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Pitted camchain adjuster pushrod

  • Thread starter Thread starter janksolid
  • Start date Start date
J

janksolid

Guest
The bevelled end of the tensioner pushrod has become pitted by the ball on the spring loaded bit, causing it to stick in that place and not take up slack in the chain.
Is there any thing I can do to remedy things? I read somewhere that you can whack the tensioner with a hammer to take up the slack. Is this advisable? I'm worried that the pushrod will just slip back to its old 'favourite' position and get stuck again.
I'm just looking for a quick fix to keep me on the road while I get hold of a replacement pushrod.
Any input gratefully received....
 
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looks like you have no easy avenue of replacement

http://alpha-sports.com/spst/1983 GS750ES/03.gif

ouch!


I find it odd that it had a groove or pit worn into it maybe the set screw was put in too tight so it was dragging during the course of operation.


Does it drop into the pit and not move freely? after cleaning and reassembly?
 
Ok thanks for that.
I'm gonna take my chances with a couple of used tensioners seen on 'a well known auction site' and see if I can cobble a good one together from the parts. Fortunately Suzuki seem to have used the same unit for all GS & GSX fours so they are plentiful and cheap.
I read in this forum that the ball can get stuck in its socket and stop rolling on the pushrod bevel and eventually form a pit which it sits in, locking the pushrod in place. Which seems to be what's happened here. I haven't got round to stripping the unit completely to have a look cos I don't have a vice but when I do I'll post my findings.
 
I had the same problem and had to get a new (used) tensioner myself. When you rebuild it, make sure that the rotating ball that rests on the bevelled edge moves freely as you described. I was surprised at the amount of time and PB blaster it took to get mine to work right.
 
Just sand or grind the beveled bit until the pitting is gone, attempting to keep a similar angle.

Worked just fine for me! The pushrod is not case hardened or anything.

I think the pushrod is also available separately for some tensioners.

Alpha-Sports has a useful fiche that's a bit different than others, but absolutely ungodly prices. Try FlatOut for the best prices I've seen:
http://flatoutmotorcycles.com/fiche_select.asp
 
Go to the dealer and order a new one.There only about 10 bucks and order all the o-rings,spring and the seal also I rebilt my tensioner for 7 bucks.
 
Flat out - $68.76 \\:D/
Alpha Sport - $94.87 [-X
 
If you go second hand, get the 'O' rings and do a refurb job on the good one you will put back in the bike.

Also fit a new gasket between the unit and the engine to stop leaks.

Suzuki mad.
 
Thanks everyone for the advice.

I would love to just buy a new unit but money's tight and no one seems to sell just the pushrod on its' own.

I'd already looked at Alpha Sports and the thing was about $133 (£65) with shipping to the UK. Thanks bwringer for the link to Flat Out - a lot cheaper but they don't seem to ship to the UK (although I haven't asked them yet - I don't see why they wouldn't. Money's money, right?).

I 'll try to get a price from a UK supplier too, but spares prices over here are ridiculous. I'm guessing around £100 ($200). Gotta get the o-rings, oil seal and gasket anyway so I'll enquire.

Found a couple second hand units on ebay for £5 - supposed to be from good running engines - so that'll be my first port of call.

I'll let you know how I get on.
 
Bwringer, you the MAN! Knew I should have listened to you....

Bought a second hand tensioner on eBay and it was even more badly pitted than mine...

Just spent a pleasant half hour sitting in the sun and rubbing down the pushrod with an oilstone and the surface now looks, dare I say it, better than new with an almost mirror finish to it.

Found a good spares supplier in London http://www.sparesdirect.co.uk/. Just don't bother emailing them cos they won't reply!

Ordered the O-rings, oil seal and gasket on the phone yesterday lunchtime and they popped through my letterbox this morning. Only £5.89 including postage.

The one big expense I've had was a 30mm spanner to dismantle the tensioner with. £20! But it IS a Teng and should last forever and not wear out. And we all hate chewed up, rounded off nuts caused by cheapo tools don't we? (Or am I just trying to make myself feel better? ;-D)

As I don't have a vice I tried clamping the tensioner between 2 bits off wood while I removed the 30mm nut but I just couldn't get enough grip and leverage. I ended up bolting it back on to the bike and managed to get that nut straight off. Easy.

Just gonna let all the bits soak in diesel oil overnight and clean them up tomorrow ready for the rebuild.

I'll report back....
 
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janksolid said:
As I don't have a vice I tried clamping the tensioner between 2 bits off wood while I removed the 30mm nut but I just couldn't get enough grip and leverage. I ended up bolting it back on to the bike and managed to get that nut straight off. Easy.
Click to expand...

