Oh dear

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Guess who will be dropping his gearbox within the next 1000 miles :x

 

This is what an upper tensioner blade looks like at 93,000 miles.

 

You don't realise how tiny this V6 engine is until you strip it, amazing.

[CorradoVR6-Turbo 0]

That's what people don't realize,upper chain tensioners prematurely wear and you don't hear it unless you have a look. :(

Bet that went long before 93000 miles Kev !

Just like mine !! stripped it all down and fitted new everything !!! :mrgreen:

[Kevin Bacon 5]

You do hear it if the plastic pad wears right through as you've got metal on metal then, as well as loose chains!

 

The plastic pad is liable to break up completely within the next 1 to 2000 miles, max :cry:

 

That took 10,000 miles to do that mate. I checked it at 83K and it was fine.

 

I think I will be replacing it with the later MK4 12V upper tensioner, which is solid polymer and doesn't wear.

[dr_mat 0]

They do take a hammering, don't they?

If you're doing the tensioner very soon, let me know, cos Vince is going to be doing my setup very shortly, and I'd be interested to try out the "new improved" tensioner!!

[jedi-knight83 0]

thats a shame... you gonna do the lower one aswell then? out of interest? why did you have it all striped down?

[dr_mat 0]

Jedi, the drawback with the design is that you can't replace the top one without getting access to the bottom chains too.. And if you're EVER going to need to do the bottom chains (rare) you had better do it while the top chain is off!!

[jedi-knight83 0]

so basicly if you doing the top tensioner, you may aswell do the bottom one aswell??? i still havent quite grasped the concept even having owned a VR6 for 6 months now and asking loads of Q's about it :oops:

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I stripped it all down purely to check the tensioner. I suspected it was in that condition and I now I know for sure :cry: . I enjoyed doing it to be honest, I love stripping engines and it made me realise doing the Schrick is going to be a walk in the park :lol:

 

The VR motor comes apart real easy, it's like Lego.

 

I was stunned by how clean the engine is internally after nearly 100K. A sign of good servicing, blowing my own trumpet :mrgreen:

 

I thought about un-riveting the new blade's plastic pad and riveting it to the existing blade but you can't get to the lower rivets :x

[jedi-knight83 0]

oh, i thought the shrick was already in your hands thus the strip down...

 

are you going to do the work yourself then?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Nathan, if you could just do the top tensioner, that would be lovely and all you need to do, but as you have to drop the box, you may aswell do the chains, upper and lower chain rails and the lower tensioner too for good measure. The chains tend stretch and develop loose links. My chains are sloppy as hell and they sag between the two cam wheels. They should be tight, I have at least 8mm vertical slack between those two points, and you're talking about a 3 inch span, not good.

 

No haven't got the Shcrick yet, they're not in the country yet but yes I will be doing it myself as it's a nice easy job.

 

K

[jedi-knight83 0]

and i guess its about £300 for all the chain parts.... i ment are you going to do the tansioner yourself? or take it to stealth?

 

i spent the day doing my rear suspension. wouldnt fancie taking an engine apart though :?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Sorry mate, no I won't be doing the tensioner myself, Stealth will be. Luckily I'm entitled to a warrantly replacement clutch, so whilst they're doing that they can do the chains etc too, saves on the labour bill :lol:

 

I'm the other way mate, I hate suspension, give me an engine any day, I find them very easy to work on and understand.

 

K

[dr_mat 0]

Aha, Jedi's real name escapes! ;)

Are you thinking of attempting the chains yourself Kev?

I suspect that changing the chains and tensioners is pretty straightforward, but I really don't fancy dropping a gearbox and removing the clutch myself without expert supervision!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Aha, Jedi's real name escapes! ;)

Are you thinking of attempting the chains yourself Kev?

I suspect that changing the chains and tensioners is pretty straightforward, but I really don't fancy dropping a gearbox and removing the clutch myself without expert supervision!

 

I could do it myself, it's relatively straight forward but as you say, I can't be arsed to drop the box on my drive so will get it done when the clutch replacement takes place.

[jedi-knight83 0]

Aha, Jedi's real name escapes

 

Yup, Nathan John Willits.....let me guess ... yours is .....Mat??

 

I'm the other way mate, I hate suspension, give me an engine any day, I find them very easy to work on and understand.

 

ah, its a shame your's is already done otherwise i could help in return for you doing my engine.....oh well....you can still do my engine work though :)

[Ice White Socks 0]

I am sure I am not the only one who must be a bit worried by all this talk of knackered tensioners/ chains at well under 100k :? Is it fair to say that it would be making a fair old racket by the time the tensioner gets that bad, or is the only way to tell by actually getting the engine stripped down. :?:

 

I think I had better get some money put aside :cry:

[dr_mat 0]

Put money aside!

Mines at 117k miles now, but it's been clattering for some time (I honestly couldn't say how long).

How bad are mine? Dunno, I've not seen them, but Vince reckoned the noise "wasn't the worst he'd heard"...

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I am sure I am not the only one who must be a bit worried by all this talk of knackered tensioners/ chains at well under 100k :? Is it fair to say that it would be making a fair old racket by the time the tensioner gets that bad, or is the only way to tell by actually getting the engine stripped down. :?:

 

I think I had better get some money put aside :cry:

 

Absolutely mate, start saving.

 

You've seen how shafted that tensioner is..... there is *no* chain slap noise at all. As James said earlier, you just don't know until you inspect it. You will hear chain slap when the plastic pad wears right through to the metal though. Give my engine another 1000 miles and it will start sounding terrible.

 

K

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Matt, if you've got chain rattle, your upper chain rail might be goosed. They tend to break up too, sometimes splitting clean in half. The retaining bolts come loose aswell as I found on mine. I replaced the chain rail today as I had one kicking about. The original one was loose as hell and starting to break up.

 

K

[dr_mat 0]

Yeah, I imagine that might be the cause. I also imagine that at 117k it's highly likely it's not the only cause, so I'm assuming at this point that the whole lot needs doing. I am sure Vince will give me a call if he gets the lid off and finds a perfect tensioner and a knackered guide and give me the good news...

[CorradoVR6-Turbo 0]

I am sure I am not the only one who must be a bit worried by all this talk of knackered tensioners/ chains at well under 100k :? Is it fair to say that it would be making a fair old racket by the time the tensioner gets that bad, or is the only way to tell by actually getting the engine stripped down. :?:

 

I think I had better get some money put aside :cry:

 

Ive got a spare engine at work Mike if you want to see a chain broken then the aftermath !! :( Lots and lots of damage...................