How hard is it to install Updated Chain Tensioners??

J.HK · 04-23-2002, 07:48 AM

I have a 72 911T and I'm thinking about upgrading to the oil fed Carrera Tensioners.

How hard is this and how long should I expect it to take?

thanks,
J

Chuck Moreland · 04-23-2002, 07:54 AM

It's not too tough if you are handy with the wrenches.

Be sure to read the Pelican tech article on the topic.

If you have all the parts you need, a handy first timer could do this comfortably on a Saturday.

bob tilton · bob tilton's Garage

this was the first job i had done on the car when it was new to me and i wasn't doing my own wrenching at the time. the shop charged me 10 hours labor and supplied the parts at a total cost of $1200 - ouch! anyway i had some words with the shop owner about misc charges that were not performed on the car and the car never went back to him. a few months later i found a very reputable wrench who said he had only seen one failure in his 30 years of p wrenching.
everybody has a different story about the ugrade and if it needs to be done. so who do you trust?

jkeyzer · jkeyzer's Garage

It's not that bad I guess. Make sure you upgrade the idler pulley arms also if they have not been upgraded already, Pelican can supply you with new arms. They are a little pricey as I remember.

The only snag I ran into on the 72 is that two of the studs that hold the left timing chain cover on are not long enough to go all the way through the new aluminum style covers with the tensioner oil feed hole. You'll have to figure out what to do about this. Either leave them the way they are which might actually not be a bad idea (they are at the top and probably won't cause oil leaks) or do what I did, try to take both out, get one out, break the other, and say screw it and wait for engine drop time to fix the whole mess.

The reason the new covers are different is because the optional smog pump is installed on that cover and so two longer M8 studs are used where previously short M6 studs were in place on the early cars.

I did it in two separate weekends. If I had all the parts handy I could have done it in one.

Jim Sims · 04-23-2002, 09:54 AM

When we updated the tensioners in my son's '73 we added these two longer studs. They are BM6 x 42 (6mm x 42 mm long) Porsche Part No.: 900.061.092.02 if you want to order them. We removed the shorter studs by "double nutting" them but I knew where I could borrow a stud collet if it came to that. I wouldn't recommend the tempting short cut of using screws with heads as you will work the soft female threads in the aluminum or magnesium chain case every time you remove the covers. If you use a screw make it into stud and loctite it in.

pnzr911 · 04-23-2002, 11:01 AM

I just did mine a month ago on my 83. It was not hard but took longer than expected. I had to remove a bunch of brackets and mounts just to get to the darn covers. I replaced all my chain guides as well as they were all pitted. You must make sure that the cam does NOT move and that the chain does not slip off or you will have to re-time your cams. I used the special tool to hold the camgear in place. I also used small blocks of wood to put tension on the chains at all times so that they would not slip.

The final issue is what to do if you drop a chain guide into your crankcase? I dropped mine 2-3 times as I was trying to line up the bolts that hold them in. Drain your oil and remove the sump screen cover. You can the reach in and retrieve the guide. It was also helpful to stick my hand in the case through the sump screen hole and use my fingers to help align the guide with its bolt holes.

Good luck you CAN do it!!