ever seen tensioners like this ?!?!

[svandamme]

did my carrera tensioner upgrade today..
and realize that i was very , very lucky


left tensioner device, next to the hydraulic one


right one , before replacement


seems like some DIY self made thing
aluminum block, with a nut in it to tension the chain sprocket arm ( if that's the correct name for it)

the left one was not tense
the right one was

i thank myself for having been paranoid last fall
it could have been bad.

has anyone seen this sort of tensioner before???

[pjv911]

Those are the racing style mechanical units. From what I understand they are the safest type of tensioner however they require periodic adjusting . You were in no danger with these. The mechanical adjusters will even bring you $50.00+ in good used condition. A new set is $200.00 .

Kurt Williams

[GIBSON]

That type on mechanical tensioner, or ones very much like it, have been used since the 70's. They work well on race engines that are torn down on a regular basis but not as ideal on
street engines. They can contribute to chain stretch if they are too tight. You will probably be fine with your new hydraulics, it's not easy to measure chain stretch with the chain in the engine.
On high mile engines when I've discovered those
tensioners, I've gone ahead and replaced the chains just for
peace of mind.

[svandamme]

so not complete bad work...
i still consider myself lucky not to have pushed the car much
the left one did have considerable flex.. i could move the chain up and down quite a lot with that tensioner in place

after dropping in the hydraulic one, and releasing the pin.. the movement was gone... very tense

thanks for your answers.. another thing learned !

[Siena911]

Well you learn something new every day!!!

Those are quite amazing!

So when one adjusts those is there a way to measure the slack in the chain, i.e. what is the spec one would tighten those to?

Cheers Jakes

[techweenie]

I ran a set of those in the 70s. Before Porsche made reliable tensioners, those were very popular, especially with racers. The tough part was setting the chain tension and checking it every 10-12K miles.

[Oldporsche]

The left one is an old tensioner that has been gutted and bolt with a large nut has been substituted. The right one is a machined piece of aluminum. It was a regular product sold as a substitute for a chain tensioner. I remember the triangular shape. It was probably sold by PP or Automotion when they were still in business.

I have converted adjusters in my 70'.

Adjustment:

You take the slack out of the chain and tighten the screw maybe 1/2 turn more. That's what I remember. You didn't want the chain to rattle and you didn't want it to be too tight.

David Duffield

[svandamme]

well, it was a big surprise to find them!

but i'l stick to hydraulic ones now.. don't want to drop my engine every 3 months, eventhough i probably will not do 10k miles a year...
piece of mind