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Squeal in primary

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bretmaverick63

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My 98 FLHTC develping high pitched squeal in primary. Consistent w/ speed of bike / not necessarly rpms. Stethscope showed a slight grinding in area of tensioner but no squeal when not moving. Recntly removed primary cover due to rattling, adjusted chain (was originally little loose) to no more than 5/8" slack in tightest section of chain (7/8" in loosest) while cold. Found comp nut tight, no obvious signs of abnormal wear, etc in motor end or clutch end. Cleaned sludge off Clutch hubs. Rattle reduced to next to nothing, but now squealing 2 weeks later. Diminishes w/ clutch pulled in. Plastic tensioner has wear (70k miles) w/ rough areas 1" long where chain rides, rebuilt tranny 20k miles ago due to "warranty" bearing and seal replacement in which bearng pin was inadvertently left out by mechanic. Now have primry cvr off, all fluids drained from everything (no metal), waiting for wrenches to where I'm stranded to pull chain, comp nut and clutch hub for better look at everything. Clutch plates (steel) look good, friction plates not abnormally worn (may replace anyway). I use Primary fluid from Drag specialties (always have). Could use a fresh perspective while I wait for the "big" sockets. Any ideas where I should focus first? Thanx!
 
bretmaverick63 said:
My 98 FLHTC develping high pitched squeal in primary. Consistent w/ speed of bike / not necessarly rpms. Stethscope showed a slight grinding in area of tensioner but no squeal when not moving. Recntly removed primary cover due to rattling, adjusted chain (was originally little loose) to no more than 5/8" slack in tightest section of chain (7/8" in loosest) while cold. Found comp nut tight, no obvious signs of abnormal wear, etc in motor end or clutch end. Cleaned sludge off Clutch hubs. Rattle reduced to next to nothing, but now squealing 2 weeks later. Diminishes w/ clutch pulled in. Plastic tensioner has wear (70k miles) w/ rough areas 1" long where chain rides, rebuilt tranny 20k miles ago due to "warranty" bearing and seal replacement in which bearng pin was inadvertently left out by mechanic. Now have primry cvr off, all fluids drained from everything (no metal), waiting for wrenches to where I'm stranded to pull chain, comp nut and clutch hub for better look at everything. Clutch plates (steel) look good, friction plates not abnormally worn (may replace anyway). I use Primary fluid from Drag specialties (always have). Could use a fresh perspective while I wait for the "big" sockets. Any ideas where I should focus first? Thanx!
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Close look at clutch hub and outer Diaphragm, Clutch hub bearing and spline, older trannys had some troubles there
 
DO NOT RUN THE BIKE ANY MORE UNTIL YOU OPEN UP THE PRIMARY.

I had the compensator nut back off enough to let the rotor wobble around on the shaft. Made the kind of noise you described. Eventually it jammed on the stator and the engine shaft sheared all the dogs in the rotor. Ruined rotor and stator. VR fried within a few months.

Check it out!!

TQ
 
TQuentin1 said:
DO NOT RUN THE BIKE ANY MORE UNTIL YOU OPEN UP THE PRIMARY.

I had the compensator nut back off enough to let the rotor wobble around on the shaft. Made the kind of noise you described. Eventually it jammed on the stator and the engine shaft sheared all the dogs in the rotor. Ruined rotor and stator. VR fried within a few months.

Check it out!!

TQ
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No way. Bike is down til I find the problem. (This is my only ride!) Appreciate your post. I've seen too many people turn a small headache into a full brain transplant by "wishing it to be better" instaed of taking action, or not stepping back and "thinkerin' before tinkerin"... Outer diaphragm looks good but wont get any deeper until daylight... Keep wanting to believe the squeal is from the plastic tensioner, but I know better. Plan to get into the stator area and look real close there, too. Thanx again!
 
If the compensator nut is loose, look for signs on the inside of the outer primary cover for rubbing by the compensator. Pull the compensator, chain and clutch basket off (nut is lefty), then pull off the rotor and inspect the condition of the stator as well as the teeth on rotor. As long as none of the stator windings look burnt or darker than the other windings, and the teeth on the rotor look good, you can probably reassemble. Make sure to follow the procedure in the book, and definitely use red Locktite on the compensator nut threads and the clutch basket nut.

TQ
 
The key here might be when you said "no squel when not moving". My Road King did that. Turned out the two small locking bolts on main drive pulley had backed out and were rubbing on the back of the inner primary.
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Appreciate the post about the compensator nut, TC. It's the 1st thing I check when I pull the primary cover (Only adjust tension with cover off for many reasons). Still as tight as when I left it a few years back. Question - what am I looking for in a worn chain? I know it's stretched unevenly becuz its loose to 7/8" in some spots, but tite to 5/8" in others... Is there a feeler gage check between links, etc? Not much in my service manual(s) except to "replace if worn"... What exactly is the criteria for worn? Thanx again!
 
bretmaverick63 said:
Appreciate the post about the compensator nut, TC. It's the 1st thing I check when I pull the primary cover (Only adjust tension with cover off for many reasons). Still as tight as when I left it a few years back. Question - what am I looking for in a worn chain? I know it's stretched unevenly becuz its loose to 7/8" in some spots, but tite to 5/8" in others... Is there a feeler gage check between links, etc? Not much in my service manual(s) except to "replace if worn"... What exactly is the criteria for worn? Thanx again!
Click to expand...

Look at the rollers are they scored or pitted, Check the sprockets for sharp teeth, can you flex the chain side ways much, Try to spin a few of the rollers on the chain and listen for noise
 
Also, no sign of any rubbing or scraping in primary case (inner or outer). Stuck 200 miles from my garage and tools so still waiting for sockets big enough to pull chain and hubs out for deeper look...
 
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