[PICS] How much slack should the timing chain have?

[AdamP]

Basically, at idle and momentarily at low accelerating RPMs the motor would make a sound like the chain was hitting the guide so that's why I pulled the valve cover. It wasn't a continuous noise, just on idle and these various instances.

Upon inspection, the top guide was perfectly mounted on there. It was not loose at all. I took the top guide off and it had some minor abrasions in the top from the chain.
The timing chain has a little bit of slack in it (granted the tensioner is operated on oil pressure). I took a screwdriver and I poked around on the chain down on the bottom tensioner and it was pretty tight. From the pics, do you think the chain should look like that?

SR20



I did not take off the front cover to physically inspect the tensioner because I am a noob and I don't have the tools to take belts off. Hopefully, this will get rid of the momentary rattle.

Is there any other stuff I can inspect with just the top valve cover off? Maybe it would be worthwhile to put some rocker arm stoppers in there now.

As a side note,
What is the procedure in applying the sealer (I bought some stuff by Permatex "The Right Stuff")? Also, I don't have a torque wrench but I am going to hand tighten the bolts in the suggested pattern in the FSM.

[HellonFire]

Ok, first off. No the chain should not have any slack in between the two cam gears. BUT I have had many SR's that did, and had no problems.

I will look through my pics in a second, and find a picture of how mine looks.

Second, you don't have to take off any belts to look at your tensioner. Look underneath your FPR on your head, you will see two 10mm nuts holding on a plate looking thing. Thats the tensioner. Take those nuts off, and there you are.

Third.. Don't use "The Right Stuff" its horrible, and you will never get it off. Its seals VERY well, but I still to this day cannot get my plenum on my VR4 off becuase I used that stuff. I had 2 other friends pulling on it with me. I swear I could lift my car by that thing. Just get some RTV. Like Permatex Red.

And also, where were you planning on putting the sealer?

Tyler

[HellonFire]

This is one of my motors..

Just for reference.

[AdamP]

Originally Posted by HellonFire

Ok, first off. No the chain should not have any slack in between the two cam gears. BUT I have had many SR's that did, and had no problems.

I will look through my pics in a second, and find a picture of how mine looks.

Second, you don't have to take off any belts to look at your tensioner. Look underneath your FPR on your head, you will see two 10mm nuts holding on a plate looking thing. Thats the tensioner. Take those nuts off, and there you are.

Third.. Don't use "The Right Stuff" its horrible, and you will never get it off. Its seals VERY well, but I still to this day cannot get my plenum on my VR4 off becuase I used that stuff. I had 2 other friends pulling on it with me. I swear I could lift my car by that thing. Just get some RTV. Like Permatex Red.

And also, where were you planning on putting the sealer?

Tyler

Thanks for the heads up. I haven't put "The Right Stuff" on there yet. I will exchange it for something else. Like I said, I'm a noob so I just went by word of mouth of personal experiences of people.

Now, with the tensioner itself? Do I just pull it out the side? What should I look for, maintenance wise?

Right now the only place where I can see some slack is just up top between the two gear. The part with the tensioner seems to be pretty tight. Even with the tensioner on, I don't think that would elimate the slack between the two gears, the tensioner is just there to eliminate the slack between the Maybe the chain is stretched a bit. The motor has 96,000km on it.

I never had the rattle on a cold start. When the engine warmed up it began which leads me to believe it may be an oil pressure issue but I have no oil light on.

[HellonFire]

Originally Posted by AdamP

Thanks for the heads up. I haven't put "The Right Stuff" on there yet. I will exchange it for something else. Like I said, I'm a noob so I just went by word of mouth of personal experiences of people.

Now, with the tensioner itself? Do I just pull it out the side? What should I look for, maintenance wise?

I wouldn't really bother. THere is nothing you can do physically to it. You could always replace it though. Yes, you just pull it out the side.

Right now the only place where I can see some slack is just up top between the two gear. The part with the tensioner seems to be pretty tight. Even with the tensioner on, I don't think that would elimate the slack between the two gears, the tensioner is just there to eliminate the slack between the Maybe the chain is stretched a bit. The motor has 96,000km on it.

What do you mean with the tensioner "on"? Hopefully its on now! It is possible that your chain is stretched. But that would be quite a bit of stretching.

I never had the rattle on a cold start. When the engine warmed up it began which leads me to believe it may be an oil pressure issue but I have no oil light on.

I'm not sure what oil pressure would have to do with chain tension..

I think I'll put the valve cover back on. I don't think the chain is going to slip off.

When putting the valve cover back on what is the procedure with the permatex red. Where should I put it, (regarding the spot on the valve cover, camshaft seals, etc...)? Should the contact be grease free? I basically just wiped down the mating surfaces and made sure there was no excess silicone but that's it. They may be a bit greasy still.

Just put a little in all the dips of the head. Then you can just set the valve cover back on, tighten, and wipe off the excess. Yes, make sure there is no oil on there. Just wipe down with a rag with a little break cleaner on it.

Thanks for any help.

^^^^^^

Tyler