If you dig into it, then just replace it with a new one. They have been updated over the years and a new one won't hurt. I did mine while doing the clutch and IMS work and it fixed a chain slap on startup. They are hydraulic tensioners so the spring is for startup cold until oil pressure comes up. Here's a pic of the old and new one on my engine:
I used a weight to push them down to see how strong the spring was. As you can see, the new one on the right was much stronger, so the plunger didn't go in as far.