Cam-chain tensioner replacement - Photo Journal
 

Last Saturday a friend and I changed the cam chain tensioner on his 2001 GS. Enjoy the photo journal.

To begin, here is some information that will address a few common preliminary concerns.
_____________________________


The method of replacing the cam chain tensioner described here does not require a throttle cable readjustment.

***********

The engine crankshaft does not have to be at TDC or BDC or any particular orientation.

But, the 'tension side' of the cam chain should be tight. And the 'slack side' of the cam chain should be slack. This only means that before you start the job, rotate the crankshaft a small amount in the direction it normally turns.

Turning the crankshaft by hand is easy to do. Put the bike on the centerstand and put the gearbox in top gear. Using your hands, rotate/bump the wheel forward until you feel some bit of engine compression, then stop.

Good. The cam chain slack is now on the tensioner side. The chain slack is on the tensioner side when the engine is running.

The chain slack is normally on the tensioner side. But, sometimes when the engine stops, the crankshaft rotates backward a small amount, 'slackening' the tension side. Turning the crankshaft a small amount returns the chain slack to the tensioner side.

***********

The original tensioner has a spring. And when unscrewing the tensioner, when the last thread is reached, the spring will push the tensioner body up from the bore.

The spring tension is gentle. Gentle as in about 2 pounds. About twice the spring tension of a retractable pen.

Also, no parts can fly across the room. The tensioner body will lightly contact the bottom side of the control arm, and stop. At that point the tensioner body will be only 2/3 of the way out of the bore. That is as far as it can go under its own power.



Getting the tensioner the rest of the way out of the bore will probably consume the greatest percentage of the total job time. It would be nice if the tensioner 'sprang' out of the bore, that would eliminate the only time consuming part of the job.

***********

No tensioner parts can fall into the engine from the tensioner bore. Not even if it falls in 'just the right way'.

At some point your hands will be working in a limited space while fiddling around trying to get the tensioner spring out from under the tensioner body. Go at this with abandon, no tensioner parts can fall into the engine from the tensioner bore.

***********

Here are the old and new tensioners.





Start by loosening these two intake tube clamps. Do not loosen the tube clamp that is located next to the cylinder head.







These steps are straightforward enough.





Your throttle body o-ring may look like it has stretched. This one looks pretty good. The o-ring absorbs hydrocarbon crankcase vapors and swells. If it has, the intake tube will tear the o-ring when slid back over the throttle body.

This phenomenon is identical to what happens to the o-rings on the fuel tank quick disconnects.

BMW O-ring p/n 13 54 1 341 797 ___ 52mm x 2mm ___ $3.10





Unplug the fuel injector electrical connector.





Remove the fuel line retainer spring clip.





Remove the two fuel line screws.





Pop off the injector fuel line.





Look at that, the o-ring stayed with the fuel line end cup.





Pull out the fuel injector.





Put the o-ring back on the injector.







Disconnect the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) electrical connector.







Cut the zip-tie for the TPS cable.





Remove the throttle body ground lead.





Remove the two intake manifold flange screws.







Here is a look at the end of the intake manifold 'flange'.





You will need another special tool.





Make a hangar out of the wire and suspend the throttle body and intake manifold out of the way.









Without stopping to stage photos, it takes about 10 minutes to get to this point.




_____________________________



SECOND SET - SECOND SET - SECOND SET


17mm combination wrench works well enough to loosen the tensioner.







Get you a big paperclip and make one of these.





Use the small hook to grab the top, or near the top, of the spring





First pull down on the spring, and then out from under the tensioner body.





Here is the spring removal sequence. You may get lucky and get it the first time.





Use the other end of the paper clip tool to retrieve the piston. Make the paperclip 'vee' large enough so that it is a force fit and will grasp the piston from the inside.





Old parts going to the archive.





Now it is time to install the new tensioner. Start by dropping the piston into the cylinder bore. (There is no picture of this step.)

