TC88 Cam Gear Drive Question?? Harley Engine Discuss TC88 Cam Gear Drive Question?? in the Harley Tech & Harley How-to forums; I am planing on changing my cam chains to gear drive my 02 TC88. If I go with as near as stock cams as I can get will I need ...

I am planing on changing my cam chains to gear drive my 02 TC88. If I go with as near as stock cams as I can get will I need to change the lifters and valve springs. If not can I just cut the push rods out and replace them with ajustable push rods so I won't have to open up the top in?? If any one has done this change there self is there any tips you can pass along to make it a litlle easier?? Any info will be appreiated.

[myt evo]

Even though I'm not familiar with the twin cam the basic concept is still the same. If you are going to change the cams i would recommend that you change the lifters, pushrods, adjustable or otherwise and the rocker arms. And depending on your mileage the springs with their associated parts. The springs can be changed without removing the heads as long as there is enough clearance. What you have to understand is that these parts become married to one another as the miles pile up. If you put the old lifters in with the new cams you may cause premature wear on the lobes of your new cams. The pushrods and rocker arms are a toss-up but the lifters are a must! Considering that you are going to the expense of switching to gear-driven cams whether you're doing the work yourself or someone else is going to do it for you the small added expense is a good insurance policy

[PeterV]

I did my cams at 48k (kms) after picking up some whirring noise that wasn't there before.
Outer shoe was 80% gone and what was left of it had broken in pieces laying on the bottom of the cam chest. Yes, you can say I got lucky!!!
Tools: I opted for the complete re and re tool kit, think it was from Jims. Others use the oven\freezer method to drop bearings and cams into the plate. I like my way better.
Dealing with the cam swap is fairly simple. Follow the manual(s) and it's all good.Check your crank runout with a dial gauge, if it's more than Andrfews spec (don't remember, think it's .002 you'll have to get a different pinion gear from them. Check the oil pump for nicks, replace all the o-rings and clean out the cavity where the oil pressure spring resides. Remember, assembly lube is your friend. And use good torque wrenches. you'll need both inch and foot-lb.
Like evo said, NEW LIFTERS. Don't worry about which way their oil holes face inboard or out.
Cut the rods with bolt cutters, replace with adjustables. Quick setup.
It'll take you longer to line up and set the exhaust. All the pieces have to fit loose before you tighten the sequence. If you don't do it by the book, parts will bind, crack or make a hell of a racket.
Make sure there's plenty of beer in the fridge. Drink AFTER not DURING or BEFORE .
Good luck.

I also forgot to ask. Should I replace all bearings or can I re-use them if they look ok??

By no means reuse them. The best money can buy are the Torrington by Timkin (USA). They are $8 a piece and will by far add reliability to your motor. You see the inboard needles are a problem to begin with, If they haven't scored your cam shafts they will. The Torrington needles are deeper which offer more support. The old cam shafts will probably even show a deep wear line from the old stock inboards. By all means replace them.

Thanks for that info Fifth Gear. Would H.D. carry those timkin bearings or will I have to get them after market??

[Wrightturn]

I have done four of these. Two were my own bikes. Check run out before spending money. Most bikes are ok but my FLHP was not. My Dyna has the 26g intended for the RK. If you don`t mind the extra work there is no reason to go with adjustable push rods in near stock set up. Visit the Andrews website for instructions on checking run out. The FlHP got new bearings and tensioners and sounds ok. I did go adjustable because I had already bought them. The Dyna is doing great on stock push rods and both got new lifters .
The tools are available from Jims or Georges Garage (cheaper) on Ebay. Always go with new bearings and upgrade to Torrington.

[PeterV]

inner and outer bearings come as part of the geardrive kit from Andrews.

[Wrightturn]

You are looking for Torrington B148 inner bearings. The stock HD bearings are not full compliment. The Torrington provides better support. You will have ball bearings on the outside instead of a ball front and roller rear.

Chek out the tools at Georges Garage.

[BCJ]

If you go to S&S site you can down load the process on how to do the gear up grade to the cams. DO NOT reuse the bearings, you are already in there change them. As for the pushrods, you can cut them or reuse them; it comes out to about the same price. If you cut them, you will have to put adjustables back in, there ok but you always run the chance of them needing adjusting. If you reuse them you save the cost of the adjustable ones, just have to pay for new gaskets and the time of pulling them. If you cut them the cost of the adjustables is about the same. I was going to do it myself, but by the time I spent all the money on the special tools needed it was cheaper to have it done. Costing me $800.00 total. That is with larger cams, new bearings and using the old pushrods. Wish I had the tools I would have done it myself, but not worth the investment for a one time job. Good Luck.