When I put my '80 away for the season, it had a lot of valve train noise. Today I decided to try to diagnose it. When I adjusted my cam chain tensioner last, I set it so that the rod was flush with the adjustment nut on a non running engine. I did this again, but the rattle didn't go away, and it seemed like the rod was moving back and forth a lot. I heard some other people say that you should adjust it on a running engine by turning it in until it has stopped moving back and forth, and then backing off half a turn or so. I tried using this method and I had to turn the adjustment nut in really far. I stopped when the rod appeared to be only moving back and forth a few mm, and the engine rattled a lot less. The problem is that the rod is now sticking out a lot, maybe 3 or 4 mm. Most places I see only suggest that it should be roughly flush.
I know the tensioner itself is pretty worn since I had the top end apart last spring (should have replaced it) however I thought this adjustment system with the rod was supposed to compensate for wear. Could my spring be bad? Do you think it's even safe to run the engine?
I know the tensioner itself is pretty worn since I had the top end apart last spring (should have replaced it) however I thought this adjustment system with the rod was supposed to compensate for wear. Could my spring be bad? Do you think it's even safe to run the engine?
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