DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Returning from a 150 mile motorway drive on Sunday a noise appeared at the end. I think a timing chain tensioner- 1972 S

What should I do


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you know what to do - have a look (relatively easy got at) ..... and go from there (odds depend on what set up you are running : Std vs mechanical vs pressure fed ?)

Don’t do what I did with my 914 and assume it’s a catastrophic and expensive failure, take the car off the road while saving up for 18 months then open it up and realise it’s a stone in the fan housing.

ASSUME nothing ..... most of you have had that lecture !!!

Or what I did with my 3.8 monster - assume it'll be alright surely. One replacement crank and full rebuild later

Thanks, I’ll investigate after the weekend. Car parked up til then.

If you have someone knowledgeable nearby to have a listen, then do, it may save you a lot of time and grief.
If you're fairly certain it is a tensioner, then it's relatively easy to check - forgive the 40+ year old photo of our old '69 S



Check that the timing chain ramps are OK while you have the chain cases open.

Hope it's something simple
Cheers,
JW

What will a failed tensioner look like, will the ramps be broken ?

I suspect...
... there will be...
...a lack...
...
of
...
...
tension

‘Valve’ will have sunk in to the casing……….
It’s just possible it’s a broken rocker arm rattling around

My $0.02 worth - If you're confident and know what you're doing, pull both the rocker and tensioner covers off and check for anything untoward. If you're not sure what you're looking for, ask someone who does to listen to the noise first, then to help investigate further.