Timing Chain Tensioner

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RustyRatRod said:
I like JP/Rollmaster. Summit won't have those. There are a few US ebay sellers that have them. They are a high end product from down under.
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I ended up getting the Comp 2103 set. Only downside is the only 3 keyways but I'm running stock anyway. At least to begin with. Returning the cloyes when it arrives. The Comp one better be tight with minimal slop or I will lose it. This engine build has cost 2x what u wanted to spend...
 
RustyRatRod said:
I like JP/Rollmaster. Summit won't have those. There are a few US ebay sellers that have them. They are a high end product from down under.
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Yep, part no. CS5010 is the one you want.
Not cheap but worth the money.
 
Ted265 said:
Yep, part no. CS5010 is the one you want.
Not cheap but worth the money.
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They are all I will run on a slant 6 now. Even a stock one. Accurate timing is that important "to me".
 
wow...wow...tensioner cancel culture
The tensioner works, gives rock solid timing, does not eat engines.
Anyone that experiences a problem with it has done something wrong in assembly. What's missing is that it comes with 3 holes in the mounting plate and the 4th should be added. There are people running the tensioner on engines that run extended rpms for long periods of time without any problems ever. Ever. 5000 rpm at 150 mph for miles of smiles Again: Anyone that experiences a problem with it has done something wrong.
 
Bullshit parts can be fd from the beginning. It's a personal choice, do or dont. OP asked for opinions and we all gave it. Engines were made for a long time without them.
 
Not sure how I made my guide crack in the middle, but everyone is entitled to their opinion. The guide is a bandaid for an underlying problem. The chain is cheap or not the right length. My rollermaster with IWIS chain has been in the same motor for three times the length than the other set with a tensioner. Had it apart 2 times. Still a bit difficult to get it on the cam snout. Isn’t that the goal?
 
Every chain is going to wear by design. It is in their DNA. A FT lifter on a lobe has two points of wear, the lobe & the lifter, because the two are under load...& they move relative to each other. The factory link type chains have 4 places per link that can wear: the pin, pin hole in the link, link contact with sprkt tooth, the tooth; so a 60 ink chain has 240 points of wear that all add up to a sloppy chain.
Chains are always going to have this 'underlying' problem if you want to use that term but it is unavoidable for reasons above. Anything such as a tensioner or other device that keeps chain slop in check is a good idea as long as it itself does cause new problems.
Another thing to remember is that an engine with a dist is reliant on stable ign timing on the t/chain.
 
The timing chain tensioner was developed for the
V6 derivative of the 360 as they needed to stabilize the valve train/timing events for long term driveabiltiy and emmissions.
This is not a band aid, but an engineering response.
As the bolt patterns on that V6 are the same as the V8 the smarter people in the engine building world [roundy round engines] started installing it in the race engines with great success. When it came time for my next big hp small block build a tensioner was installed and we noticed a big difference in how the engine ran long term.
Big difference!
We built several more different small blocks from mild to wild with the tensioner and still no problems after thousands of miles.
One of those wild engines had to come out due to chinese valve spring failures. We reused the tensioner that had 15,000 miles on it........Those engines see extended rpm runs, 6500 rpm shifts, extended runs lasting for more than several minutes, not 12 seconds of child play on the drag strip. If it is a band aid how come nothing has ever broken or worn out? Any one else in the cancel culture run a small block like this? Well? Bring it on. Come on you cancel creatures who want to argue instead of learn. Please post all your long term experiences.
 
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Engineering design to make up for a lower quality chain installed by a OEM. Design choices made for a mass produced engine built under strict budget constraints is the standard? You want the most stable timing? Gear drive, problem solved, but loud and expensive. I ran the tensioner for 30,000 street miles and 350 runs? At 12.20 et level, 6400 rpm shifts. I have run the current set for 40,000 street miles and 500 runs, completed dragweek in 2019 and the chain is still tight at 11.75 level. Personal experience. If you can buy a set that stays tight for the intended use, why add another wearing/moving part that could possibly fail? This is a situation were there will be experienced people on both sides. You make your choice and either way I hope it works for you.
 