The large piston can be dropped into the bore . . . plunk. The old piston did not fall into the engine, and neither will the new one. Just drop it in.

This is how the components fit together.





The smaller floating piston can also be dropped into the bore, but unless the smaller piston lands right, it will be sideways or upside down in the bore. To make assembly easier, a coat of grease on the smaller piston will hold it in the tensioner body.







Slam dunk. Remember, the top of the tensioner body must go up and behind the suspension arm before it can be guided into the bore.





These casting marks are for component alignment.





Rotate the fuel injector body out of the way, and snap on the retaining clip.





The fuel injector retaining clip must slide on smoothly with a nice 'detent click' when fully seated. If the retaining clip does not slide on smoothly, the problem is the injector is not pushed far enough into the fuel cap.





Rotate the injector body so that it is in front of the retaining clip.





Plug in the electrical connector. When oriented correctly, the electrical connector blocks the injector retaining clip.







Job complete. A-a-a-h-h - h - h. The first start up was nearly silent.





Thanks for the props everyone. Happy wrenching.

- Jim

How-To uninstall a throttle body...
 

Nice one, Jim!

I need to take off my right TB for rebushing the butterfly shaft, so thanks for the picturesque step-by-step instruction!

Phil

Wow, Poolside. That's beautiful. I might just change my cam chain tensioners so I can use all this wonderful information.

Jim this is really great. My only concern is that bike looks way to clean. How can such a clean machine need new tensioners? :D

JJ

Upgrade
 

At some point, I would like to hear about the differences between old and "upgrade" versions of the tensioner. What advantage to change? Is the new part the only part that BMW sells?

EDIT...

Sorry, didn't see the other threads. :doh

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showp...8&postcount=16

You da man, Jim. :thumb

You still da man, Jim, but where's the rest? :D

This is wonderful. Really.

Me god, that thing is filthy. Is that old varnished gas in the TB? Whats with all that carbon in the intake? Is that comon with boxers? I have rebuilt top ends on countless japanese bikes and never seen that much crud, even at 100K. :dunno

BTW, thanks for doing this. It will be a great reference for all.:thumb

Yep! Rockin' how-to, Jim! Duly bookmarked. :thumb

great work!:thumb

Yay! Poolside! Yay!

Somethun tells me this might just end up in that hall with the other smarty stuff :nod

That would have nut'n to do with the fact that I have an 01 GS with a tick'n on the left side :lol3

we're work'n on fixing up the Hall of Wisdom so we can get reports in there faster...

and this is a choice morsel indeed.

JJ

[quote=Poolside]
Last Saturday a friend and I changed the cam chain tensioner on his 2001 GS. [quote]

This is better plan . My cam chain guide and tensioner snapped at 6,00 RPM behind Mt. St. Helens in August. I was passing a car ( never did get that pass finished).

The bike was an 03 GS Adc. 50,000 miles on it , BMW did a total engine swap - it was knarly inside.

That took from early August till mdi December.

In that time I rode a new LT to Mexico and back and got knocked down at Reg Pridmore totaling the LT and now have a Wing.

I guess my cam chain guide/ tensioner problem was not the one in a million BMW thought it was.

P5

BTW - where is the Hall of Wisdome nowadays. I've wanted to pull up the OVAD for a buddy but don't see it anywhere...

That's a good question...

Oh Baldy, paging Mr. Baldy...

JJ

Moved to the bottom of the page next to the donate button.

Oh there it is:confused .Down at the frign bottom of the page, GDMHK always moving things around :huh thanks,

Woohoo! Poolside! :smile6

Ok, I just added the last set of pictures to the original post. Have at it.

- Jim

Excellent
 

Just when you thought things could not get any better, they do. Top notch post.

Kix

Wow! Just saw yur second set of Pics and directions :thumb

I love the "Alley oop" :lol3

Thanks

Who can do a pdf of this so we can get it in da Hall?

