turbosmart4

iTrader: (18)

Lucky you man..... At this point I don't even know if I should trade in the car of wait this whole year to finish paying off....

Staged07SS

iTrader: (25)

Hold onto it man.

Take it from someone who almost sold their car.

turbosmart4

iTrader: (18)

Reasons being I need a new clutch...suspension..the "rare" tensioner noise..and the ocassional p0171 code.... Ahhhhhh

Staged07SS

iTrader: (25)

All can be fixed man.

How many miles do u have on your car? Why do u need a clutch already?

mrbelvedere

iTrader: (3)

the twisting part of the handle has a scale on it also generaly 2lb incremants so if its 24lbs you set the main setting at 20lbs the look at the small scale on the handle and twist it 4 degress for a total of 24lbs
ive been working on cars since I was 14 and I worked on aircraft for 9yrs I am now retired

turbosmart4

iTrader: (18)

100k miles on stock clutch.. 06 ss..... Went to the beach... Parked on soft sand

turbosmart4

iTrader: (18)

I feel like I'm the only one with no mechanical experience lol

Staged07SS

iTrader: (25)

Haha, ur not man.

There are tons of people on here who have no idea what they're doing

turbosmart4

iTrader: (18)

I just wish I had experienced friends close by so I could learn from them lol

2.2balt

Same process for L61? I would imagine so...?

c130aviator

iTrader: (8)

There is so much misinformation in this thread but what mrb has said here is the only thing that makes sense, except the part about it falling off the crank.

As Powell has said, IT IS a plug and play direct swap. Take it form someone who has done this countless times due to crappy tensioner design. I am on the revised LNF tensioner from CED (got mine on amazon for 30 shipped). Had to pull it and reset it since my oil pressure wasnt keeping tension on it at 7500 rpm pulls. I have an oil pressure gauge installed that tells me at idle cold it runs 40psi and goes up from there through the rpms. Once warm it drops to 30 psi. These pressure drops after revving and daily driving are causing the pressure to come off the tensioner. Mine only makes noise in high rpms.


The cam gears wont jump due to slack and the bottom crank will not jump or slack on the gear if its not stretched.



In the picture above as the tensioner guide falls back to the Left, looking from the passenger side the bottom of the guide PRESSES on the bottom gear on the crank holding pressure on the chain, as shown in my picture above. I know the bolts not installed but it does the same thing with the bolt there. Check your guide if you have the cover off, you will see its held tight so not to jump time. I can have the valve cover, timing cover off, reset the timing and be back together now in less than an hour. Buts is not necessary. The only way you could mess up timing is if the chain is stretched. Which is also unlikely since there has been little to confirm this and zzp runs the same chains build after build.

There is one more fix to this. These guys have a 150 dollar revised tensioner. The Home of WERKSracing products!
That I am going to have to order because as they say on their site, valve springs, and revs are having me reset the stupid LNF one every few hundred miles...

riceburner

iTrader: (66)

Nice post c130 i got a q tho kind of.off topic but at what coolant temperature does the oil pressure reach the right level? IK its not directly dependant on the coolant temp but u know.. Around 150 degrees?

c130aviator

iTrader: (8)

yes, I see the pressure drop as the car warms up. I would say 150 is right on the money. That is where I consider my car warmed up.

mrbelvedere

iTrader: (3)

the chain doesn't literaly fall off if there is enough slop in the chain the tooth engagement of the chain is very minimal and will allow the exh cam to pull the chain around the crank gear when you pull the tensioner out

c130aviator

iTrader: (8)

forgot to add that its plug and play but you must punch the gas pedal and clutch and start the car to get the oil pressure in the tensioner to pop it, otherwise you will throw a cam position sensor code due to the slack. Pulling my timing once again and doing a complete overhaul on it because I cant seem to get this noise to stop at greater than 2500 rpms.

mrbelvedere

iTrader: (3)

check the oil pressure hot and I would suggest getting the tensioner that pwerks makes

c130aviator

iTrader: (8)

I am running an innovate oil pressure gauge.
cold oil at startup 40 psi and idle 50+ psi revving
warmed up 30 psi and 40+ psi revving


Although I am babying it until I can get some time to pull the timing cover on the crank balancer side.

c130aviator

iTrader: (8)

well after doing a little of my own trial and error i switched my oil to 10w30 weight (thicker than stock 5w) and thicker oil will always raise oil pressure. I am not going from 30/40 idle - 100 through the rpm range. This higher pressure keeps the tensioner happier and there is no need to upgrade from the second generation of tensioner's (revised LNF+ tensioner). My timing issues are fixed. I also had a crushed oil filter (a common well documented problem on our cars) and I feel it was getting hour glass shaped and restricting flow. So I had timing tensioner issues and an unhappy turbo due to low to moderate oil pressure. Since the change to 10w30 and a new oil filter the car is running perfect(both filters I used were wix) so I dont know why a quality filter would do this but I tried the brand again to make sure it wasnt something else.

SO if tensioner issue get you down, fix or replace broken parts/bolts, and new tensioner, change oil filter and oil and see if you still have those problems. I would not go with anything higher than 10w30 as its pretty thick. I have read about 20w30 oil being horrible for oil pressure in built EVO's. Also if you are on neutral balance deletes (me) this can also increase oil pressure as you have blocked off the passage to something that pulls off the oil system. When it gets cold this fall/winter I will go back to the 5w30 weight because the cold weather would make the 10w30 too thick for cold weather.

The car is no longer being babied, It runs out to 7500 just fine and is completely problem free now. Thankfully.

Powell Race Parts

iTrader: (3)

note. If the filter is twisted you are installing it incorrectly. The filter must be installed into the cap first, then install the assembly into the block.

just like all the instructions to remove rocker cover for installing the upgraded tensioner, correct procedures are needed.And more than 5w30 oil is a mistake on an ecotec motor.
recommended factory procedures:
tensioners- upgrade - plug and play
oil filters - clicked into place into the cap first
oil viscosity - 5 w 30.

that is all.

Staged07SS

iTrader: (25)

I'm very surprised/disappointed that people do not know this.

Powell Race Parts

iTrader: (3)

this is such nonsense. I have no clue what you do or have done to your car but some of the things you recommend do not apply to normal ecotec motors. Install the tensioner and start the car normally. Do not rev the motor not needed.

tip. set the hand brake, or use wheel chocks, dont leave the car in gear when servicing the engine for any reason.

Powell Race Parts

iTrader: (3)

lol. I didnt know for a long time, fishing the filter in and out of a TVS equipped car I just didnt pay attention.

Staged07SS

iTrader: (25)

Shame on you John

insylem

When did they make an oil tensioner?
I did mine last year and it was a mechanical spring one?

This *IS* the LSJ we are talking about right?

JshLnsctt

iTrader: (15)

Changed my tensioner a couple weeks back without removing the valve cover, was just careful. Took about 5 minutes and fully fixed.