Cam chain tensioner...

[TitanNeil]

I popped the valve cover off yesterday to try to figure out the source of some knashy noise coming from the top end. The bike ('82 GS1100GK) had been sitting for probably 5 years, and the P.O. said it ran great then (sure...). Carbs cleaned, intake o-rings replaced, air filter cleaned, fluids changed, new plugs. Started up reluctantly and noisily, popping out one muffler fairly consistently. Turned the engine over by hand and noticed the cam chain 'jumping', sort of like a drive chain 'jumps' when the sprockets are way out of alignment. So I pulled up on the cam chain, and lo, it stayed up! Now it is so slack I think I could pull it off a sprocket if I wanted to! Adjuster stuck, methinks.
Having never removed/serviced a tensioner before, can servicing it be done in-place, or do I have to pull the carbs again? Is this stuck tensioner a common thing?

 

[TheCafeKid]

You SHOULD pull the carbs, for ease of getting to it. You can do it with the carbs on, but its a PITA... anyway, yes, its fairly common. Another common issue is when jackasses who dont know wtf it is, and what it does, or how to work on it or attend to leaky orings in it try to rebuild it. On the side, you will see a nut with a flat head screw in it. That screw rides in a slot in the tensioner plunger inside. Take the tensioner out (now would be a good time to replace the orings in it, for precautionary sake. BWringer had a nice write up about this on Basscliffs site) When reassembling, screw the screw in, back it off about a quarter to half turn, then hold it in place with the screw driver while you lock the nut down. If, as offten happens, someone simply tightened it down all the way, the shaft inside cannot move.. And the tensioner cant do its job...

 

[tkent02]

Check the cam timing before you rotate the crank any more!
It can skip teeth when the tension is loose, next is bent valves.

My 550 has this problem from a previous bone head.

 

[Steve]

When reassembling, screw the screw in, back it off about a quarter to half turn, then hold it in place with the screw driver while you lock the nut down. If, as offten happens, someone simply tightened it down all the way, the shaft inside cannot move.. And the tensioner cant do its job...

Just a little confusing there.

Before inserting the adjuster into the block,
1. Retract the plunger completely, lock it in place with the setscrew (don't worry about the locknut at this time).
2. When the adjuster is securely bolted in place, loosen the setscrew. You should see the knurled knob move as it takes up slack.
3. Turn the setscrew until it bottoms out on the adjuster, then back it out 1/4 to 1/2 turn and lock it there with the lock nut.
4. Turn the engine by hand (use the 19mm nut on the right end of the crank). Watch for more slack to be taken up.

.

 

[48woody]

Hello;

How much different is the process to install and adjust a manual tensioner like APE's on a GS1000. Thanks

 

[Guest]

Hello;

How much different is the process to install and adjust a manual tensioner like APE's on a GS1000. Thanks

Put it on. Adjust until there is 2-3mm of play in the chain. Ride.

 

[TheCafeKid]

Just a little confusing there.

Before inserting the adjuster into the block,
1. Retract the plunger completely, lock it in place with the setscrew (don't worry about the locknut at this time).
2. When the adjuster is securely bolted in place, loosen the setscrew. You should see the knurled knob move as it takes up slack.
3. Turn the setscrew until it bottoms out on the adjuster, then back it out 1/4 to 1/2 turn and lock it there with the lock nut.
4. Turn the engine by hand (use the 19mm nut on the right end of the crank). Watch for more slack to be taken up.

.

Sorry I just assume sometimes that people will actually go to the tutorial to read about what they are doing with these things. I was just trying to reitterate the fact that the screw shouldn't be tightened down all the way.