Done. Where would you like me to send it, Rad? It's about 1.9MB. Send me a PM and I'll mail it to ya.

Thanks Jim, any chance of dropping down Jervis Bay way and running thru it again? :thumb

Thanks


I will pm ya

Jim, thanks for the photos.

Isn't that new tensioner about $150 each?
Is there a torque value for tightening the tensioner?
Is there one on the other side on the bottom, easy to get to?
Both need to be replaced?
Do you think all GS 1150s need the new tensioner? Is it one of those parts that will have a problem sooner or later?
Just curious, I followed some earlier posts about the tensioner fixing noisey engines.


Is this normal goop on a BMW throttle body?

I believe this is only for the left-side tensioner. Nobody seems to have troubles with the right-side one. :dunno

In the BMW service manual under Engine -> Timing chain -> Chain tensioner they have 32Nm listed. They also mention you should replace the seal every time you remove the tensioner. I can't seem to get a complete P/N for the gasket/seal. It's ?? ?? ? 963 308. I don't know what the first 5 digits are, the MAX BMW fiche doesn't want to give them to me.

am also keen to learn about the ins and outs of TB goop.
am starting a new thread on the topic...

When I replaced the l/h tensioner last December, it came with a new seal/washer included? No idea if this is standard or just the (German) Dealer using his initiative?

I also torqued mine up to 32Nm. I'll ask my dealer later for the part number as I'm in there anyway collecting GSA screen parts.

Copper Washer for the Cam Chain Tensioner:

BMW Part No: 07119 963 308 - cost in the UK is a mighty 12p (22cents) & VAT so I guess that's the right part.

Should you not be able to get the BMW part for whatever reason, try an automotive store, the dimensions are:

Outside Diameter: 21.9mm
Internal Diameter: 18.3mm
Thickness: 1.3mm (still had my old parts inc. the washer. This may have compressed a little after being torqued up but not by more than 0.05 to 0.1mm max).

See that hex-head bolt under Jim's index finger, to the left of the roundel in the engine case? What's it for? Why does oil weep from the one on my bike?

I think it holds the lower cam chain guide. It also provides the channel for all the oil to drain back out of the left head and back down to the crankcase, if I'm not mistaken.

Fabulous job, Poolside. :thumb



"Eggggggggs-cellent!"

yesterday I took the plunge/ literally!!!
 

I had the new updated tensioner installed at the dealer yesterday while I was having the valves adjusted and TB sync done. I spent the little extra to have it done there because of the part warranty when it is installed by the dealer. The mechanic and I inspected the old tensioner and compared it to the new one and came to several conclusions. After filling both tensionsers with oil and comparing the resistance to compression, we saw that the new tensioner at full compression is still approximately 15 mm longer than the old one. With the old one full of oil, you can still fairly quickly compress it so the plunger is contained completely in the body since the slot in the plunger allows the oil pressure to bleed of fairly quickly. The new one however is limited in it's compression rate by how fast the oil wil flow backwards out of the holes so it does not compress readily. Also with no way for the oil to escape, the plunger stays full when the engine is shut off so it does not have to refill and pressurize when the engine is started. Also the engine seems to shut down more quietly instead of making that funny knock that it does occasionally.
Results: at hot and cold startup and when running, the noise from the camchain is non existant. Before, especially when cold, the knocking from the left side sounded almost like a diesel engine and I felt that the noise couldn't be good for the engine. Also the engine now runs smoother than ever before. Since I've had the same mechanic doing the valve adjustment and tb sync since day one, we both agreed that the fluttering of the old tensioner especially at idle may slightly alter the cam timing making the engine a little rougher at low speed. It is now smoother and quieter than ever before and I'm very pleased with the results. This is what BMW should have done from the very beginning and I'm a believer that they know it. Why else would they be selling an improved tensioner?

Yellow,
How much was the part and how much was installation, if you don't mind saying? You'd think it is something they would do to keep problems down. It can't cost that much to make one of those in mass quantities.

