rocketman4321

I'm in the middle of the drivers' side cam tensioner seal job. I did this a while back, with the timing belt, but it's been a while. Can you please clarify a couple items?
First, the 4 #30 torx bolts that hold the tensioner down are the 3 outboard (that go through the seal) and the one immediately by the hole for the 3366 tool, correct?
Second, the classic writeup on this says the tensioner should rise up a bit as you loosen the bolts. I recall this too. Mine's not. In fact, the chain still seems rather tight. Is this normal? I don't want to over-torque the tool. How far in should it go? The "ears" on mine are right at the corner of the ears on the tensioner casting.
The procedure did NOT say to go to TDC. Bentley does, but they want to remove the camshafts. Is TDC needed?
Thanks!

4Driver4

1. Yes.

2. The tension from the valve springs is turning the intake cam and taking up chain slack at the bottom. Either manually turn the intake cam a bit or rotate the engine.

rocketman4321

Thanks. Set to TDC and got the tensioner loose. But there's still tension on the chain, so maybe I'll try loosing the camshaft caps. Slight rotations of the engine didn't change much. Tool does appear to be down where it should be--the bevel on the body of the tool is just above the "shelf" on the tensioner.

rocketman4321

Got it! Finally found the magic rotation point. For the driver's side, loosening the cam caps does help a little--the tensioner runs into the timing belt backing plate on the front side. Certainly easier to do this job with the timing belt.
Thanks for the help.