efil4sbuD 0 Posted February 29, 2008 70k doesn't sound good at all. That's not much better than a belt and i thought the idea of having chains in the first place was that they should not really need replacing for the life of the car. I know most people do it when the gearbox is off just to be safe as i have and you certainly don't want to have the gearbox off then have to do it all again for the chains later on. They should certainly last more than 70k so either i'm lucky or they were very unlucky. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin Bacon 5 Posted March 4, 2008 70k doesn't sound good at all. That's not much better than a belt and i thought the idea of having chains in the first place was that they should not really need replacing for the life of the car. Yeah, and they say that about gearbox oil aswell. It's not in a car manufacturer's best interests to make parts that last indefinitely. Several engines have chains that need replacing. The VR6 seems to have a lot more publicity about it than others though. The Jaguar XJR V8 and some BMW M engines for example, need their chains doing at or before 100,000 miles......but you're looking at £1000 - £1500 to change those! They should certainly last more than 70k so either i'm lucky or they were very unlucky. 70K is the youngest Stealth have seen a top tensioner wear out completely, but that's not to say that is the youngest ever known, or the average. I remember checking my tensioner when I bought the car at 73K and Stealth showed me where the chain was just starting to cut into it. Sure enough, 20K later, it was fecked. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dukest 0 Posted March 4, 2008 at the risk of other forum members diving in on it, this timing chain kit is on ebay and i'm just wondering if its got everything needed. i don't know what all the bits look like but based on the lists others have posted here i'm not sure there's enough bits in the picture... cheers :D john Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fla 9 Posted March 4, 2008 looks pretty complete to me, you just need to mention you have a duplex upper chain not the single. Its got the 2 guides guides, tensioner bolt and tensioner, which is basiclaly what you need. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mariojoshi 1 Posted March 4, 2008 thankfully mine doesnt sound like that cant say the same about my washing machine tho that must be a Hotpoint VR6 :lol: Didn't you know? Corrado VR6s last longer with CALGON! :lol: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VR6 0 Posted March 4, 2008 70K is the youngest Stealth have seen a top tensioner wear out completely, but that's not to say that is the youngest ever known, or the average. I remember checking my tensioner when I bought the car at 73K and Stealth showed me where the chain was just starting to cut into it. Sure enough, 20K later, it was fecked. How easy is it to check the top tensioner - remove the inlet , rocker cover etc ... anything else need to come off? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
herisites 0 Posted March 4, 2008 How easy is it to check the top tensioner - remove the inlet , rocker cover etc ... anything else need to come off? You will be able to inspect the top tensioner with just the rocker cover off. I will get a picture of how mine looked to give people an idea of what to look out for! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VR6 0 Posted March 4, 2008 Super, cheers Rob. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
herisites 0 Posted March 5, 2008 As promised here are a couple of pics of what they call a well and truly fcuked upper chain tensioner from a VR6. As you can see from the pics the top of it has just been eaten so much the rivets have fell apart and its actually split! My engine was on 142k when we took it apart and i had never heard the slightest rattle from the engine and it always ran very smoothly and it ran good figures for standard so dont think you have to hear your chains rattling before they are nackered! To inspect your upper tensioner as said you just need to remove the rocker cover. Its not that difficult to do, just remove your plug leads and engine cover plastics, then basically undo all the big bolts holding the inlet manifold onto the injector rail/head. The throttle body/ISV etc all come off with it in one, you just need to remove any wiring plugs that connect up etc. Then once the inet manifold is off you can remove the rocker cover to inspect the top tensioner (NOTE: Don't move the cams around etc when you have the rocker cover off!). It may be a good idea to renew the rocker cover gasket whilst you do this as its only about a tenner from VW and they can leak. Also a good opportunity to give it all a good clean as well. Hope this helps! Rob. (Mods, might be a good idea adding to the thread title that there is an example pic of the tensioner to help with the search?) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trudubrstu 0 Posted March 5, 2008 jeez....really should get mine done, i'm on 139k Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
herisites 0 Posted March 5, 2008 jeez....really should get mine done, i'm on 139k Yep maybe a good idea to start budgetting for them! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
