Cam chain tensioners

Today I had the wonderful feeling that yes, I broke my motor. This is my worst nightmare. My first guess at this new sound in the otherwise melodic 911 music was of a fan (perhaps? please) due to alternator bearings (light a starting to glow). Disconnected the fan belt. Same sound. The best description I can come up with is a fan rubbing against a shroud. Kind of a rattle mixed with click. Took off cam chain cover on the left. The noise did predominate from that area. "Looked" OK. Took off valve cover. OK. Took off right side cam chain cover. This is where my primary question lies. This 911 (73t cis) has, of course, has the non oil fed tensioners. The left tensioner has much less spring resistance than the right. I can move the left tensioner to its bottom. The right moves but is CONSIDERABLY stiffer. I was able to completely actuate the full movement of the tensioner on the left; the right barely. What is normal? Are chain tensioners stiff? Or are they kind of soft. This is a $600 dollar question. Not only does the answer dictate whether or not I shell out $ for the Carrera tensioners, but also whether I have a completely different problem.
Advice from those who know...Greatly appreciated.

Your left tensioner sounds like is has lost all of it's oil and is most definitely NOT NORMAL! The right one sounds OK. You could try disassembling, cleaning, al refilling with engine oil, and bleeding out the air ... the Haynes manual has an exploded diagram and instructions for bleeding. If it is then stiff like the right one you may be safe for a while with the collars to prevent total collapse and chains jumping timing on you.

I would recommend getting the pressure-fed tensioners and dual-bushing chain wheel carriers, but the total needn't be more than about $525 or so. Whatever you do, don't be tempted to install the cheap 'spacers' that enable you to reuse your single-bearing chain wheel carriers!!! You would be playing Russian Roulette with your $380 tensioners and the rest of your engine, too!

And, yes, I have heard the 'chain-dragging-out-of-a-trashcan' noise, too ... 19 April 1979!!! It only took about ten seconds before I knew exactly what the noise was, and I killed the engine immediately ... and ordered new tensioners and collars!

Upgraded to pressure-fed tensioners about 14 years ago, along with the newest chain wheel carriers.

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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa

Indeed. I'd have thought the tensioner was dead, dead. But if Warren says it might work again for a while....

My observation is that the tensioners are stiff as a.... Well, they're very stiff. I SURE could not hand-depress the new carrera tensioners, and the outgoing stock ones seemed almost as stiff. Bruce once wrote advice on how to replace the pin...put it in a vise, he said.

and the rest of what Warren said is true too, about chain wheel carriers and costs.

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'83 SC

Funny. The night b4 this happened I was reading a tech article on replacing old cam chain tensioners with the new improved. The next day the noise started. I am beginning to think that I am lucky that all I got was the noise and not....YIKES!