2003 Heritage Classic Chain Rattle

[Tazman1296]

Hi Guys,
I am new to this forum and would appreciate any input to a problem that I have with my 2003 Heritage FLSTCI. I have ~ 38000 miles on the bike and recently saw some oil spotting coming from the rocker box cover. Upon removal, there was a burnt smell from the oil so I pulled the heads to expose the pistons. There was carbon on the piston domes and cyclinder walls but no evidence of scars or scratching so I cleaned everything, checked all oil ports and noticed a perforation on the base gasket. I assumed this to be the problem so got new gaskets and replaced. A lot of this started when I heard what I thought was my primary chain rattling around from time to time so that was adjusted along with fresh oil. I suspect I might have a counterbalance chain rattle now and was wondering if anyone else has had this problem and know if it is something I need to address immediately or can run it as is. The bike seems to run OK ( although I shut it down for the season).. Please get back to me with any good advice on what I should do.. and thanks..
Happy Holiday to all !

[Johnj]

When did Harley start putting a counterbalance chain on their bikes?

[coffee_brake]

The Softails do have a counterbalancer but I don't think it's chain operated.
Tazman, if your primary chain is adjusted correctly, you could check the shoe, the pad that it rubs on. Then there are the cam bearings. At your bike's mileage, I'd definately have a tech check those out. There's more to checking that than the average home mechanic can do. Lots of folks convert from cam chain to a gear-driven cam, because if that ever comes apart the engine stands to be pretty well ruined. The '01 and later models, however, had better bearings installed than the notorious '99 Dynas and all the '00 Twin Cams.

Also know that as the bike gets mileage its sound will change a LOT. Mine sure did! Now I just check everything according to the suggested maintenance and if I know it's good, I just ride!
As for the rocker gaskets, they give up pretty regularly, no big deal there.
Oh...and what did you use in your primary, synthetic or dino oil? Some folks can hear big difference when they change the primary fluid types.

Keep us posted!

[Tazman1296]

When did Harley start putting a counterbalance chain on their bikes?

Hello Jenn,
Thanks for the info..I was scanning thru the service manual and 'thought' it mentioned something about the counetrbalance being chain driven.. apparently I am incorrect... As for the oil.. I switched to Syn3 after the breakin period and have been using that ever since for all lubricants.. Primary, Trannie and Engine.. I've been told that Harleys are notorious for making new and unusual noise over time so maybe this falls into that category. I will take your advice and consider changing the cam chain to gear driven.. I need to get that quoted from my local mechanic as that is something beyond my skill set and I really don't want to attempt that anyway. I do the usual maintenance at prescribe intervals according to the manual and I don't normally push the bike hard. Most of my mileage is highway ... back n forth to work or on trips to Bike Rallys .. I.E. Laconia etc... Do you have any idea what the costs are associated with changing to Gear Drive from Chain ? If so, I would like to get a ballpark so I know what I should expect. I do thank you for your advice and hope you have a great New Year... One of my 3 daughters is getting married in a few weeks and my second in October so $$$ is tight..so I can't justify making the change if it is OK as is...

Thanks Again !
Rick

[Gummiente]

Thanks for the info..I was scanning thru the service manual and 'thought' it mentioned something about the counetrbalance being chain driven.. apparently I am incorrect...

No, you are in fact correct - the TC88B motor uses chain driven counterbalancers. To my knowledge, there is no gear drive conversion available for them.

As for the cams, you can expect to pay upwards of $800 installed for a set, BUT... why would you want to do that on a "B" motor, anyway? You'll still only have a max rpm of 6,200 so unless you plan on drag racing, it's best just to keep the stock setup and check the cam chain tensioners on a regular basis. The gear driven cams are more for performance and are more suited to the TC88A motor anyway, as it isn't shackled with counterbalancers and can rev higher.

[Tazman1296]

Thanks for the info..I was scanning thru the service manual and 'thought' it mentioned something about the counetrbalance being chain driven.. apparently I am incorrect...

No, you are in fact correct - the TC88B motor uses chain driven counterbalancers. To my knowledge, there is no gear drive conversion available for them.

As for the cams, you can expect to pay upwards of $800 installed for a set, BUT... why would you want to do that on a "B" motor, anyway? You'll still only have a max rpm of 6,200 so unless you plan on drag racing, it's best just to keep the stock setup and check the cam chain tensioners on a regular basis. The gear driven cams are more for performance and are more suited to the TC88A motor anyway, as it isn't shackled with counterbalancers and can rev higher.

Hello My Friend...
Thank you for the added incite regarding what to do... I have no intention of drag racing the bike and will keep the stock setup as is.. I will need to learn the best way to check the chain tensioner and what to look for if it is in need of repair /replacement/adjustment. Thanks very much for the knowledge... Have a good one !
Regards,
Rick

[coffee_brake]

Yeah, Tazman, changing over to gear driven cams is pretty pricey (and is why I haven't done it either!) Gumiente is spot-on.
My '03 Dyna doesn't have the counterbalancer but after 1st gear it smooths right out anyway.

On the A engines at least, you can get at the cam chain and see the boots, but you can't get at where they actually show wear with a normal garage setup.
The boot for the primary chain, however, is easily accessible. Mine was noticeably worn at 20k miles when I switched to the automatic tensioner (that is one very nice $100 upgrade, just check the boot visually and no more guessing at the right tension and contorting your fingers to get at it!)

But if you're doing your maintenance, the Harley Twin Cam really is a tough and reliable engine, especially with the synthetics in there.

Good luck getting through the wedding, and hope you get an early start on your riding season!

[Softtail]

I have a constant clatter in my 2007 Heritage softtail. At first thought it to be the transmission after reading all about the tranny presumed problems. However, I have recently read an article or review in the Bagger mag. It states the the Heritage, at least the '07's have that vintage sound and that the counterbalancers add a traditional clatter. I guess that is what I am hearing???

[crazy5dave]

As a harley mechanic i dont know how you made the leap from primary chain noise to hearing counterbalancer chain noise. HD are compartmentalized. engine, primary, transmission. problems dont move around. the primary chain has a hot and cold ajustment. it will probably make more noise cold before it tightens while hot. all motors smell like burn oil and most have carbon on the piston tops. you will NEVER hear counterbalancer chain noise. if you did you have no oil pressure. the chain is tight and has two hydrolic oil pressure chain tensioners. it runs off the crank not the cams. Twin cam A and B motors have the same cam, cam plate and cam chain. the parts are interchangable. while the B motor will be limited to making power to 6000 rpms you can still change the cams to make more power under 6000 rpms. you are really not reving a A motor to much more anyway. The long stroke, hence the high piston speed is your limit anyway. the ignition will control the RPMs not the cams. other persons 2007 has no trany issues. that problem was a recall on the first 10,000 2006 dynas with the new 6 sp. recall was a new shift drum. i did 7 of them. The counter balancers make no noise. they look like a half a 12oz coke can split top to bottom. they just spin. Air cooled bikes make lots of "noises". have fun

[Desertrat]

Man I have that very strange rattle and I mean rattle it is nothing normal at all but the bike runs perfect ......... I won't ride it because of the noise but I can't figure out wth it is I believe it's the counter balance chain too but dude I've tore my engine down to the case twice and cannot find the problem any help would be greatly appreciated