cam chain tensioner

johnkarl

Just like to put my penneth worth in to this subject, i have just changed the balance chain and cam chain on my 2002 ls vectra. When i had placed the new chains onto all the sprockets and made sure that they were all in the right position, i then fitted the tensioners, first the balance chain tensioner, pulled the pin and everything looked fine, i then fitted the cam chain tensioner, this type of tensioner is different to the one that i removed, both kits were genuine vauxhall kits that i have just installed, the problem lies for me , in the area of the new type of CAM CHAIN tensioner, you can't release the spring as you did on the old type , it is controlled by oil pressure, but to get it up to tension pressure the engine has to be spun over, i did this and it ran like a crock , in disbelief i checked the timing again and it had jumped two teeth, now i know what you are thinking , i have miss-timed the engine and was wrong with the marks, i however, know for a fact that the marks were correct, and ,by the look of some of the posts i have read , these people were also certain that they had the timing correct, and they probably were right, it was most likely the tensioner that had not had a chance to fill with oil and in the meantime the chain has jumped the sprocket, i then removed the cam chain tensioner and it was loads harder to move in than it was when i first fitted it, so not dismayed i then timed it up the exact way i had done before and put everything back together, hey presto it started first time and now runs like a new car, the only other bit of advice that i can give ,is to make sure that you have a rag placed at the bottom of the crankshaft, because if you drop a bolt, it will almost certainly find its way into the sump, and you don't want that , unless you have a very strong and flexible magnet :oops: , i must say this is my own personal diagnosis of the problems that occurred with the cam chain tensioners, it may not happen to you , but forewarned is forearmed, hope this helps someone along the way ---Karl

vocky

the latest tensioner should be released before fitting, simply press the end down onto a hard surface :thumbup:

johnkarl

I pushed the tensioner all the way in and it went in all the way very easily , all the way to the end and believe me when i say i put some pressure on , i'm 21 stone, when i released the tensioner it went back out to the max of its stroke, i read all the posts on the tensioner and i did what people said , it made no difference to the tension required to push the piston back , only when it was full of oil was there substantial resistance, i dont know if there is a new tensioner out but the one that was in my kit was the type with the spring clip that holds the piston into position, i havent seen any photos of this type on our site, that is the point that i am making, and like i said this is my own opinion , and was posted just in case someone like me who has done loads of cam chains before but has never come across this problem