RS mechanical cam chain tension problem bulletin

[vector06]

I stopped in to my local dealership the other day to ask them about this issue. They were completely clueless about it and had no idea what I was talking about. I gave them a copy of the bulletin that I had printed from this site. They read it and told me I was all set. They told me that the bulletin was just to let them know that there was a new part to supersede the old one. I asked them if I should take my sled in so they could check it out and see if it was making noise. They said there was no need, nothing to worry about!!! Sometimes I think that they know nothing about sleds other than how to sell them.

Where was this??? My dealer knows about it... Kens Yamaha.

 

[Nick1945]

I picked up my sled from Nelson's Speed Shop, in Greenville, Mi. yesterday, and the cam chain tensioner was repaired under the extended warranty. Thats one thing I shouldn't have to worry about this season.

Nick

 

[AKrider]

O.K. - not to be a kill-joy, but does 10 people on a TY message board, out of all the Vectors sold in the world, yield a catastophic, monumental quality recall? Get back to me when you have the facts on how many of these tensioner failures have been documented and determined to be quality related. While you're at it, give me the total number of potential models and motors this failure could pertain to. I would be curious to see if the failure rate is anything over 0.5% or 1/2 percent for you non mathematical types.

I talked to my dealer about this - actually he talked to me about it. He brought this specific thread to my attention, and at the time I had forgetten I read it. He pretty much said this is a very statistically small number of people having a problem and internet blowing it out of proportion. I don't want to misquote, though I'm not naming the dealer anyway, but I believe he said not one sled they had sold came back to them with this problem.

Just another side of the story.

I've been following this thread since last spring and I finally talked to my Yamaha guru and he said that Yamaha has been using the same tensioner since the 70's in many different motors and they never see a problem with it. He went on to say he could see how guys could screw up their tensioners by removing their cams incorrectly or adjusting their valves the wrong way. I haven't had a chance to show him the bulletin but I to am starting to wonder about how wide spread the issue might be? I'm certainly not saying it doesn't exist, but there could be more going on than just a problem with the tensioner.

I'm basically just going to ride the piss out of mine this winter like I always do but I will keep an ear out for any abnormal noises.

 

[TrueBlue]

Then why did they change them for the 08 models & up.

 

[AKrider]

You got me, I don't know? It does seem odd that they'd offer a different tensioner, unless they discovered there was a manufacturing flaw in a certain batch. I've never personally seen either tensioner so I don't know if the new one is designed differently than the old one? If there are no obvious design changes than I'd think it is a manufacturing error. Yamaha probably has the percentage of sleds that it effects all figured out and the bean counters decided against a recall.

 

[MadMax]

If it's a big improvement yammie would brag about it you would think... MM.

 

[Nytrosnox]

I wonder if one ours goes and we dont catch it in time and it takes out the motor will Yamaha cover that?

 

[grizztracks]

You got me, I don't know? It does seem odd that they'd offer a different tensioner, unless they discovered there was a manufacturing flaw in a certain batch. I've never personally seen either tensioner so I don't know if the new one is designed differently than the old one? If there are no obvious design changes than I'd think it is a manufacturing error. Yamaha probably has the percentage of sleds that it effects all figured out and the bean counters decided against a recall.

I believe the new tensioner is hydraulic rather then being spring loaded. Must be the springs are braking in a few. I would think the hydraulic tensioner would apply a more consistent and controlled pressure than a spring. (upgrade??)

 

[AKrider]

I kinda doubt it. Seems like a hydraulic tensioner would need a dedicated source of oil to function properly and I can't see how something like that could just replace the existing tensioner.

I recall reading something about different colored paint differentiating the old and new tensioners.

The way I view the situation is if there was a manufacturing flaw in the tensioners that has a very low % of failure, the company is not going to issue a recall because it is far less expensive for them to deal with the problem on a case by case basis. This is all pure speculation on my part but Yamaha is like any other company and they are in the business to make money. The bean counters will rely on the chances that the majority of the '05 and '06 sleds will have been sold or traded off from their original owners. Then there will be a % that will be modded out, wrecked, stolen, etc plus the sleds that are barely ridden and spend most of their time in storage. As time goes by, they will have fewer and fewer sleds to worry about.

