5 Most Common Harley Twin Cam Issues to address before they address your Motorcycle! 1999-2017 H-D

Twin Cam Harley Davidson’s are the brands leading workhorse, being such they incur plenty of wear, tear, are overworked and underfed. inspecting, checking and replacing these parts will guaranteed keep you going longer than the rest of the HOG pen

Cam Tensioners are going to be the Most Important, as this is the heart of the bike, this is a big part why the twin cam gets such a bad wrap but if you maintain doing your maintenance it should be no issue

1999-2006 Twin Cam Tensioners - Check and Replace shoes at least every 10,000, The little plastic particulates like to drop off in chunks causing plastic bits in the oil pump if not addressed which lead to a whole host of failures.
You can replace the shoes to get by, but it's only right to do the full tensioners every 25k-30k miles and if you’ve never touched it, the previous owner didn’t either, and if you’re already in there you might as well replace primary shoe, gasket, Primary and Cam cover hardware and Primary, derby cover gasket, check the primary tensioner and check chains for excessive slack.
1285 07+ Cam Sprocket Lock
994 for 1999-06
To replace the tensioners Need Special tool JIMS J&P Part #: 910-209 Mfr Part #: 1283 , Use On 99-06 FL, 99-05, FXD & 00-
06 FXST
Most people forget the outer chain guide OEM# 39965-99 J&P 433-484 it's on 1999-06 TC88 on the outer front.
FLST 1999-2006
FXST 1999-2006
FLT 1999-2006
FXD 1999-2005
James Gasket Kit J&P Part #: 431-176 Mfr Part #: JGI-25244-99-K
Primary Cam Chain Tensioner - 39954-99A MIDUSA:66000
Secondary Cam Chain Tensioner behind the camplate - 39964-99 J&P#433-483 MIDUSA:66002
Cometic Cam Change Gasket Kit
Mfr Part #: 3094-0128
If your on a budget Cheapo Shoes Only 99-06 OEM: 9905: TP 🧻 Mfr Part #: 9905KIT
Shoe only tool J&P Part #: 753-881 Mfr Part #: 9905T
For 2006 dyna and 2007-2016 FL Touring 07-17 Hydraulic Tensioners only: OEM: 9906 J&P Part #: 753-880 Mfr Part #: 9906KIT If you have 40K miles on your tensioner assemblies at least replace them
Fueling Tensioners:J&P Part #: 10026823 Mfr Part #: 8077
S&S Tensioners:J&P Part #: 832-935 Mfr Part #: 330-0518
Twin Cam Performance Kits 1999-2006 - Update to Hydraulic tensioners before your spring ones let you down they fail most often after 30,000 miles and hydraulic are known to fail after 40k miles, replace tensioners and

Twin Cam Performance Kits 1999-2006 - Update to Hydraulic tensioners before your spring ones let you down.
make sure the cam plate isn't bowed which is common with the sandcast oem plates when your just replacing shoes,and even you're on a budget it’s probably wise to check your oil pump gear rotors for wear and have one on standby for replacement and most likely it will be worn from its entire life riding on the out of true crankshaft, better to replace a 150 oil pump than pay for a 250 tow to do the same thing all over again.
07-17 Twin Power Mfr Part #: 87077
99-06 Twin power Mfr Part #: 87076
You must check crankshaft runout before making any cam or performance choices. Also keep in mind before you install any performance products as a installer this is your responsibility to calculate and check
Coil bind, Valve to valve clearance, and valve to piston clearance with the Grind, open, close, duration/s, valve lift, lift @ TDC
So that way you don't have a piston kiss your valve and then that's all she wrote.
Chain drives also give much more leeway of crankshaft runout, this is the biggest factor when choosing chain or gear drive setup your crankshaft must have less than .003 Thousandths runout on crankshaft axis, .012 thousandths is Harley’s serviceable limit for Crankshaft altogether, So before you think big cam you might be thinking big bottom end and built heads. Darkhorse crankworks are the best, if you're not going to replace your main crank bearing and have your crank trued, don't want excessive gear drive sound, chain drive is the way to go.
If you really care for your bike or your customer wants a bulletproof upgraded setup you can install or build your own Hydraulic Conversion kit. Which in short means You can Convert 1999-2006 Spring tensioners to hydraulic with Screaming Eagle conversion cam plate/oil pump and Andrews conversion cam combo or Fueling kits are popular because of their price point and inclusivity of all the parts required.
Oe+ - 600-1418 Mfr Part #: 7090
525 - Mfr Part #: 7320
543 Conversion - Mfr Part #: 7322
574-0925-1282 Fuelling SKU: 7324
Please remember Whenever you replace cams, always swap inner cam bearings, even as a safety measure it would be wise, you absolutely don’t want one of these little rollers to seize up, to then seize your new entire cam chest
#TwinCamProblems
#TwinCamTroubleshooting
#TwinCamIssues
#HarleyTwinCam
#TwinCamEngine
#TwinCamRepair
#TwinCamMechanic
#TwinCamDiagnostics

