Chain tensioner

[Montreux_Blue]

I have read before about some of you fixing the annoying oil leak out of the end of the cam chain tensioner with JB Weld but has anyone ever bought the $5 replacement plug from Bike Bandit?

It's #15 on the schematic.

http://www.bikebandit.com/houseofmotorcycles/showschematic/m8245sch220917

[dbeardslee]

Montreaux - RTV sealant will fix the leak, but I don't think I would JB Weld it. You can actually check your cam chain stretch through that hole, but not if it's epoxied closed. Haven't tried the Bike Bandit replacement, but they sell oem parts so I'm sure it's genuine yamaha. I'd have a hard time paying $5 plus shipping for a little rubber button, though.

[Montreux_Blue]

So should I remove the crumbling plastic piece and put RTV sealant on it, do I need to remove it from the bike first?

[jeffe]

When I adjust the cam chain I use some of the grey gasket material to seal ot up since the gasket has been toast since I got the bike. The kind that comes in the squeeze tube. Last year as I was doing this I thought hummmm...So I cleaned off the area where the little plug was missing and sealed it off with some of the gaskey stuff. I did not fill the hole up just kinda held it there untill it stated to set up. No more leak. Just saying what I did.

[dbeardslee]

It's a good idea to remove it so you can get it clean and degreased so the rtv will stick. Crumbling doesn't sound good, but if it's still in one piece just put a little rtv around the outside and stick it in the hole. Allow adequate cure time. If the plug is too far gone you could probably make one out of rubber and rtv it in. There's no pressure on the plug, so all it has to do is keep the oil from dribbling out. I might even have an old plug in the garage. I'll check, and if I do you are welcome to it.

Jeffe's idea of making a plug sounds serviceable as well.

[Montreux_Blue]

I will try to see if I can pull it out in one piece and rtv it back or cut a new piece of rubber.

[DGXSER]

A PO on mine took what looks like the end off of a crutch and a hose clamp to hold it on. Seems to work fine for me.

[trbig]

Those plugs are actually coated metal if you haven't found that out yet. The Yamabond or Tribond that you put the engine cases back together with works well on it. You also might check the local Yamaha shop. I bought a couple from my local place and they were still $5 from them also.

Another thing though, is the adjustment screw on the side has an O-ring around that screw that will let oil seep past when it gets old. The oil will run down onto the end and look like it came from the cap.

If you wanted to JB weld the cap in.. it's no big deal. There's other ways to check cam chain stretch. If I ever get one to seal, I would never pull it off to check the stretch that way anyway... but that's just me.


Tod

[Ivan]

There was a thread about putting a setscrew in the end in lieu of the cap, to help keep the tensioner from backing out. Someone threaded the body to 3/8 and used a carriage bolt or something similar instead of the original plunger, but it didn't work too well, and I think it ended up being determined that a set screw in the end would work as well.

Another solution that would cut your price by about $4.50 would be an appropriately sized oil galley plug from an auto parts store. They look like freeze plugs but smaller. I have a tensioner that is plugged in this manner.

[dbeardslee]

Ivan - Oh contrair - the carriage bolt setup works very well, but I wouldn't scrap a good tensioner to make one. I wound up with a chirp in the engine shortly after the mod which I attributed to the carriage bolt. Turned out that wasn't what was chirping.

Montreaux - I looked high and low in the man cave, and could not find that darn button. Drives me nuts cause I know it's out there somewhere.

[Montreux_Blue]

That's ok. I just pulled it out and pretty much all the thin plastic on the front crumbled off but is still intact around the lip, so I'm sure it will be ok.

[Ivan]

Ivan - Oh contrair - the carriage bolt setup works very well, but I wouldn't scrap a good tensioner to make one. I wound up with a chirp in the engine shortly after the mod which I attributed to the carriage bolt. Turned out that wasn't what was chirping.

I stand corrected.