Timing Chain Tensioners

[Gilles]

Originally Posted by Frodo

For many of us (especially non-Ferrari owners ) we're a captive audience.

Yes, I already told him that I am jealous ...HA

[flmont]

GLImages,..I want to do this soon as well,..what's to figure out with the tensioners,I know to pre soak them,then pump them up before the install,.but that's the extent of my knowledge ,..your advise ? ,..Thanks Frank

[GLImages]

Originally Posted by flmont

GLImages,..I want to do this soon as well,..what's to figure out with the tensioners,I know to pre soak them,then pump them up before the install,.but that's the extent of my knowledge ,..your advise ? ,..Thanks Frank

Good morning Frank,
I followed a combination of the video posted previously and advice from the guys here for the most part. I would read/watch those for sure. They helped a lot.

What I did...
I pre soaked and pumped the tensioners a bit before I started. Then drained the oil in the car. Locked the the crank at TDC with a short drill bit (diameter mentioned in vid and 101 projects book). It needs to be short to fit in between firewall. Turn the crank clockwise to line up the holes. Then I went under and locked the cams.

With cams locked, I removed the first tensioner (32mm socket). Some more oil will come out, so be prepared. Then installed the new one in its place. I would only remove one at a time to limit slack in the chains.

The new tensioners had to be compressed quite a bit. For installing the bottom two I put my thumbs in the center to press it in the head while simultaneously spinning it to get the threads to catch.

Admittedly, I'm a scrawny guy so I had to muster a good bit of strength and say a few cuss words to get it started. Haha. Once the threads catch it goes in easy.

The top tensioner (if the old style) is 32mm like the bottom two. With the ac compressor installed theres very little room to do anything. I couldnt get a socket on there, even with multiple u-joints and extensions. I used a 32mm open end wrench to break it free. Then spun it out with a screwdriver and hammer, tapping on the flats to spin it.

The replacement tensioner for the top is no longer 32mm (thankfully), but a 14mm allen. A typical 14mm ball end allen allows for enough angle to avoid the ac and to push the tensioner down and thread it in. I used the same allen to torque it down.

It was pretty easy with the right tools. I had the 32mm wrench already but had to order the allen, it was 6 bucks from amzn. Don't forget new crush washers and cam plugs. The washers didn't come with the tensioners I bought. I'll try and add some pics to the thread this weekend. There's also a good write up on grassroots motorsports forum that has a lot of pics, etc.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[flmont]

Great Info...TY.! how long of a job is it,..Thanks frank

[GLImages]

Originally Posted by flmont

Great Info...TY.! how long of a job is it,..Thanks frank

It took me about +/- 5hrs moving at a slow pace. That includes jacking up the car, draining/refilling oil, re-reading the directions about 50 times, trying different tools, and a few interrupting phone calls. Its probably a 2hr job for a pro.


Edit:
I wanted to add that it is recommended to check cam deviation with durametric before and after the tensioners are installed to verify the chains didnt jump timing. I don't have durametric and my engine has 185k on it so I didn't do that. I'm taking the 'ignorance is bliss' approach. Lol.

[flmont]

LOL..Thanks GLImages,..I just bought a Durametrics unit but not efficient with it yet..Iam actually charging the Laptop now to go for a Durametric's.info drive ! Frank