Check your chain tensioners !!!!

[hot66]

I always thought ' it wouldn't happen to me ' , but the dreaded chain tensioners have struck !

After another spirited drive the other day I parked up in my garage and did my usual check / listen to my engine before switching her off. This time though there was a new noise ... a loud ticking style of noise coming from the rear right of the engine whilst on tick over. The noise sounded like it was a loose tappet.

I quickly checked the valve clearances but the noise was still there. After a good 15 more minutes of listening I decided it sounded like it might be the chain tensioner.

Skip forward 2 days & I had the Porsche on the back of a trailer towing it across to Mike Bainbridge @ Kendal to get his opinion.

At Mikes we opened up the cam chain covers and discovered a collapsed & seized chain tensioner !! Luckilly for me I had heard the chain rattle in time before the chain could jump.

As it turned out, when the cover was removed from the other side, that tensioner has collapsed too !!!

Here is a photo of the collapsed / seized tensioner.




Whlist proding around the cams Mike also noticed that at some point in my car’s past the cam pulley had been put on back-to-front which in turn has stretched the chain.

The result of all this is Mike is fitting new cam pulleys, new timing chains, new ramps , new 930 style mechanical chain tensioners with safety collars

[hot66]

The engine was coming out of the car so why not do some of those other jobs at the same time I thought

So on my shopping list :

New rear back box
New Clutch
Rebuild throttle bodies
Replace damaged CV joint along with all CV boots
Replace leaking engine seals
Repalce leaking gearbox seals
Remove ‘rally timing device’ from gearbox

Additonally we are going to clean up the engine shroud etc & re-plate a lot of the brackets etc , so hopefully at last the engine bay will start to look as good as the rest of the car.


Look at this dirty engine

[hot66]

Tonight when I popped into see Mike, he tested my injectors on his new test rig ……. As suspected they are shot One of them was more like a hosepipe flow than a nice spray pattern & it looked like most were leaking. At least that might explain my overrich running condition.

Downside of this is the cost of 6 new injectors


So this has turned out to be a bigger job than 1st expected


I’ll post details of the rebuild etc as it happens

[Derek]

James

Sorry to hear about your troubles but on the bright side it can only mean more horse power when you get the car back .

[sladey]

This is good news - the money hurts at the time but the joy of the engine will live with you for much longer - keep posting those pictures James

[targa/red]

Well James look at this way, your luck was in ,could have happen on the Scotland trip or even the track day

[jamie]

Lucky escape!

[bjmullan]

Sorry to hear about you troubles James. What chains are you going to fit? Are you going to split the case or use split chains?

[Mick Cliff]

Bad luck James.

Or good luck - at least it didn't lunch itself

The beast will be even quicker after MB have released all that lost bhp.

Glad I don't have the car to even try to keep up with you now

[Gary71]

Definitely a lucky escape

Better a medium sized bill now than a huge one were you to have kept driving

[hot66]

I am looking forward to see if more bhp is released as it wasn't exactly short to start with The car was running surprisingly well considering

Brendan, Mike is not splitting the case so will be fitting split chains.

Interestingly Mike recommends the chains etc to be replaced at around 75000 miles .... the mileage my car is at.

If your car has never had the timing chain covers off I do believe its worth checking the tensioners etc at the next valve adjustment

[210bhp]

James

Now you know what driving hard with that watery synthetic Mobile 1 does for an engine.Get some Valvoline in that baby and give it some real protection.


Will you now be taking the Masterclass on the top end stuff now that Mike is going to be away at the Auto jumble??


Regards
Mike


PS Just kiddin... hope all goes well with the mini rebuild.

[Ian Donkin]

Unlucky James, but as everyone's said, better to catch it now that have it let go and lunch the original engine you've got.

You might even be a pleasure to follow in the future - my eyes will be delighted

[Luke]

James, glad to hear you caught this one before it totalled your engine!

Don't worry about the cash, you can't take it with you, and just think how quick it'll be when it's finished! 8

[Nige]

Is that the same noise you mentioned when we met up at Hardwick?

Good work anyway fella