Just a footnote. With a vice, a huge crescent wrench and a three foot pipe extention made into a breaker bar, I had a tensioner that I simply could not remove the 30 mm nut from. After I got my other tensioner, I finally took a sledgehammer to the breaker bar to see if the nut would come free.

It didn't. The tensioner didn't break either. Some of those puppies don't come off.
 
mark said:
Just a footnote. With a vice, a huge crescent wrench and a three foot pipe extention made into a breaker bar, I had a tensioner that I simply could not remove the 30 mm nut from. After I got my other tensioner, I finally took a sledgehammer to the breaker bar to see if the nut would come free.

It didn't. The tensioner didn't break either. Some of those puppies don't come off.
Click to expand...

Guess I was lucky then.... :)

BTW I got a price on a complete replacement tensioner. ?85! ($170) plus shipping.
See what I mean about spares prices over here???
It would be cheaper to buy from the USA and have it shipped over.
 
I had to bolt my tensioner back to the bike to get the stinkin' nut off, too.
 
janksolid said:
Guess I was lucky then.... :)

BTW I got a price on a complete replacement tensioner. ?85! ($170) plus shipping.
See what I mean about spares prices over here???
It would be cheaper to buy from the USA and have it shipped over.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I have just read this thread. If you are planning to keep the bike for ever, you should consider hard facing the pins bevelled face. This will ensure that the same problem doesn't return after a realitively short mileage. You can do it cheaply by arc welding some Philips 350 hardfacing elecrodes onto the bevelled slope. Then use Brian's suggestion to return the end to it's original shape. Case hardening is also an option, but could be more expensive, depending on the grade of steel the pin is made of.
This is assuming that you haven't re-assembled it yet and fitted it back up to the bike.
 
49er said:
Sorry, I have just read this thread. If you are planning to keep the bike for ever, you should consider hard facing the pins bevelled face. This will ensure that the same problem doesn't return after a realitively short mileage. You can do it cheaply by arc welding some Philips 350 hardfacing elecrodes onto the bevelled slope. Then use Brian's suggestion to return the end to it's original shape. Case hardening is also an option, but could be more expensive, depending on the grade of steel the pin is made of.
This is assuming that you haven't re-assembled it yet and fitted it back up to the bike.
Click to expand...

That's good advice. Thank you.

At the moment I just need to get the bike back on the road quickly. Car driving in London is a slow, frustrating business and we have congestion charging in the city centre (for cars - bikes are excluded).

I will be replacing the camchain and doing a top end rebuild over winter so I'll get the rod hardened at the same time.

Just want to say thanks to everyone who has replied to my thread.

I'm not a mechanic and this is the first bike that I've really worked on. I think the most I'd done before was to adjust a drive chain! The advice and sense of community on this forum is second to none. Respect to everyone involved :-D
 
49er said:
Sorry, I have just read this thread. If you are planning to keep the bike for ever, you should consider hard facing the pins bevelled face. This will ensure that the same problem doesn't return after a realitively short mileage. You can do it cheaply by arc welding some Philips 350 hardfacing elecrodes onto the bevelled slope. Then use Brian's suggestion to return the end to it's original shape. Case hardening is also an option, but could be more expensive, depending on the grade of steel the pin is made of.
This is assuming that you haven't re-assembled it yet and fitted it back up to the bike.
Click to expand...

Where/how would one have this done?

Frankly, I was somewhat surprised to find that the bevel face wasn't hardened. It was easy to clean up, but I have to wonder when the pitting will come back.
 
bwringer said:
Where/how would one have this done?

Frankly, I was somewhat surprised to find that the bevel face wasn't hardened. It was easy to clean up, but I have to wonder when the pitting will come back.
Click to expand...

Any general engineering workshop should be able to do this for you. You don't have to use Philips electrodes but something in that hardness range (300-450). If you go much higher than 450 you risk the chance of the surface cracking and chipping. You could even consider Philips MN. This is a manganese electrode and will work harden with impact. It is used mainly on digger buckets, pile drivers and bulldozer blades to slow down the effects of abrasion.
I believe suzuki used cheaper grades of steel in some components on the later model 850's. The drive splines of the diff come to mind.
After 80,000kms, my pin hasn't pitted/scored yet.
 
I need help with the rebuild.

Specifically the oil seal. Which way up does it go?

I put it in with the flat side out but couldn't get the rod through without distorting the seal.

Then I tried it the other way up and the rod goes through fine. Is this right?

It doesn't look right.

Li'l help here...
 
The solid side of the oil seal should face outward and you put the rod thru from the back if that helps.There should only be one way that is goes in.
 
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