It sounds like they are taking care of the sleds that do exhibit tensioner problems but are not doing any type of preventative repair. I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. Just ride'em and listen to your motor for unusual noises.

 

[Bradford]

I found this on line at http://snowmobiles.yamahablogs.ca/2009/ ... owing-yet/

"I checked the part and it retails for 123 bucks Canadian for the hydro update… If It was me and I had a high mileage Vector out of warranty I would seriously consider the peace of mind purchase of an updated part (8GL 12210 00 00),"

According to my dealer, the updated number is 8ES-12210-01-00 which is the update to 8ES-12210-00-00. I was told that it's mechanical, not hydraulic so I don't know what to think of this article. Anyway, I'll find out soon. I bit the bullet and ordered one

Brad

 

[Nytrosnox]

Are you going to install it your self, if so let us know the ins and outs. Does not look to easy to get at. I would replace it to for peace of mind but was hopeful Yamaha would cover the part or install.

 

[Bradford]

Are you going to install it your self, if so let us know the ins and outs. Does not look to easy to get at. I would replace it to for peace of mind but was hopeful Yamaha would cover the part or install.

It's a real P in the A to get at. I have the old one ready to come out but I'm waiting for the new one to arrive. Here's the basic steps for my RS-Nytro:

1- Remove the tail light section (yes, start at the other end of the sled!) to remove the seat

2- Remove the tank cover and tank (I removed the bars so I could completely remove the tank cover)

3- Remove the cover that covers the exhaust right behind the motor and remove the exhaust doughnut clamps

4- Remove the cross bolt that mounts the back of the motor. The nut is behind the brake disk which I removed for easier access. You'll have to remove the secondary clutch to slide the bolt out

5- Tilt the motor ahead. You'll need to unbolt anything that prevents the motor from moving. ie. breather cover, battery bracket, etc. You can only tilt the motor until the water pump hits on the left side

6- Remove the brass spacer right behind the adjuster by screwing it out

7- Shake your head, have a beer and be glad you started in October!

That's as far as I got so far but it looks like there is plenty of room to remove the adjuster now. This is also a great time to replace the exhaust doughnuts

I was told that the dealer would charge 6~7 hours to do this job. It took me 3 hours to get to step 7

Brad

 

[vogelm1]

Brad -

Did you need to do any removal of coolant/lines at all? And do you think there's a reason to pull the cam cover off the top of motor to take a peek at the chain and cam gears? Keep us posted...if this is a plug and play part I just may change it so I can ride without worry.

 

[AKrider]

Yep, that was my understanding that it was a total PITA to replace the tensioner. I read the Sled Talk blog article and wonder if the hydraulic name is just a misnomer or something coming from the translation from Japanese to English? I'm guilty of not recently reviewing every post in this thread, but I don't recall anyone posting a picture of the tensioner.

An example of other internet documented problems is the piston knock that is present in GM 5.3L motors. They've got a whole website devoted to the topic. This morning when I started my Chevy truck and listened to the knock I thought about how, even though it makes noise, it hasn't hurt anything and the truck runs just fine. For all the people worried about their piston knock, I've also read posts with guys who've put over 200,000 miles on their 5.3's and even though their truck sounds like a diesel when it is cold, the motors are still running fine.

 

[mbw919]

My motor is verrrrrrrrry quiet... Even the clutch is quiet.. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.. I "WILL" keep an ear open this winter. MM.

Exactly the same here. Never had clutch noise and the engine sounds just right, though I'll be listening carefully this winter.

I talked to my local dealer today and he had to rebuild an engine from the crank up, due to the tensioner failing. I believe he said the customer had around 40k miles and was covered under extended warranty. It's too bad the tensioner isn't easily accessable. It would be a 10 minute job on many motorcycles. Also, this style of tensioner has been used for a very long time on motorcycle engines and I don't recall hearing of problems with them.