Cam Chain Tensioner Extenders Installation

[Cajunrider]

At the KNOW Session hosted by Billmac and Cheryl, we installed the cam chain extenders on SteveO's 2004 Nomad 1500. Installation on the 1600 is the same. I attached the link of the step by step installation starting with a picture of Steve's fine looking 1500. I would have preferred attaching individual pictures but there are quite a few which would have made this thread several pages long. We started with the (easy) rear cylinder tensioner. I removed the right side cover allowing more room to get my hand behind the rear cylinder header pipe. It is not necessary to remove the rear header pipe. I then loosened the tensioner lock screw which is facing directly at you on the side of the tensioner assembly. Place a rag on the engine below the tensioner to catch the capfull of oil that will spill out when the cap is unscrewed. The cap threads are very fine making the removal very long winded. Everything inside is under spring tension so be carefull as you get to the end of the threads not to let the cap pop off with the bearing, bearing retainer, and springs flying everywhere. After the cap and internals are removed, keep the bearing orientation the same for reassembly. I've never measured the bearing dimension with a micrometer but I've read that it is slightly tapered. Steve cleaned up the bearing, retainer, and springs while I measured the travel before removing the assembly. The push rod end was recessed nearly 3/8" below the end of the assembly indicating it was out of travel. Remove the assembly and carefully scrape any gasket residual left on the engine and assembly sealing surfaces. Depress the hinged ratchet end allowing the push rod to be retracted back into the assembly. Go back an forth with it familiarizing yourself with how it works. Rather than cutting the OEM push rod "donut" off as Gadjet describes, we used a couple of open end wrenches on top of the vise and a bolt and ball peen hammer to remove it. Just a couple of taps on the end of the push rod with the wrenches backing up the donut allowed it to pop off. Be carefull not to drop the assembly when the donut pops off. Sorry but we forgot to take pictures of the extenders replacing the donuts. We were pretty excited that they came off so easily without cutting them. Put a drop of high temperature red loctite in the Chuckster extender and twist it onto the end of the pushrod until it bottoms out. If there is a tight spot when you are twisting the extender onto the rod, stop there. Allow the loctite to set for 1/2 hour or so before attempting to install the assembly. Install your new o-ring onto the assembly. To set the tensioner, fully retract the rod into the assembly. Make certain that the side lock bolt is loose enough to be flush with the inside of the assembly. Drop the big spring into the assembly and the bearing over the spring. Use a flat blade screwdriver to compress the spring by pushing the bearing down into the assembly until it is past the lock screw. Run the lock screw in finger tight above the bearing to hold the spring compressed. Install the new gasket and tensioner onto the engine and tighten up the two bolts. I did not torque them on. I used the short end of the 90 degree 5mm allen wrench and tightend them firmly using 2 fingers near the long end of the wrench. On the rear cylinder, the shoe that holds tension against the chain flops back against the opening when the tensioner is removed. Gently push the rod with your finger until you feel resistance. This will do some of the preliminary work for the skinny spring that fits into the push rod. Install the skinny spring, bearing retainer and cap and snug it with the combination wrench. Loosen the side lock screw until you hear the bearing snap into the retainer. Tighten up the lock screw and you are finished with this tensioner.
Now, for the tougher one. It is only tough if the intake crossover duct is still in place. Loosen the two duct screws holding it to the backing plate behind the right side dog bowl. Remove the left side dog bowl, filter, backing plate and bracket. Be careful not to lose the square nuts that are inserted into the end of the intake crossover duct after you remove the two screws. You should be able to wiggle the end of the crossover being able to lift it until it contacts the intake manifold. This will give you access to the rear bolt on the tensioner assembly. Follow the same cap, spring, bearing and retainer removal instructions as for the rear cylinder assembly. Only difference is no oil will pour out of this one. Again, be carefull when the cap gets loose so the internals dont fly everywhere. Forget about measuring travel on this one. You can't get a measuring scale in there. Loosen the bolts and use the ball end of the hex key to spin out the inside bolt. Wiggle and turn the assembly until you get it out. If the old gasket remains on the engine, be carefull not to drop any pieces of it into the opening when you are removing it. You could stuff a clean rag in the hole leaving just a tail hanging out for easy retrieval. Install the extender as noted above and set it the same as the other. Use the 90 degree end of the wrench with a little grease on it to hold the inside bolt. Stab the bolt and run it in with the ball end. You will probably have a few choice words for the crossover duct but it really isn't that bad. Snug everything up and install the cap, retainer and small spring. Don't forget to back the lock bolt out to hear the "snap" and re-tighten it. Crank it up and let it run for a few minutes to be sure you don't have any oil leaks before putting all of the hardware back together. You're done. Enjoy the quieter engine and peace of mind. If you have any questions on something I may have missed, send me a PM.

http://s300.photobucket.com/albums/n...n%20Extenders/