squeal in primary, '02 road king

[colnajoe]

I posted this in the transmission section, but I think it will get answered here quicker.

I get a squeal (more of a "wha wha wha" sound) in the primary/clutch area when engine is cold, and engaged-moving forward. When I pull in the clutch, sound goes away, let it out, sound comes back. This only lasts for a couple minutes and then I donr hear it again until cold start the next morning.

It was 38 degrees here today and I put on 120 miles. Seems like when it warms up, sound goes completely away. No sound at idle, only when moving for a couple of blocks, then gone. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

I have 38,000 miles on the king, no major work ever done, all original inside.

 

[Rubyred]

I am wondering if the drive belt, due to expansion and contraction, in the cold weather the belt is tight. As it warms up and expands a little the noise goes away. I would check the belt tension on a cold morning just to see where it is at.

 

[chuck60]

I posted this in the transmission section, but I think it will get answered here quicker.

I get a squeal (more of a "wha wha wha" sound) in the primary/clutch area when engine is cold, and engaged-moving forward. When I pull in the clutch, sound goes away, let it out, sound comes back. This only lasts for a couple minutes and then I donr hear it again until cold start the next morning.

It was 38 degrees here today and I put on 120 miles. Seems like when it warms up, sound goes completely away. No sound at idle, only when moving for a couple of blocks, then gone. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

I have 38,000 miles on the king, no major work ever done, all original inside.

My 08 RK did the same thing. It did it from day one, after belt was adjusted it still did it, I traded it in at the end of last year and with 22,000 miles it still did it but it never gave me a problem.

 

[01 rk]

Many years ago an H-D mechanic told me the squeal or whine you hear was do to dirt build up on the drive pulley and if you clean the pulley it will go away.
I squirt the hose in the back of the primary to keep it clean and it does not squeal.

 

[Dswartz]

I think this issue has come up before and if my memory serves me correct, TQuentin had a pretty good solution to it. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong but I believe what he suggested was using a crayon to build a small coating of wax on the edges of the belt. Apparently this slight layer of wax would prevent that noise.....I've never tried it myself but it sounds like a good idea to try.

On a side note with 38,000 miles on the bike without any major work being done have you ever checked your cam chain tensioners? If not it's probably a good time to do so.

 

[colnajoe]

Dswartz, I did pull the inspection cover and the shoes have very little wear. I saw a series of photos posted once and the varing degrees of wear. Mine had very little wear, just a slight groove cut into the shoe. play was within specs. I've only owned the RK for 6 months, but the original owner told me all he did was change tires, battery, and all fluids.

 

[TQuentin1]

On a side note with 38,000 miles on the bike without any major work being done have you ever checked your cam chain tensioners? If not it's probably a good time to do so.

Dswartz, I did pull the inspection cover and the shoes have very little wear. I saw a series of photos posted once and the varing degrees of wear. Mine had very little wear, just a slight groove cut into the shoe. play was within specs. I've only owned the RK for 6 months, but the original owner told me all he did was change tires, battery, and all fluids.

Dswartz was suggesting that you check the condition of the CAM CHAIN TENSIONERS inside the cam chest on the right side of the engine (behind the cam cover). From your response, I was worried that you were talking about the condition of the primary chain tensioner shoe. Specifically, what "play was within specs"? Am I confused?

TQ

 

[Jack Klarich]

Dswartz was suggesting that you check the condition of the CAM CHAIN TENSIONERS inside the cam chest on the right side of the engine (behind the cam cover). From your response, I was worried that you were talking about the condition of the primary chain tensioner shoe. Specifically, what "play was within specs"? Am I confused?

TQ

I would be surprised at the (LITTLE) groove that was posted, that sounds like early failure of a cam chain tensioner

 

[colnajoe]

Well I am new to the Harley world and I've been studing the the service manual as much as I can. I did get confused between the shoe and I didnt know what the cam tensioner was. I havent done anything on the right side of the motor.

So it sounds like I should check out the cam tensioner then..............I'll keep reading the manual

And the play I was talking about, was the PRIMARY CHAIN play. Thats why I'm on here, I want to learn...............

 

[TQuentin1]

So it sounds like I should check out the cam tensioner then..............I'll keep reading the manual

And the play I was talking about, was the PRIMARY CHAIN play. Thats why I'm on here, I want to learn...............

Here is a pictorial from when I did the roller chain conversion on my '03 UC. To check the tensioner shoes, follow this up to opening up the cam chest. The outer shoe is easy to see. The inner one will require getting a cheap dental mirror, a light and your eyeball behind the support plate to get a peek at the condition of the inner tensioner shoe. Easy to do though.

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