Recall
 

Is this tensioner a recall item or do we have to wait until the old one makes noise to replace it under warranty? How long do these old tensioners go before being troublesome?

mauro

Both sides?
 

If the results are a quieter and smoother engine, isn't this upgrade appropriate for both sides of the engine? I'm ready to do the swap, along with some overdue maintenance and other modifications.

it's not cheap!!
 

The tensioner is 204.00 retail (about 160.00 from Chicago BMW) and most shops will charge 1 hour labor to install. The reason the right side one does not seem to cause as much problem is that the cam chain on that side is much shorter and the tensioner is upside down on the bottom so the oil can't run out of it when the engine is shut down. I believe length of the left cam chain, the position of the tensioner, and the what i feel is the poor design of the tensioner all seem to contribute to the problem (I'm a retired machinist by the way).
I don't believe that BMW will ever consider it a warrenty problem for two reasons. First one is the fact that most of the R type engines that I've seen never get a very large amout of miles on them. At my dealer, most GS's that have been traded in seem to have less than 5k a year put on them. Several of them are 5 years or older and have less than 15K. Second reason is that most engines are not run hard enough to cause that much strain on the cam chain tensioner. My 2003 GS has 50K miles on it and every time the spark plugs are changed, the mechanic has remarked at how clean the plugs and pistons are because of how spirited I ride my bike. Oil usage aside (mine uses 10 ounces per 6000 miles of BMW/Golden Spectro synthetic 15w50 by the way) the carbonization problems that I had were due to "putting" around and not reving the engine (of course I don't bounce it off the rev limiter or "water torture" either). I use Shell V-Power or Chevron premium gasolines exclusively.
By the way, I got one of the last two tensioners in the country as of Friday 2/25/2005.

possible source for TB goop?
 

Jim, you probably took it off prior to the operation, but I happened to notice that the rubber plug that usually seals the vacum nozzle* (proper word?) is missing. Could that be a source for goop in the TB?
I pulled my TB's off on the W/E (simple job, really) and was quite surprised that they were very clean (compared to the one in the pic, anyway...)

Just a thought.
Phil
* where you connect the hose of you carb-mate / twin max / carb stix

Installed mine today!!
 

Hello all--

I just got my new style tensioner installed today and wanted to add a couple of things. First and foremost, this write-up helps tremendously, especially in giving you an idea of what you are getting into. All-in-all, I would say this is a job that can be completed in ~1/2 hour for someone mechanically experienced and such, about twice that for someone who has only changed their oil or the like (don't be intimidated by that, as this is really not hard at all.)

One thing that has not been stressed enough, from what I can tell, is that you need to get a new O-ring for the junction between the breather tube and the throttle body; w/out a LOT of patience and tediousness this is a MUST. (Should be a must anyway, but I was able to get mine back in; I do not recommend this method.)

Thanks again for taking the time to put this down for the rest of us!!

Kix

My bike didn't have any such o-rings. The last dealer to perform major repairs must have left them off. :dunno I didn't have any trouble at all installing new o-rings.

Did the new tensioner make a noticeable difference for you bike? Mine is now dramatically more quiet, in all modes of operation, especially when sitting in traffic on a hot day. This little project was well worth the effort and expense. :thumb

Yep, the new o-ring should install w/ no issues. The problem is, the old ones are usually "stretched" and when you take the breather tube off it is a beeeeooootch to get the o-ring installed w/out crimping/pinching it.

I have only had a chance to start the bike and run it up and down the street yet, but I'll report back after my ride home tonight.

Kix

About the hose barb on the bottom of the throttle body (where carb stix are connected), here is my late reply Phil.

Yes I did take the hose off. That bike has a crossover hose between the throttle bodies. The crossover hose was put there when the fuel tank charcoal canister was removed some few thousands of miles ago.

