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[ridefar]

Posting for a distraught friend. 2006 non-CVO Ultra lost oil pressure while riding, no warning at approx. 55mph and began making nasty noises. Bike has 18k or so miles on totally stock engine that has not been abused.
Dealer is telling him $5k for a short block. Diagnosed as cam bearing failure and they will not mess with the lower end at all.
What is the best way to proceed with this issue to obtain the best result, assuming keeping the bike long term? Not necessarily the cheapest way to fix things, just the best most trouble free solution.
Thanks and all the best.

[twinotter]

 That just plain sucks!!  I'm not surprised the dealer wants to sell him a new shortblock! To have a sudden oil pressure failure like that pretty much means the pump broke up, likely caused by a twisted crank.
5K sounds like a lot of money for an 88" shortblock, but if it includes R&R and back on the road, its probably in line.
If that's just for the shortblock, and labor is extra, I'd be having an S&S 111 installed by a S&S approved  dealer.
Without pictures of the damaged engine and its parts, its impossible to say whether its repairable.
Depending on who did the repairs, cost could get back very close to the shortblock costs.
twinotter

[grc]

The MSRP for a TC 88A Long Block (heads included) is only $3495, and you can get them at a discount from some of the discount dealers.  I'm not sure where the $5k price for a short block is coming from.

Does your friend know what is actually damaged, or is the dealer just guessing without going into the engine far enough to make a real determination?  Assuming your friend plans to keep the bike forever, I'd recommend getting estimates for a complete engine, not only the H-D Long Block but also check out the offerings from S&S.

Jerry

[HILLSIDECYCLE.COM]

Bearing bore re-sleeved, and other parts attended to as needed.........can't think that would be that expensive.
JUST repaired one that this happened to from near Albany, NY.
Scott

[ltank]

That high price may have been turn key job to remove old motor, buy the new motor and install / tune it.

[grc]

That high price may have been turn key job to remove old motor, buy the new motor and install / tune it.

Maybe, but there again why tell the customer "short block" when in fact no such thing exists from Harley?  And it doesn't cost a couple grand to remove a Harley engine, transfer the TB and covers, and reinstall the new long block.  Harley's own labor time standards call for 4.5 hours to remove and replace an engine in a Touring model.

Jerry

[prodrag1320]

I agree with scott.wouldnt be a real big deal to repair your stuff

[HILLSIDECYCLE.COM]

This is the day and age of replacement.
For instance, if a valve is buggered at a local dealer here..........they replace the head.(they'd use a hammer, to kill a fly I suspect)
Damn near the same/same in the automotive world now.
Repair?..........that requires a mechanic/machinist, not a parts changer.

[grc]

This is the day and age of replacement.
For instance, if a valve is buggered at a local dealer here..........they replace the head.(they'd use a hammer, to kill a fly I suspect)
Damn near the same/same in the automotive world now.
Repair?..........that requires a mechanic/machinist, not a parts changer.

So very true, and so very sad IMHO.  However, in this case I don't think we can assume too much with the very limited information we've been given.  We weren't told if this dealer did any teardown at all, or just the bare minimum, or if they in fact determined the bottom end had some damage and thus the advice to replace versus do an extensive repair.  If the bottom end is good, then a repair would be less expensive.  Unfortunately we have no way of knowing that, and I'm guessing the owner of the bike knows much less than many of us do.  In that situation, I think I'd be looking for a second opinion from a good shop, and not necessarily a H-D dealership if you know what I mean.

Jerry

[Ridgerunr]

"I'd be having an S&S 111 installed by a S&S approved  dealer. "

+1

[ridefar]

Since I posted this originally I now have some new information, some of it troubling. Did you ever have a friend ask you for advice and then do the exact opposite of what you tell him? Or worse yet, let his wife take over the situation in order to expedite things?
So I now find out that this situation began 3 months ago!
The problem happens, he takes the bike to the closest dealer on recommendation of another friend. Dealer shop opens up the right side of motor(charges 2 hours labor) to diagnose "cam bearing failure". He may have misspoke to me originally regarding "short block", but they wanted $5k to fix the bike. I have to assume now that meant equal 88" crate motor from HD, labor and tax out the door.
I think what happened was, they pissed him off by offering him $3k for his bike towards a new one!
He pulled the bike out of there and took it to an indy shop that quoted him $3k out the door to fix his broken motor.
He gives the guy a grand in cash(hope he got a receipt) to get the ball rolling. At some point this shop tells him the job is going to be more like $7k to rebuild the motor! Now he was very specific, he only wants stock performance, nothing fancy.
He calls me at this point and "I don't know nuthin' about nuthin'" I tell him, but if its me I put an S&S crate motor in the bike and be waaay ahead of the game for less money.
Before I can relay the well respected advice of all of you great people here, his wife takes control of the situation and takes the bike back to the original purchasing dealer where they bought it used with maybe 8k miles. They quoted $3,500.00 for the HD crate motor. She orders the crate motor.
With that I ask "Why In The F didn't you do that in the first place?".
I am out of it now. Many thanks to all that have chimed in. It is appreciated more than you know !