Play on chain idler arm -- correct?

[logician]

Hi,

I've been doing a little work inside the chain housing on my '86 930. I noticed that it looks like there is a lot of play on the idler sprocket arms -- where they rotate on the shaft that holds both the idler arm and the (oil fed) chain tensioner. Look at attached pictures. There is 1.7mm on the left side, and 2.5mm on the right. Is this correct? Are they supposed to "float" on the shaft?

-Juan

[Early_S_Man]

Juan,

Yes, they are supposed to 'float' ... so they can follow any chain movement without any possible side thrust that might cause a wear problem.