I do not know what the source of the 'goop' is, I am not even sure it is goop. I think it might be corrosion. I can't believe I did not look at it more closely. If you look at the pictures you selected, you can see that the discoloration stops abruptly at the rubber manifold.

Look at the inside surface of the manifold where it leaves the throttle body. It is spotless. That is why I think that the discoloration in the throttle body may be corrosion of some sort.

Some people report the manifold-side of their throttle body is clean, and others report discoloration or 'goop'. Mine were clean, and my bike has about the same 50K miles as the one in the photos.

- Jim

Price for the part from Chicago BMW has gone above $200. This is their discounted price... anyone find it for less? Yes, their website still says $163, but they aren't honouring that.

I think that's the best kind of price you'll find, until whenever the Euro goes down. :dunno

Maybe a group buy? We could have a "cam tensioner replacement" party. :lol3

My tensioner should arrive today. I'm ready to party.

Interestingly, BMW has stopped selling the old-design tensioner. This is good news because those of us who switched to the new design did it without technical info from the company and I was always a bit concerned about the potential of adverse long term effects. For instance, the enhanced tensioner does seem to put significantly more force on the chain rail, so accellerated wear could result. The fact that BMW is only selling the enhanced tensioner now gives me confidence that undesirable long term effects are unlikely.

By the way, I have 8000 miles on the new tensioner and I am still delighted that I made the switch. However, it is not an expense that is needed for everybody. I just attended the Beakster Bash rally (for R1150R), and out of some 15 Rs at the rally, I only heard one that had chain slap from the left cam chain.

I'd offer my garage...but... :lol3

I've changed both throttle bodies on my bike and removed the fuel injection components as one unit (per side), not separating the injectors.This is an excellent write up......well done.

We can use my back-yard. Lotsa room.

Do me a favor would you please Config? Would you use a caliper (with a depth gauge) and take these measurements and post them? I did not think to take measurements before I installed the parts and would appreciate it if you could.

- Jim

Made it home!!
 

Well--

I made it home w/out issue, and, man, what a difference. I pretty much always ride w/ a helmet and such, but I could tell right from the start that the noise was quieter/gone. But, when I pulled into the garage this evening, the difference in noise level was confirmed and it was UNBELIEVABLE. Additionally, I seem to notice a smoother idle, but can not confirm that yet.

For those that are thinking of this (and, obviously, have reason to do so) I recommend you stop thinking and do it.

Thanks again for the write-up--

Kix

This is on my list of things to do.

Poolside's and Harvey's reports makes it clear that it's a sidewalk deal.

Thank you, Mr. Poolside! Very nice job.

Very kind of you guys. Thank you.

- Jim

Thanks again Poolside
 

Friends--

First and foremost, thanks again to poolside for putting this down for us. By seeing how easy this is it makes it an easy decision to go ahead with the install, something I had been toying with for the last year; w/out the write-up I am confident I would still be riding a noisy machine (and worrying about it all along the way.)

Also, I got another ride in yesterday since I installed the new tensioner and I just wanted to reiterate how much of an improvement it makes to the overall riding experience; worth $200 easy in my book.

Something else to consider, most of us won't blink an eye at spending $200 for some accessory or piece of gear for riding, but it seems like folks want to balk somewhat at spending $200 for the new tensioner. Believe me, the return I got from installing the new tensioner far exceeded the investment; money very well spent.

Kix

I'm at bentspoke's and we're measuring right now.

C=2.885"

B=0.717"

A=2.030"

Let me know if you want any other measurements. The C measurement might be off by a couple thousandths of an inch, but the others are accurate to the thousandth.

That's great Config. Thank you!

Did you know the price of the new tensioner has risen to $280?!

- Jim

Argh, that's too bad. We finished the installation just about the time you responded. The installation went fine. Did that, and bentspoke welded on my tailpipe (which went well) and I "fixed" an electrical problem that I was having with my fog lights. Only problem is I created another one at the same time... grr, hopefully this weekend I'll have time to fix this one. I'll pay closer attention to which is the ground and which is the power lead next time...

