Lifter Change for Twin Cam HD Engine.

Most of this will apply to the majority of HD engines. I happen to use J&P Cycles for many of my parts due to the variety of parts they carry, price and good customer service. I can also recommend Wally’s Cycle World for parts.

Tool List; 5/8 plug socket, 7/16 socket, 3/8 ratchet handle, (2) small jumper leads, (2) 10mm open end wrenches (short length), (1) small flat blade screw driver, allen wrenches, torx bits, small flash light, (2) spring type clothes pins. Ice pick or angled pick tool. Bolt cutter with 3/8 jaw opening. Pump type oil can with 10 or 20 W oil in it. Masking tape. Motor cycle jack if you have one. News paper. I use newspaper to lay parts out on.

Parts List; I used Crane adjustable push rods and Crane Hydraulic Lifters. Lifter galley gaskets (2) and 8 push rod tube O’rings. For some reason HD lifters don’t live much past 30,000 +/- 5,000 miles.

You don’t need a motorcycle jack, but it is much easier to work, if you get the bike off the floor. These steps are for bikes that have original HD non-adjustable pushrods, (fixed length pushrods).

Step 1. Be sure the bike is in Neutral. Remove plug wires and then remove spark plugs, Reinsert spark plugs into the plug boots and attach and ground a jumper wire to each plug. This will prevent blowing your electronic ignition when bumping the engine with the starter to find TDC (Top Dead Center) of each cylinder. Alternative method for TDC; use the rear wheel with tranny in 4th or 5th gear to rotate the engine.

Step 2. Remove the air filter cover, then the air filter. Note the condition of the rubber breather hoses from the breather bolts to air filter back plate. Remove the breather bolts to remove the AC base. The right side is now unobstructed.

Step 3. Turn ignition on, turn engine kill switch on. Place a finger over the front cylinder plug hole to seal. Bump the start button until you feel and hear compression spit by your finger. You are on compression stroke and both valves are fully closed. You want all pressure off the valves for the next step.

Step 4. With a small flat blade screw driver, insert the tip into the pushrod tube retainers next to the head. As you twist the retainer rotate the retainer out. This releases the spring pressure on the tube allowing you to collapse the tube. Follow the same procedure on the second tube. Now lift the bottom of the tube and let it slide up over the top of the tube. Note; the outside pushrod is black and is the exhaust pushrod. The inner pushrod is silver and intake. The exhaust pushrod is slightly longer than the intake pushrod. We already have TDC, lift the inside pushrod tube and clip a clothes pin to the pushrod to keep the tube in the raised position exposing the pushrod. Lift the outside tube and rotate the clothes pin to support it, otherwise use the second clothes pin. With the pushrod exposed, take the bolt cutter, slipping the jaws around the pushrod and cut the pushrod. Reach in and remove the bottom piece and slide the top piece out. Now lay the tube on the news paper beside you. Repeat the same cutting steps on the second pushrod.

Step 5. Now remove 4 allen bolts holding the lifter galley (block) cover in place. Remove the O’rings from the lifter cover and with the pick reach up into the head and remove O’rings. You will have 4 O’rings. Remove the lifter cover. Clean the old gasket off the engine base around the lifter block. Reach in and lift out the lifter retaining pin laying across the block. As you remove lifters note the position of the oil hole in the lifter. They should point away from the engine towards you. Flats on the lifter point front/back of engine. Both lifters removed, take a new lifter and oil can, put the tip of the oil can and pump oil into the lifter until no air bubbles come out the pushrod seat of the lifter. Put the new lifter in the lifter bore, sliding in gently, with the flats pointing front and back. Repeat for second lifter. Now replace the retaining pin. Replace the gasket. Use a small piece of masking tape to keep the new gasket in place.

Step 6. Place two new O’rings in the head. You might use a small dab of grease to keep them in place and as a lube. Slip an O’ring on to each tube bottom. Loosen the set nuts on each push rod and place one long and one short on the paper beside you. Assemble the retainer base, tubes and pushrods as a unit, with the adjuster ends down at the lifter. Remember, long pushrod to exhaust, short to intake. This gets a little tricky; gently slide the push rods up into the head making sure they are seating in the rocker arm cups. Now slide the push rods into each lifter while holding the assembly up and in position. Remove tape and position lifter block cover in place and finger tighten the block cover allen screws. Make sure the pushrod is seated in the rocker cup by wiggling and rotating. Now lift the rear pushrod tube up into the head and slightly rotate to be sure it is seated. Finger tighten the pushrod adjuster until it is firmly against the lifter and lock nut is there to be seen also. Now slide one 10mm open end slightly up into the tube to engage the flats on the rod and hold in place the tube at the same time. Use the second 10mm to adjust the crush. Crush is the preload adjustment on the hydraulic lifter. This prevents noisy tappet sounds. Follow manufacture suggestions for this adjustment. Because I had 32 thread rod ends, my crush was 3 – 3 ¼ turns. Those are measured as full turns. Lock the adjustment with the lock nut. Now do the same for the other rod. Squirt some top oil on the lifters.

Step 7. Slide the tubes up into position and rotate to be sure they are seated and extended. Insert the top of the retainer into the head. Using the screw driver placed against the slide collar, lift and slide the retainer into position until it clicks into place. Do the same on the second tube.

Repeat steps 1 – 7 for the second (rear cylinder).

Step 8. Remove jumpers from plugs. Reinstall plugs and snug up. Reinstall plug wires. Lower bike to ground if using a jack. Start you bike and let oil pressure build up and warm up. You should be ready to test ride.

Thanks!

got a ticking noise here and there on the top end , went to mytle beach ,on the way home oil was leaking from the front intake push rod tube, making noise find a bent push rod ,replaced them all, now I got a ticking noise comes and goes , could it be a bad lifter?