1980 shovelhead "how to adjust lifters?"
Edgar Nicholson
I have set lifters at TDC so I can turn push rod with my fingers.Is this
OK for 1980 FLH .Hydrolic lifters?? Thanks for any help.
Edgar Nicholson
Phil Boutros
On Mon, 27 Apr 1998 12:01:30 GMT, Edgar Nicholson <edga...@ns.sympatico.ca>
wrote:
> I have set lifters at TDC so I can turn push rod with my fingers.Is this
>OK for 1980 FLH .Hydrolic lifters?? Thanks for any help.
> Edgar Nicholson
>
lifters just recently (yesterday, actually, but I checked the manual about
2-3 weeks ago when we changed the head gasket), the procedure is (I'm going
from memory here, the manual is at Jimbo's place):
Crank the engine until valve is fully closed (pushrod at its lowest
point).
Tighten pushrod until it is hard to turn by hand (but still
turnable).
BTW, if you have hydraulic lifters, and they weren't empty, wait a
minute or two for them to bleed down...Repeat the last two steps until they
no longer bleed down. While doing this, cracking open a beer and/or lighting
a cigarette is Standard Operating Procedure if you're so inclined (since I
don't smoke and rarely drink, my SOP was to sip some water, give a drink or
two from the glass to Buster the Dog, and toss a tennis ball back and forth
with him a few times).
When the lifters are fully bled down, tighten the pushrods once
again so that they are hard to turn by hand (nice and tight, but not
un-turnable).
Then, tighten the nut another 1 1/2 turns (9 flats on the nut that
was on the bike I did). Don't forget to tighten the locknut.
Don't know about your bike, but Rosebud was *real* picky about the
adjustment. One flat or two fine-tuning made the difference between it
purring like a kitten (at least, as much as a Shovel can <g>), and her
running only on one cylinder. It helps a lot if you can use the timing
marks to know when you are on the right spot. Since Rosebud seems to have
many various timing marks (none of which we really know the proper position
for), we had to do it "by eye", looking at the pushrods going up and down
and "guesstimating" when the valve was fully closed. This is why a little
fine-tuning was necessary.
Phil
--
Wolf#14 EKIII will ride with me again. ph...@total.net
http://www.total.net/~philb Ph...@wolf-web.com phi...@usa.net
"Power To The People" - BPP
Hemipower
In article <slrn6k90fs...@localhost.localdomain>, ph...@total.net (Phil
Boutros) writes:
> Crank the engine until valve is fully closed (pushrod at its lowest
>point).
>
> Tighten pushrod until it is hard to turn by hand (but still
>turnable).
>
> BTW, if you have hydraulic lifters, and they weren't empty, wait a
>minute or two for them to bleed down...Repeat the last two steps until they
>no longer bleed down.
I am wondering why this procedure does not cause a valve to hang
open when the lifters finally pump up. Or what happens when the bike
warms up and jug/pushrod lengths change.Does anyone know the pump
up rate,or bleed down actions of harley hydraulics?
Hemipower
Puke Power
master/baiter #1 DTSS #1
Stroker ACE.
------------------------------------------------------------
Failure Is Only The Opportunity To More Intelligently Begin
Again." - Henry Ford
Jinks
On 27 Apr 98 13:05:42 GMT, ph...@total.net (Phil Boutros) wrote:
>On Mon, 27 Apr 1998 12:01:30 GMT, Edgar Nicholson <edga...@ns.sympatico.ca>
>wrote:
>> I have set lifters at TDC so I can turn push rod with my fingers.Is this
>>OK for 1980 FLH .Hydrolic lifters?? Thanks for any help.
>> Edgar Nicholson
> Then, tighten the nut another 1 1/2 turns (9 flats on the nut that
^^^^^^^
>was on the bike I did). Don't forget to tighten the locknut.
You were doing real good till you got to here! After you bottom out
the lifters you *loosen* the push rods! If you "tightened" them
another 1 1/2 turns on the heel of the cam you would be opening the
valve on the heel, & risking coil binding, or a piston/valve strike on
the lobe!
Loosening the push rod allows the lifter to "center" so you have both
cushion & room for some pump up. After you lossen the push rod &
tighten the locknut, turn the motor *slowly* by hand to be sure you
have clearance. If you feel *any* obstruction, STOP & check what you
have done. You should wind up with a push rod that has no slack up &
down, but is turnable with your fingers when on the heel of the cam.
Jinks ('86fxrs)
Remember, "No good deed goes unpunished".
Phil Boutros
On Mon, 27 Apr 1998 17:46:22 GMT, Jinks <glj...@bellsouth.net> wrote:
>
>> Then, tighten the nut another 1 1/2 turns (9 flats on the nut that
> ^^^^^^^
>>was on the bike I did). Don't forget to tighten the locknut.
>
>
>You were doing real good till you got to here! After you bottom out
>the lifters you *loosen* the push rods! If you "tightened" them
>another 1 1/2 turns on the heel of the cam you would be opening the
>valve on the heel, & risking coil binding, or a piston/valve strike on
>the lobe!
Either I didn't explain my idea properly, or you didn't understand
it the way I said it.
What I said (or at least, meant to say) was to tighten the pushrods
until they are hard to turn by hand (but you can still turn them by hand,
only with a bit of resistance). At this point, the lifters are *not*
bottommed out, unless you have much stronger hands than I do! At this
point, the springs on the lifters shouldn't even really be compressed. The
lifters would just be making tight contact with the pushrods.
Then, you do indeed tighten the pushrods another 1 1/2 turns. If
you bottom out the lifters, you have gone *WAY* too far!
This was the procedure in the manual.
Make sense?
Jinks
On 27 Apr 98 18:12:31 GMT, ph...@total.net (Phil Boutros) wrote:
>On Mon, 27 Apr 1998 17:46:22 GMT, Jinks <glj...@bellsouth.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Then, tighten the nut another 1 1/2 turns (9 flats on the nut that
>> ^^^^^^^
>>>was on the bike I did). Don't forget to tighten the locknut.
>>
>>
>>You were doing real good till you got to here! After you bottom out
>>the lifters you *loosen* the push rods! If you "tightened" them
>>another 1 1/2 turns on the heel of the cam you would be opening the
>>valve on the heel, & risking coil binding, or a piston/valve strike on
>>the lobe!
>
> Either I didn't explain my idea properly, or you didn't understand
>it the way I said it.
>
> What I said (or at least, meant to say) was to tighten the pushrods
>until they are hard to turn by hand (but you can still turn them by hand,
>only with a bit of resistance). At this point, the lifters are *not*
>bottommed out, unless you have much stronger hands than I do! At this
>point, the springs on the lifters shouldn't even really be compressed. The
>lifters would just be making tight contact with the pushrods.
>
> Then, you do indeed tighten the pushrods another 1 1/2 turns. If
>you bottom out the lifters, you have gone *WAY* too far!
>
> This was the procedure in the manual.
>
> Make sense?
>
>Phil
Yeah, that makes sense. It was the part about letting them bleed down
that threw me. You can keep tightening them about 1 to 1 1/2 turns at
a time, letting them bleed down between steps, till they *do* bottom,
then loosen them 3/4 to 1 1/2 turns. I like that method better, but
it takes more time & you have to be *real* careful.