By the way, here's a pic inside my throttlebody at 30,000 miles:

Ah well, thanks just the same.

Man, it almost looks like you just cleaned inside that throttle body.

- Jim

I rode about 60 miles to get to bentspoke's place, and just before leaving I put a can of ventilsauber in the tank -- maybe that did it.

Now I think I understand why Poolside mentioned this step.


If you just let the throttlebody hang from the throttle cable, you might unseat the cable housing on both ends of the cable. It's easy to notice when the cable is unseated on the throttlebody end -- you can just see it. But it's harder to see it on the other end.

After doing the cam chain tensioner my bike ran a fair bit rougher. At first I just thought it needed a throttlebody adjustment, but I couldn't turn the air screws enough to compensate for how far out of adjustment were. A little fussing with the cables and it popped back into place again, and everything was fine.

Just did this upgrade, verrrrry nice results. A comment on the picture above. This is the right orientation. Don't put the smaller floating piston in the other way, make sure the smaller end of the piston is on top, at the "bolt" end of the tensioner body. The smaller end of the piston has breather holes in it, and the tensioner body also has a breather hole. The way needs to be clear for these breathers to function.

I'm no expert, it just seemed to make more sense this way.

sweet....thanks again, Poolside
 

Bought the new tensioner a few months ago. When I bought it, the dealer (small dealership, it was the owner) hadn't heard of the problem or wasn't letting the cat out of the bag. "Huh - look at that - there IS a new part number...they changed it....wonder why?"

Anyway, just did the deed. Had the laptop on a milkcrate by my side, looking at Poolside's wonderful pictures. The bike is sooo much quieter now. Thanks all!

Prices
 

Have I miss-read the thread or are the tensioners really 200 USD?

I'm collecting the RH tensioner for my '99 1150GS tomorrow and paying about 25 UKP.

I'll be fitting it myself. Anything to watch for?


Rgds Richard

hey i ordered these parts

11 31 7 688 629
11 31 7 656 922
07 11 9 963 308

I got them today and I have the spring loaded piston, the new outer body with the copper gasket, i did not get the smaller black piston, is it needed, and what is the part number.
thanks,
Sam

Hi chaps, Just read this post with interest as it might affect me.

I am rebuilding a 2003 1150GS (13,000KM) which has been in a front end collision. It has stood for about 18months without running. The front engine cover was whacked by the front wheel and cracked.

I replaced the lower alternator pulley and rotor as they were distorted. When I got the engine started it was making a knocking noise from the front end. Ran it at tick over for about 5 minutes and it didn't go bang so I hope it's not terminal. I did have quite thick oil in it (10W/30 - It was free from work) and I live in Cyprus where we normally use 20W/50 oil. Not sure if it was to thick, but I wanted to get any crap out of the engine (I did find some aluminium swarf in the oil when I drained it).

Any thoughts and also when did the manufacture start fitting these new devices to these bikes?

Regards and enjoy the sun where ever you are

Derek

You have the latest updated parts that cost around $50.00. The tensioner pictured in the write up is the older, discontinued tensioner update :huh that went for around $200.00

You have everything you need.

11 31 7 688 629
11 31 7 656 922
07 11 9 963 308

Yep. That's the ones.

I just installed them in my 1150GS, and the difference in noise level is amazing. Now, I gotta do the rocker end play thing and it'll really be quiet.

If you have a lot of slapping noise from your left cylinder, then this is your fix.

If you can change your oil, you can do this yourself.

The parts from chicagobmw.com were less than $60.

FYI, I ordered these on the 14th of last month and I called Chicago BMW today, they got a shipment of them in last friday so if you ordered them, they should be on their way.

Are the 2 parts plus the copper gasket what is needed? What has been the consensus of the people who have made the change as to whether it was worth the cost and effort. My parts came in today, Chicago BMW said they sold mucho amount of these recently but since they werent the parts specified for the bike they would make no claim as to their benefits or negatives.