[jamessouthworth]

I "upgraded" from a Sportster to a Twin Cam.... now I realize the Sportster was the real upgrade.

[jeffhawkins]

I'm 70 yrs old .I've rode Harley Davidson all my life . I must say I've been riding a twincam since 02. Of course I had to spend the money nessssary to make my 23k dollar bike Dependable. I always had much respect for HD but ever since I paid all the required fees to own my motorcycle, I had to turn right around and spend another 15hundred to get it right. That's me doing the work. The bikes aren't getting better, cheaper for them, to hell with the consumer !

[wingandhog]

I have an carbureted 02 Electra Glide TC-88. I had my cam chest rebuilt three years ago at 35k miles. I used Fueling cam chest and high capacity oil pump components and upgraded my cams to S&S 510’s. I also had my carb rebuilt with Ivan’s Performance jets. Three years later my bike is still running strong and I have no reason to trade it or sell. I love the old girl!

[MrTurnone]

Good stuff. I am a fanatic about maintenance on both my 103TC's, 3 hole oil changes etc. Always run AMSoil and clean that air filter! I made my own maintenance spreadsheet

[harleyturner]

The audio on this post leaves a lot to be desired, the information was great.

[angryeagle]

i bought a 04 dyna wide glide with 29.744 miles, opened up the cam cover, and the tensioners were still good, minor pits and barely enough wear to catch my fingernail, had it replaced with the screamin eagle setup, front motor mount was goin bad, had that and rear one replaced, and starter relay.fkin thing runs like the houmongous hittin the nitrous in the movie road warrior.goin to get the brake fluid flush an fill and a new front tire, gettin ready for a road trip soon as the weather warms up. oh and by the way, ya know that HOG will not reimburse you for towing unless you call them first? found out the hard way

[philvale]

Hi 👋, I am new to your work shop, I had a 1999, DEUCE, 88 . around 2006/7 I had screaming eagle, big bore kit put on, I’ve had my cams ignition and lots of other goodies, DD 2-1 exhaust, I had to sell it in 2019 because of my ex partner had scammed me for 10 of thousand of pounds, it was over 55, 000 ml on the clock, unlike like my ex partner my bike, never let me Down, I used to live in the UK i now live in France.
All of my HOG rally’s where I travelled all over Europe, sometimes do around 4000 miles in two weeks. I am looking forward to the day hopefully I will get another bike, Ride safe guys, enjoy the summer it’s on its way,
PHIL FROM THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOULIN FRANCE.

[kencarp]

I replaced lots of internal parts on my SE 110 CI engine on my 2012 CVO Street Glide FLHXSE3 that I bought new in Aug 2011. I replaced the cam support plate with a better Feuling one, the oil pump with a high flow Feuling one, the rocker supports with forged ones, the pushrods with Feuling ones, the crappy cam bearings Harley used in those years with better full complement ones that won't fall apart, the too-thick .060" composite head gaskets wirh .030" three-part metal Cometic ones, and some other things. My crank runout is around .005", so I got lucky on the crankshaft. The SE heads have good valve springs that keep the pushrods seated on the .579" lift SE-259e cams I run. I also have a Drago's Dragula 2-into-1 race pipe and a really good custom TTS tune in the bike.

