Cam Chain Tensioner on RS Nytro

[johnsmithnf]

Ok I have two dots on where I think the cam chain tensioner is at. A blue one on the housing (what I think is the housing) and an orange one just above it. I don'thave much noise comming from that side of the sled and alot of noise comming from the clutch side. If the tensioner was failing would it be very easily to hear over the clutch?

 

[jamesc]

what year is the sled? it's hard to tell from the pics u posted but afaik the orange dot is a dead giveaway. don't be fooled by the blue dot on the engine case or out at the end of the tensioner near the bolt. these are not the ones you're looking for. the dot you're looking for is on the base of the tensioner. i'm new to sledding but imho you don't want to go by sound to tell if a tensioner is bad. some have gone many miles without issue some have failed early on. imho if you intend on keeping and riding the sled there's only one course of action and that's to replace it. the tensoner is the component centered in your second two pics. it's attached with two bolts and has one in the end of it.

 

[johnsmithnf]

yeah thats what I was thinking. The orange dot is just a couple of inches above the tensioner where the bolts are. If you look at the first pick the tensioner is right at the bottom.

I just picked up this sled last week and worried about this tensioner failing. I listened very carefully and cannot hear anything. From what I gather it would make some noise if starting to fail. And that not every tensioner will fail and this type of tensioner been around since the 80's and found on motorcycles as well.

 

[johnsmithnf]

its a 2006 only 3400kms on it

 

[grizztracks]

I added pictures to the procedure in the cam chain tensioner replacement sticky. http://www.ty4stroke.com/viewtopic.php?t=90826

For better pictures go to my photobucket link and zoom in on the pictures. The orange and blue dots can easily be seen in the photos.

http://s589.photobucket.com/albums/ss33 ... G_6171.jpg

 

[jamesc]

the dot you're looking for is on the tensioner body probably behind where you really can't see it without an inspection mirror. yes these type tensioners have been around for years and are used in many applications. i've seen people that had 11k miles on theirs without problems. it's a matter of personal preference to replace it if it's not noisy. being i have the ability to do it for parts cost it's a no brainer. if that tensioner fails hard (don't know if they do) you can destroy the engine and i just won't roll those dice. like i said there's a lot of them running around without problems but there's more than a couple with trashed engines. yamaha has a TSB out on it and redesigned the tensioner for a reason.

Fran (grizztracks) has a very comprehensive writeup on it.