Ok, my little update since my parts came in today from Chicago as well. First, a couple of pointers compared to the excelent writeup on the first page of this thread. I found you do not have to remove the injector or any of its wiring, just leave it be. Also, the zip tie on the bottom holding the TPS wiring, you dont have to cut it. When you remove that bolt (with a 4mm allen) it comes off with it. All you have to remove is the 2 manifold bolts (a little tricky on an ADV as the bar is in the way (ball end allen wrenches works great here), loosen the hose clamp at the airbox and rear of the TB, and unclip the TPS wiring. Slide the intake tube abot 3/8" into the airbox, then you can pop the TB out of it. Pivot it up and tie it off like pictured. I used a bunjy cord. To remove the old tentioner body you will need a 17mm box wrench with a 12 point closed in. The new body has a 15mm nut on it so you will also need a 15mm box wrench with a 12 pt closed end. After you get the old parts out, plop the new piston in (curved side first, the hollow end points up), put the body on and snug it down. Only other tricky part is getting the TB back into the intake tube. As pictured, the O-ring is not tight and wants to get pinched out. Tilt the TB so the rear part engauges, then with a small flat blade screwdriver gentaly guide the O ring into the groove as you slide the intake tube over it. bolt the manifold back up, tighten the hose clamps, plug the TPS back in, and check to see that the throttle cable is seated back in its adjuster (because it probaly got pulled out when you hung the TB up.)

Tools you need: 4 and 5mm allen wrench, 17mm and 15mm box wrench, small flat blade screwdriver, medium flatblade screwdriver (for hose clams, or whatever socket those are), 16" bunjy cord or wire to tie TB up, Paper clip or length of saftey wire (.032" worked to remove old plunger for me).

Time: It took me 29 minuets, I could probaly do it in 15 the second time.

Results: It doesnt sound like a drummer holding a good cadance with a ball peen hammer in my motor no more! Just the soft clatter of the the valves and smooth running cam chain sound.

Mike

Thanks for the update and additional info!

G-force - as a matter of transatlantic clarity...:D

When you refer to a 'box wrench', do you mean a box spanner, like this...



...or a socket, like this...



Cheers

Mike

(who now has all the parts, and is running out of reasons not to start the job...)

Like this. Use the closed end and note it is a 12 point, not 6. There is not enough room to swing a 6 point.

First off, Poolside, magnificent write-up and excellent pictures!

A friend of mine has a strange rattle that he thinks might be the cam chain tensioner, so this report might come in handy.

Off-topic:

I bought a 1998 R1100GS in December 2003 with 29K kilometers - I expected to ride about 10K kilometers a year [I don't commute by bike], but I'm already past 60K kilometers on the meter [September 2005], so I'm averaging 15K a year on recreational rides.
5K miles would be 8K kilometers a year, I'd expect with the huge distances in the US riders would ride double what I do... :huh

Ring spanner :D

Thanks!

Mike:thumb

Hey guys, just sent a customer these parts and I want to MAKE SURE that these are the correct parts that are needed. Earlier in this post a gentlemen is referring to the piston as "Spring Loaded" and I want to know why as the piston itself does not appear to be spring loaded. Before he goes and inserts these parts I just want to double and triple check that this is the correct procedure and we do in fact have the right parts. Thanks Frank!!!!!

worked for me...
 

I just did this proceedure using:

11317688629 - cylinder
11317656922 - piston
07119963308 - seal ring 18x22
13541341797 - throttle body o-ring

...on my R1150GS and my wife's R1100R. Very straightforward and had the desired result. The throttle body o-ring is 'optional' but made re-installation of the plastic intake tube very easy.

_jay

Anyone else? Just want to make sure and thanks Jay!!

thats the ones i ordered and installed

If the VA BMW delaer wants to come up with a group buy price to beat Chicago BMW he might make something happen here. Many have not replaced and the price is low and the noise disappears, at least on my 02.