I run the Hayden primary chain tensioner, and it keeps the primary chain tension right and doesn't get too tight like the crappy Harley ratcheting tensioner does. I coincidentally checked it today when I was installing the second Energy One extra clutch plate kit with a 15% stronger-than-stock clutch spring. The stock Harley clutch plates and spring slip a LOT with my engine 's power, but the Energy One extra plate kit and spring have never slipped since I installed the first one during the bike's first year.

I also got a new SE Compensator installed a couple of weeks ago. I thought about an aftermarket one but my very experienced and Harley-certified indy mechanic told me that in their experience the aftermarket comps don't seem to last any longer than the SE Comp.

I have 20K miles on the bike, and all seems well. I do need to check the cam chain tensioner though. I haven't been into the cam chest in a long time. I frankly don't even remember what cam chain tensioner I am running in there!


I use AMSOil 20W-50 or Mobil 1 V-Twin in the engine, (AMSOil is in it now), Belray primary fluid, and Red Line transmission fluid - and I have ever since I bought the bike.

I also had the front fork innards totally replaced in mid-2012 with a modern Traxxion Dynamics cartridge system that doesn't dive like the Harley forks of that era did. The TD forks are basically sport bike components.

[michaelmorgan]

I like what you have here. I don't know if anyone has complained but your sound level drops about a minute into the video.

[markman]

Tensioner replacement at 25k, crank runout, oil sumpung. I solved mi TC88 issues when I bought a DCT Wing.

[JoeFurtado-xvno]

I just went through my 2011 FLHX this year redid the entire cam chest with all S&S components 551c cams. New exhaust fuel moto headers, front progressive mono tubes. Inner primary seal leaked so I replaced that along with all the transmission seals on that side and a new Barnett clutch. I service the bike per the manual and change all my fluids every 3k miles. Also three on new brakes and tires bike runs like new. I do almost all my own work on it so I know it’s done right and saves me tons of cash.

[Jimmy_Jim_Jim_]

I've had many bikes, only my currant is a HD.
It will be my last.

[michaelhickens]

Got rid of all the junk chains and tensioners on my 02" Heritage at 15K. Upgraded to S&S gear driven cams, the only way to go to make it bulletproof.

[jimkraft]

I am keeping my 99 EVO powered Softail Custom. It gets me where I want to go without problems.

[theodavies]

You will want the Harley factory service manual.
You'll want to check wheel geometry and alignment with magnetic digital levels.
Harley brake pads are expensive and have zero bite.
Dyna/sportster rear caliper is incompatible with EBC FA200HH unless you take around 1mm out of the radius for the outside edge of the inner pad.
Could shade tree it with a chainsaw file but a rotary tool ¼" sanding drum works best.
My '99 FXDL stops, goes and handles like a sportster on steroids but it's a lot of work to keep ontop of.
There's always something next and the while you're in there you'll want to replace everything.
Engine and trans is an oil redistribution assembly.
My '95 Evo FXDL never leaked but the lifters still failed at 25k.
My '88 sportster wheel bearings failed at 12k and the tank range I couldn't live with.
Not going to EFi or anything built after 2000.

[boscodog]

I have a 2017 Heritage 24k miles
What do I need to be aware of??

[greghedrick]

My twin cam is 19 years old and runs like a champ twin cams don't break for the hell of it usually the owner breaks them not doing maintenance doing stupid s***

[george]

Wow brother you are extremely thorough and I appreciate it exclamation mark

[paulfiore]

I replaced my tensioners with gear drive on my '01 FXDX. SE cam chest and oil pump, S&S .510 cams, Supertrapp, Mikuni, K&N

[jon]

99-06 also need OEM 33443 JIMS 33443-84 TC oil pump/evo tappet block alignment tools 🧰 (X 2)