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[skreminegul07]

I really believe that in addition to calling Customer Service to register your leaks, etc, everyone should have the crank runout checked first.  It seems that everyone that I have read has failed, and most owners were not aware of any outward symptoms of the excessive runout.  It makes no sense to wait for parts to replace the cylinders over and over, when the motor is technically junk.
Be willing to bet that if it pases you'll pay the gasket and time to check it.  After all, most of the parts are going to come off anyway to replace trhe cylinders.

This accomplishes many things.

Lettermen's Top Ten Reasons to check Crank Runout (I need a few more)

1) It shows that you are willing to do anything to get this resolved.

2) It will make you feel a bit more confident that your motor will not implode on the highway.

3) A definite must before the warranty expires.

4) Replacing this many motors has to get more attention in Milwaukee than replacing $200 cylinders

5) It's faster to get a motor than cylinders anyway.

6) It might actually fix the many problems.    

7) The Change Engine Soon Light won't be available til '09   

[mr_magoo]

Sounds like good advise and worth the money to know that it's good.

[grc]

Perhaps there is a market for a modified cam chest cover with a clear window under the timer cover.  That way you could fire the bike up and watch the end of the shaft wobble without having to tear anything apart.   

Seriously, if this crankshaft issue is caused by what I think it is, you will have the possibility of the runout being within H-D's specs when new but out of spec later.  The whole thing depends on the press fit of the crank pin to the flywheels, and if that fit isn't perfect the wheels can shift in use, especially if one were to bang a lot of hard downshifts, dump the clutch at high rpms, etc.  So the idea of having the runout checked more than once is not unreasonable at all.

Jerry

[skreminegul07]

Perhaps there is a market for a modified cam chest cover with a clear window under the timer cover.  That way you could fire the bike up and watch the end of the shaft wobble without having to tear anything apart.   

Seriously, if this crankshaft issue is caused by what I think it is, you will have the possibility of the runout being within H-D's specs when new but out of spec later.  The whole thing depends on the press fit of the crank pin to the flywheels, and if that fit isn't perfect the wheels can shift in use, especially if one were to bang a lot of hard downshifts, dump the clutch at high rpms, etc.  So the idea of having the runout checked more than once is not unreasonable at all.

Jerry

Jerry,
I believe this is the case, also.  If I didn't, I would have the new motor check before it is installed.  Is welding the answer?  Why wouldn't HD want to weld it?

[djkak]

Regarding flywheel shift; I heard another explanation that I shared with the group here.
http://www.cvoharley.com/smf/index.php?topic=15087.msg239932#msg239932

Regarding flywheel rouout: It is also possible to check the runout on the sprocket side of the engine with the motor sprocket removed. The splined sprocket shaft requires a somewhat modified approach, but the test is recognized and valid. If your flywheels have shifted substantially, checking from the left side will reveal the shift for a lot less money than pulling down the camchest assembly. If the runout is close to the specification, you might want to get the right side apart to confirm that the wheels are out of spec.

When Milwaukee gets the flywheel assembly back, they are going to measure the runout of each shaft in a truing stand at a point next to the flywheel. If this measurement is not out of specification, they may not cover the job. The point is that if the field test is way out of spec, there shouldn’t be any problem; if it is close, there is a chance that splitting hairs could result in a rejected claim.

djkak

[bobaroni]

Lettermen's Top Ten Reasons to check Crank Runout (I need a few more)


7) The Change Engine Soon Light won't be available til '09   

[/quote]

ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS ! ! !  and at the same time...

[djkak]

.......ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS ! ! !  and at the same time...

Look closely at the little crying dude (not dOOd) ; does he have an open end wrech stuck in his mouth??

djkak

[Fired00d]

Look closely at the little crying dude (not dOOd) ; does he have an open end wrech stuck in his mouth??

djkak

Either that or a dog biscuit. More likely in this case it would be an open end wrench, and to top that off with some of the troubles the 110ci owners have had probably that wrench would be broken in the clenches of their jaws.

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[vtrod]

What exactly do they do to check the crank runout, what are the specs for an ok crank?

[skreminegul07]

What exactly do they do to check the crank runout, what are the specs for an ok crank?

Remove right side exhaust, Chrome cam cover and cam plate (?) and mount a dial indicator and measure runout while turning the wheel in sixth gear with the plugs removed.  The maximum service wear spec is 12 thousands.

[vtrod]

Thanks for your reply, I can now be more specific when I talk to the dealer, I have had three rear cylinder leaks fixed and now have the fourth.  Does anyone really know what
the problem is? I need to have this fixed once and foreall, I love the bike, but I hate to stop every 5-6k miles to have it torn down. There have been two dealers involved in this, both have been great, Harley has just not told them how to fix this problem. Since the last fix, I am using 1/2 qt of oil in 2-3 k miles, that is much more than what is seeping out the back, why would that be?  Any comments or suggestions will be welcomed.
 

[skreminegul07]

Thanks for your reply, I can now be more specific when I talk to the dealer, I have had three rear cylinder leaks fixed and now have the fourth.  Does anyone really know what
the problem is? I need to have this fixed once and foreall, I love the bike, but I hate to stop every 5-6k miles to have it torn down. There have been two dealers involved in this, both have been great, Harley has just not told them how to fix this problem. Since the last fix, I am using 1/2 qt of oil in 2-3 k miles, that is much more than what is seeping out the back, why would that be?  Any comments or suggestions will be welcomed.
 

Please post on the HD Head Gasket Leak Customer Servive thread, or something to that effect.  Call customer service and open a case.  From my experience and what I've read on this site, the current fix is to replace the cylinders, both cylinders.  Demand it and also demand they check crank runout first.  That's what I did and the new motor is coming this week.  If they agree to change the cylinders, make sure they order them as ther is a long wait because of the number of these being changed globally.  The head gasket will never fix your leak, even the revised version.