SixPaksRule said:
The timing chain tensioner was developed for the
V6 derivative of the 360 as they needed to stabilize the valve train/timing events for long term driveabiltiy and emmissions.
This is not a band aid, but an engineering response.
As the bolt patterns on that V6 are the same as the V8 the smarter people in the engine building world [roundy round engines] started installing it in the race engines with great success. When it came time for my next big hp small block build a tensioner was installed and we noticed a big difference in how the engine ran long term.
Big difference!
We built several more different small blocks from mild to wild with the tensioner and still no problems after thousands of miles.
One of those wild engines had to come out due to chinese valve spring failures. We reused the tensioner that had 15,000 miles on it........Those engines see extended rpm runs, 6500 rpm shifts, extended runs lasting for more than several minutes, not 12 seconds of child play on the drag strip. If it is a band aid how come nothing has ever broken or worn out? Any one else in the cancel culture run a small block like this? Well? Bring it on. Come on you cancel creatures who want to argue instead of learn. Please post all your long term experiences.
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I put the Comp 2103 double roller on and it is much tighter then the other set I put on. So just double checking, you guys wouldn't run a tensioner with the type of chain the Comp 2103 is? I may still be interested in a tensioner if it's not gonna get eaten by the double roller.
 
SixPaksRule said:
The timing chain tensioner was developed for the
V6 derivative of the 360 as they needed to stabilize the valve train/timing events for long term driveabiltiy and emmissions.
This is not a band aid, but an engineering response.
As the bolt patterns on that V6 are the same as the V8 the smarter people in the engine building world [roundy round engines] started installing it in the race engines with great success. When it came time for my next big hp small block build a tensioner was installed and we noticed a big difference in how the engine ran long term.
Big difference!
We built several more different small blocks from mild to wild with the tensioner and still no problems after thousands of miles.
One of those wild engines had to come out due to chinese valve spring failures. We reused the tensioner that had 15,000 miles on it........Those engines see extended rpm runs, 6500 rpm shifts, extended runs lasting for more than several minutes, not 12 seconds of child play on the drag strip. If it is a band aid how come nothing has ever broken or worn out? Any one else in the cancel culture run a small block like this? Well? Bring it on. Come on you cancel creatures who want to argue instead of learn. Please post all your long term experiences.
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The 3.9 was built off the 318 blueprints, not the 360. You're right about the harmonics, though. Something about V6s has different harmonics. The GM 4.3 for example, went through YEARS of different iterations trying to combat vibrations. They even used a counter balance shaft running through the block, parallel with the camshaft.....to no avail. Nothing they ever did got rid of that vibration.
 
Braeden Clark said:
Will the double roller eat through the tensioner though?
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No. It may wear thin track lines into the shoe, but that’s about it. And it’s normal. Some guys make things that are a speck of dust into a huge mountain for no reason.

Just for the record, I say there is no such thing as a good timing chain. I don’t care what you pay for it. They are cheap to manufacture and they do a less than average job of keeping the cam and the crank timed.

You won’t find any serious engine with a timing chain. It will have a belt or a gear drive. Obviously there will be exceptions to this, but they are few.
 
Braeden Clark said:
Will the double roller eat through the tensioner though?
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RustyRatRod said:
For like the fifth time now. No, not if you use the correct style chain.
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Rat Bastid said:
No. It may wear thin track lines into the shoe, but that’s about it. And it’s normal
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Examples of what RRR and RB mention:

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322C1CB7-12CF-4CF3-B9F1-CD68A8103F4D.jpeg
17C594C1-A291-4802-BE8D-BE6DC8B6DAF1.jpeg
 
The photo in post 29 and 32 showed the holes all set to one side of the gear is there counter weight behind the gear to offset the weight loss due to the holes.

Or is the cam natrurally out of balance and the gear compansates?
 
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