[chippertruck1969]

Ok... so heres whats happening...

I pulled the tensioners to apply extenders to them. When i pulled them, I had no problems pulling either, there was no pressure against them, so they came right out with no issues, no visible damage or wear to either tensioner. Both were fully extended and out of travel, so I ordered the extender caps, applied them to the tensioners.

So here is where i ran into what i think may be an issue, but im not sure...

i reinstalled the left front with no problems, slid right into place beautifully...

when i tried to install the right rear, its seems like the chain guide has moved somehow...i slid it into the opening, but now the guide is tighter against the head wall, and i am having to really press against the tensioner to get it to flush up to the head to get the bolts in...

when i initially removed them, they were fully extended and had no pressure against them, now, the right one has lots of pressure, but it is now fully retracted, so the only thing i can figure is that the guide has somehow moved or shifted.

the bike hasnt moved an inch since i removed the tensioners. the battery has been removed the entire process, so no way the ignition was hit and the cams moved, hasnt been pushed, sat on, or even looked at hard by anyone, so i cant figure out how the chain guide could have possibly moved.

is this pressure an issue? or am i just being paranoid about causing a rebuild because of too much tension on my cam chains?

please help... i just found and rescued this old timer, and would really hate to have to tear the entire motor down because of a stupid mistake fixing something so trivial...

 

[DanR]

I think it is normal for one cam or the other to have one chain to have resistance its the way the motor stopped and the valve springs want to turn the cam, instructions I have read say to just draw the cam tensioner down with the hold down bolts, hope this helps ya

 

[Kawi Rick]

I'd try rotating the engine by hand without the problem tensioner in and see if it rotates freely. If the chain guide got out of it's "home", that might help realign it. I can't see how it could be out, but what you're describing doesn't sound right, so something's up.