoes, the timing is right on never subject to chain stretch.

I checked my wifes 2000 FLSTC at 15000 miles. It had considerable wear on one tensioner. I do most of my own work (not because I'm a good mechanic, but because I just like taking stuff apart myself), but I had a local Indy shop put in the gears and cams. It's good to keep a good relationship with them. They give me lots of free advise and loan me tools and parts on occasion. It was less than $1000 parts and labor. S&S gears and TW37 cam.

i cut open my oil filter every oil change to check for tensioner material & any metal that could signal a problem

2004 Heritage Softail

Hi All.
First off a very happy Hogmanay too you all.
Now someone give me some good news.:roflmao: I have a 2004 Heritage Softail and have completed over 25000 sMiles. Now at no time did my ex-stealership:devil: mention a problem with the cam chain tensioners. and I do not recall seeing any mention of these in the service schedule. I will of course inspect these asp as I'm now really worried about riding my bike. But can anyone tell me if this has been rectified by design or materials used?? All the comments are about 1999/2000 models so has HD got too grips with this problem. Or am I on the wrong planet.icked:

Aye Charlieharley

Thanks

I will be working for the next few weekends so it will probably by Feb before I can get around too checking them out but thanks for the info. When you get your's open please let me know how they look. Pits really I will probably change for stock before the riding season and then set up a found to change to gear, next time round LOL.

Cam Tensioners

Mick,

I have heard that some go at 15,000 and others at 40,000. Not sure why. I inspected mine at 20,000 and the wear was so minimal that I could just barely feel it by running my finger nail over the surface. I'm at 25,000 now and probably won't check them again until 30,000. The tensioner shoes are about 3/16" thick and are supposed to be changed when they wear to half of their original thickness.

Just a note: I'm not sure if there is a wear correlation or not, but I changed to AMSOIL Synthetic at 2,000 miles and have been running it ever since.

Twin Cam tensioner shoes

My brother-in-law has seen TCs fail with 5000- 20000 miles on them at his shop. I went with the Andrews gear drive cam to eliminate the problem. Don't get false hope that you can last until 20K miles. HD has a design flaw that they won't fix the right way, Chicken#*+t. I approached a HD rep in Rapid City at the Sturgis rally this year and, he tried to tell me that HD has new hydraulic tensionsers that will eliminate the problem. Wonder how much R&D Harley put into this new tensioner? The rep also told me that my gear drive was noisy, BS! Harley wont spend the $$$ to properly solve the problem and they don't care about bikes that have a few years on them. Ive been ridin em since they were junk in the 70s / AMF. HD has turned their back on all but the yuppie scum that trade every year. We are not all American Airlines pilots!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cam Tensioners

ZZ,

I agree. HD should be spending $$ on R&D instead of buliding Motorcycle Musems for the Yuppie's to visit. Their new 6 speed trans is a good example. Lot of complaints about the noise in 5th gear. Baker is already advertising a fix for the HD 6 speed. I will be changing over to the gear drive also. Not going to wait until one of tensioner shoes blows out.

And, aah yes the Yuppies. Quite the group aren't they. But then again, I guess HD needs a market for all the over priced Bull#@%& in their dealerships. Yuppies gotta look pretty when touring those musems.