Cam chain tensioner job

[michiganmike]

I want to thank everyone for all the helpful comments they made in all the different cam chain tensioner posts. I did the job today and found it was not too bad. It took me three hours from start to finish. A special thanks to Chuckster for the new parts.

There are some things I would like to add that may make things clearer for anyone that is going to do this job.

When reading Gadget’s article on how to measure your rod end, they tell you to loosen the 8mm lock bolt on the side of the tensioner and then take off the cap. Out pops two springs, a bearing, and an inside cup with the cap. When you get ready to reassemble these parts, you need to read the section “Prepare the tensioner for reassembly” to know how to reassemble it correctly. I put my tensioner back together wrong after taking my measurement, because the correct way to do it is later in the article, in the section about fixing your tensioner, which I had not read at that point. My bad.

Have red and blue “removable” thread lock available. You will use the blue on some of the bolts you take out and put back in.

The philips head bolts you take out from the crossover tube on both sides need to be cleaned of old thread lock and new thread lock applied. It is mentioned to just loosen the ones on the right side, but not take them out But they have thread lock on them and they should be taken out and cleaned and new thread lock applied. I used blue thread lock on these bolts.

I used a Dremel tool with a cut-off wheel to cut slots on both sides of the piece you are removing. You have to get pretty close to cutting all the way through before using a flat blade screwdriver in one of the slots to pop open the one side. Using the cut-off wheel made it a very simple job.

While one of the Chuckster’s new pieces fit right on the one tensioner with a little pressure applied, the other did not. So I took some emery cloth and cleaned the end of the tensioner, and then used the eraser end of a pencil and the emery cloth and cleaned the inside of the new piece to be fit on. I would sand a little bit with the pencil and emery cloth and then try the fit. After about 3 minutes of this I was able to get a good fit of the pieces. I did use red thread lock when I put them together.

The front cam chain tensioner is on the left side of the bike, and I had a hose in the way when trying to get the round cover off. I had to push the hose down to get it out of the way to unscrew the cover.

While I did not need the spare o-ring I bought, I did need one of the gaskets. I could have used the old one, since it was not damaged very much, but I had the new ones. The one o-ring and two gaskets cost me less than $10.

So again, thanks to everyone who gave advice on doing this job. I would not have tried it if so many of you did not give your thoughts and encouragement.

[crapper]

glad to hear you got the extenders in. it feels good to get that stuff done and not have to think about it again.
did you find the motor to be a bit quieter?
mine had quite a chain slap that realy bothered me and it's great to not hear it after the extenders.
it realy is a job that mostly anyone can do.........(i said mostly)

[AlabamaNomadRider]

Glad you accomplished the job. Nothing feels better than doing the job yourself. Such a feeling of satisfaction.

Thanks for the information you provided us. I will be facing that job in the not too distant future.

[michiganmike]

I have not had it out for a real ride since I did the job, so it is hard to say if it is quieter. I only rode it around the block after I did the job. This weekend is suppose to be dry, so I hope to get in a ride soon.