Twin Cam Tappet Failure
Saturday December 10th 2005, 7:19 pm
Filed under: Harley-Davidson
Filed under: Harley-Davidson
This is a shot of a 2003 FLHTCI crankcase where a tappet roller had failed. It might be hard to tell from this picture, but this motor required new crankcases, new cams, new tappets (obviously) and a new oil pump, at the very least.

Before it stopped running, this motor had high performance cams, hi compression pistons, SE cylinder heads, etc. I don’t think it was covered by warranty.
Take special note of the bore in the case where the rear inner cam bearing used to be. It was so far gone that the cam wore through the inner support bearing and began running directly on the crankcase. There is quite a bit of wear in that area.
Hey everyone, I just pulled my motor apart 3 hours ago and it looked the same. However, the lifter roller was ok. The lifter failed though. I think it was because of the cam bearing being shot. I heard a lot of cliking noise in the motor for about 10,000 miles or so. I’m glad I made it to Sturgis and back from Palm Springs. Can I buy a right side case by itself?
Have a good one.
Comment by Mike Day 12.13.08 @ 2:48 amHi Mike,
You are going to need to buy a complete set of cases, H-D does not sell just one half. I wonder what went first, the tappet or the cam bearing?
–Chris
Comment by Administrator 12.13.08 @ 4:31 pmLeave a comment
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