How do you correctly take out and install the cam chain adjuster.

I think I might of done more than 1 click out when I forced it. I want to take it out and reset it and try again before I get the manual one.

Let me know if I'm right.

Undo the 12mm bolt first then the 2 8mm bolts and remove assembly.

Assembly in hand, lift the locking block/claw and push the notched bar all the way in to reset it.

Re-install unit, tighten both 8mm bolts then the 12mm bolt. Will tightening the 12mm bolt put tension on the spring and advance the bolt to where it is "suppose" to be?

 

Yes, you got it.

As you put the reset tensioner back in, it goes up against a spring ( kind of a pain to get the bolt started against the spring tension ). As the spring compresses against the chain and tensioner, it forces it out so it will "click" a few clicks as you tighten the bolt.

When I put mine back together, the chain was kind of load until the tensioner got a few miles on it and auto adjusted. You can manually adjust the clicker too.

 

But be careful doing that...it can be over tensioned which is a bad thing. Consider Krieger's manual tensioner.

 

I have the Krieger on the Klx as well as my ZRX1200. Great price and product with good instructions.

 

Key words there... what do you think happens when you force things. I think you know. Too much pressure, excess wear, and putting force on the cam drive will pull on the cams themselves.

I'm not overly concerned if you buy the tensioner I make, but I absolutely hate to hear of people follow mechanically bad processes. And this is one bad mechancial process. Forcing the tensioner is one bad idea. Sure, it will "quiet down" the engine, but do you just want quiet or do you want mechancially correct? Heck, they used to put junk in engines to quiet them down. I personally want mechanically correct. Noise doesn't bother me if it isn't a problem. Quiet bothers me if it is a problem. Quiet valves mean too little clearance and quiet cam drives due to forcing the drive line means too much pressure on the cam drive.

When I rebuilt the KLX 650 I could have used the forced technique to seat the tensioner, but eventually it would have come back to bite me and we, the mechanics at the shop and I, knew it. We had a discussion about what to do. This was back in 2001, they had no suggestion for the automatic unit since it was the second OEM tensioner in my bike in less than 15,000 miles and it ruined the cam chains helping necessitate the rebuild. They mentioned the manual cam chain adjusters used in racing and that was the direction I went. It just made sense.

By the way, I mentioned noise that doesn't bother me. One noise I have no problem with is the primary chain noise many older in-line fours have. The primary drive rattles a bit on the Zephyr, but it's not a problem, never has been and never will be. Another is the ticking of valves when they are within spec. My old Guzzi really clattered with those valve covers hanging right out there with my knees. And finally the light ticking of a cam drive with a manual tensioner when the engine is cold. It is the bit of slack allowed for thermal expansion and goes away when warmed up. These are good noises. One more that is kind of interesting is the weird noise that drilled discs make when braking.

 

What's it called again, oh yeah, a "Auto" Cam Chain Adjuster.

 

How much is the manual one again? I need to do this. Hey how long will a chain last? I have nearly 15,000 miles, should I get the chain replaced and then add the manual adjuster? My bike is really quiet since I let the adjuster out to one clik and back in. That was like 1500 miles ago.

 

deej, you probably remember this from a past post, but you do realize that any extra tension on the tensioner above the minimum needed to remove slack that causes rattle actually pulls the cams into the aluminum in the head stronger than recommended. How much is too much? That's hard to qualify with exactness, but it's a fine line. I'm sure that at cold startup, immediately after an oil change, or during any hiccup in oil delivery like a full horizontal tipover, it wouldn't take much of an oil delivery disruption to gall the cam and head interface if the cams have a lot of tension being induced by the tensioner.

I can't remember, deej, but did you start doing the auto tensioner tweak because of a noticeable rattle? If so, then your tensioner is one of those not doing its job as it should, and should be replaced. Fixing this problem by either backing the tensioner out or by pushing in the plunger from the back of the tensioner body is somewhat of a crapshoot on achieving proper tension...or maybe even Russian roulette.

 

Actually I had my cam replaced at like 5000 miles , and then shortly after the cam adjuster. But the guy at the shop told me that the noise in these bikes it typical and for lack of better words "normal" What I would call noise for my bike was very slight, not a loud rattle. After just one click it was quiet and has been flawless. I would like the manual adjuster just so I could control it and being able to adjust whle the bike is running in my opinion is the best option. Just to add, my OCD might be causing me to worry about every little thing. I mean I have better things to do that worry about every little noise....like.....washing my bike.

After things settle down around here and I get back from the Grand Canyon trip on the 1300 I will probably order the manual tensioner.

 

Of course that noise is normal, it is normal for some of the cam chain tensioners to fail. The normal thing from there is for the cam chains to flail about, wear out, and possible damage. Normal isn't always mechanically sound. Concours sometimes have the cam chain tensioners go bad, they're noisy, and mechanics frequently tell people that's the way they are. Why, I don't know. A simple switch to a manual tensioner solves the mechanical issue without overstressing the cam drive.

If any mechanic ever told me to do the override method of loosening the body until it clicks or taking out the cap and spring and hammering the plunger in until it clicks I'd be looking for another mechanic who actually understands mechanical issues and knows how to try to resolve the root cause problem.