Adjustable pushrod noises Harley Twin Cam Discuss Adjustable pushrod noises in the Motorcycles forums; This past winter I replaced my cam chain tensioners. Along the way, I made the obvious choice to replace the rigid pushrods with the SE adjustables. During the first test ...

[coot]

This past winter I replaced my cam chain tensioners. Along the way, I made the obvious choice to replace the rigid pushrods with the SE adjustables. During the first test ride, a pushrod locknut loosened up and I got a ton of clatter. So I shut it down quickly and sat on the side of the road and fixed it. After that, everything is doing fine except, I suspect that I may have lengthened this one pushrod a little too much since I didn't have any way to be real precise on the shoulder of the road.
I still have a little too much lifter clatter for my liking. And I am about to try readjusting ALL of them again. Can I simply just start over? Or do I need to do anything special to the lifter that might be a little over compressed?
Also, my mileage is down slightly since the pushrod installation.
I fully realize that these things make noise. And the Batwing makes the noises seem really loud sometimes. Especially after about 150-180 miles when the oil is good & hot.
My gut tells me that an extra turn or two on the remaining three pushrods will really quiet the beast. And maybe help my mileage too. But I really don't ride for the gas mileage. I ride for the bugs. Yummy!
Any thoughts?

[evoKENevo]

Hi,coot
When you readjust ALL of your lifters just be sure to loosen 2 of them all the way when you're at TDC on the compression stroke for that cyl....allow the lifters to bleed up for 10-15 minutes...turn the push-rods out the specified number of turns counting nut flats (times 6 per) for better accuracy...tighthen the lock nuts...allow 10-15 more minutes for the lifters to bleed down before repeating the above with the other cyl...and you should be good to go.

As for your mileage being down a bit ? Yep...loose adjustments CAN cause that as well as a noticable difference in performance.

Meanwhile I can eat the bugs but I really don't care much for the ones that find their way into my nose knowhutImean !?!

[coot]

Thanks Evo.
I couldn't figure any reason why the lifter shouldn't GROW back to original sprung length after being a little over compressed (maybe an extra .020). The procedure calls for the adjustment to start when the pushrod contacts the lifter.I suppose that I need to start counting the flats after the tip contacts the lifter a little more firmly. Actually, I'll just count the flats as I "unload" the overtightened one just for a reference. It might actually be my new baseline to find my quiet place.
This forum is great.

[PeterV]

I've used the SE adjustables for a while now.
They call for 2 1/2 turns from the point of no clearance.
Although the locknut can come loose, most of the time the clatter you'll hear is lifter dependent.
Stock lifters, although good, will eventually start having internal problems, plungers getting stuck somewhere along their travel etc....
I've gotten in the habit of replacing mine every 30k.

Adjust on a cold engine. Mark the flat, go 2 1/2 turns. 1/4 to a 1/2 turn either way is the adjusting room you've got with the SEs. The rockers will be somewhat noisy, nature of the beast (narrow angle of contact to pushrod) but you can hear valve slap easily once the motor gets hot.
Make damn sure you give the first pair time to bleed down before you turn motor over to adjust the other two.

[evoKENevo]

First off.. allow me to apologise for (already corrected/edited) addressing you as Jeff in my other post here must have been "name retention" from another thread I'd read and part of the "oldtimers disease" creeping up on me I guess

Second..I would'nt bother counting back the flats from your previous adjust'mts..partly because just loosening your lock-nuts is probably throw your count off a bit anyhow. But,yes...start counting your flats when the pushrod is difficult to finger-spin on the lifter (using that as your baseline) and don't be afraid to go out one more extra flat at the end of your count...noting that some guys (not me) feel comfortable in going out as much as another 3/4 turn further.

As for this being a great forum..."YEP"...could'nt agree with you more LOTS of good guys here. Oh...and hey... stick around for the hilarity at times, too !

NOTE: this post was being typed while Peter got his in...all good !!

[harold]

coot
i had this problem with hd adjustables. i put the bike in the air and in 5 gear and rotated the tire for about 4 mintues, when i saw oil on top of lifters i re adjusted every thing. bike should be cold, remove push rods before manually filling lifter by tire turning.
you could also remove lifters and fill with your motor oil using an oil can and squirting oil through lifter holes till full. but that seems like much.
to keep track of turns i marked a spot above the pushrod lug with white locktight. one wrench on the bottom inside rod and one on outside sleeve. i notice there are/is a spot wear your lifter will look at tdc but are not . i noticed when the cyclinder you are adjusting is at top dead center the edge of the lifter should be even with the casing edge, both of them. i also used lock tight on the threads because the nut backed off on mine . ran the bike hot came home let cool and poped the push rod covers and check again. im just shade tree wrench, but the instructions that come with the push rod are pretty good. please note some after market lifters work better with different crush.
the harley adjustable pushrods adjustment could be taking for granted you are using harley lifters, have you changed lifters?
to make things a little easier you can marry two rubber bands then sling rubber bands around push rod cover the other end goes around the valve covers head bolt, this should help keep the the pushrod covers out of the way of your hands. use harley book and reference lifter install if you remove lifters. all these things i learned from reading the instructions from the parts i bought and the harley manuel. i also went out to the internet for technique, its a little tricky and took me three tries. dont forget to wait the 15 munutes for the lifters to bleed down after installing the pushrods so you dont bend a pushrod or other terrible things. to make sure i didnt screw the pooch , after installing the pushrods i went back and cycled the engine a few times, by turning the rear tire by hand - to see if i was hitting pistons before i started the bike, a few meaning several. removing the spark plugs keeps you from fighting compression. if you get oil spraying down the push rod tube, the wet tube's push rod cover insert is not correct, i did this on the second try. hope this helps good luck. read your instructions.

[Tn.Heritage]

I had run SE quick install adj for quiet awhile, there very big on the bottom and can poss rub the tubes and cause noise, I just swapped lifters, I took out fuelings which I had problems out of 2 sets, I went back with hd lifters and went back with S&S pushrods and the bike is so much quiter that it sounds like a different engine, so the pushrods could be causing a little noise.

[harold]

TN Heritage ,
i noticed this,i have halo's on the push rods , why does it do this? im using the fuelin
lifters and have not had problems yet but the instructions specify crush. I just did the cams so i really can't tell what was making noise but i am really happy that the bike, to this point , is really improved in torq and has much less noise. my worry has been wether or not the lifter bodies would rub against the cams. Its only a .510 lift so i hope its ok , but i like the idea of lifters that have the open wheels. im using a BG-W6 woods . do you think its a worry?
i used the fuelings because of the cost being reasonable , the old fight between food money and bike parts.