Thats it. The piston looks like one piece, but it is actualy spring loaded, the spring is inside and it looks like there is a small ball bearing check valve inside as well.

I woulda swore it was one piece when I held it in my hand...ha!. Works great and no more rattles ! :D

rattle trap
 

Hi all-

I have also just joined the club on this latest tensioner replacement. My '04 1150 Adventure seemed to have what I thought sounded like the reported cam chain rattle on startup and a noticeable ticking (not valve related) at idle once warm.

I had the dealer look up the tensioner parts, thinking I would just buy them and install on my own time. Not surprisngly, I learned that "those your parts aren't available on your 1150". Once they found the correct parts from the 1200RT parts list, they asked what was going on--I kindly explained why I wanted to replace them (unless, as I offered, they wanted to give me the parts under warranty).

Since the bike had to come in soon for the free ABS inspection deal, I decided to go ahead and have the tech install the new tensioner. When I picked up the bike after service, I got the "the tech says this wasn't needed, your noise is normal...they all do that" explanation. After all, silly customers couldn't possibly know whether a bike is making an unusual noise or not.

I told them thanks and I'd be the judge of whether any improvement was evident. Guess what--several cold starts later and no more clackety rattle on cold startups, plus the bike is a lot quieter at hot idle.

Thanks to everyone who stuck with this issue in putting together the list of parts, new parts, new/new parts, etc. so that others could enjoy the improvement of a better running bike.

-BW

I just did the tensioner retrofit on an R1100S, so here is how it went for me. Thanks for everyone who has done the job and written things up here - it made it relatively easy.

As discussed before, you need the following three parts to do the mod:

11317688629 - cylinder
11317656922 - piston
07119963308 - seal ring 18x22

I also found I needed a new o-ring on the intake runner to TB connection to avoid pinching the old one.

13541341797 - throttle body o-ring

I found that I could get the TB out of the way by:

+ Removing the three hose clamps securing the TB (not sure you have to remove all three, but they're easy to get off and give the TB more "give" to help jockey it around).

+ Unbolt the intake manifold from the head (two allen bolts - a ball-end allen wrench helps on the top bolt).

+ Remove the two sheet metal screws fixing the intake runner to the airbox.

+ Push the intake runner off the TB and back into the airbox to free the TB.

Which gets you to this point:



Now simply bungee the TB out of the way, being reasonably cautious not to stress any of the fuel lines, electrical connections, or the throttle cable. There is plenty of slack and room so you don't need to go crazy here - just get it out of the way a bit.



The tensioner is just below the front telelever pivot at the base of the cylinder. The old one has a 17mm hex head and you'll need a 12-point box-end wrench to have enough swing room to loosen it.



When you pull the old tensioner body out, you'll find a long spring that goes between the tensioner body and a plunger down in the engine. I just shoved the body up under the telelever as far up and forward as possible, grabbed the spring with some needle-nose pliers, and yanked it out like a bad tooth. With the spring out of the way, you can get the tensioner body out, leaving the plunger inside the engine. I retrieved the plunger with a magnet.



Here's a comparison of the old tensioner and the new, the new one on the bottom:



Oil up the new plunger (which is spring-loaded inside) and stick it in the new body with the curved side out (where it will bear on the cam chain). At this point, it seems to help to put slack in the cam chain by bumping the engine forward in its natural direction of rotation - I did this by putting the bike in 6th gear and turning the rear wheel.

Put the new seal ring on the tensioner body, compress the plunger with your hand and you can fish the assembly into the cylinder. Once in, you have to push the tensioner body down against spring pressure while turning it enough to catch a thread. I was able to do this by hand with a few tries. Once it starts to thread, just torque it in. Getting a torque wrench on this baby isn't feasible, so I just torqued to feel. The new tensioner has a 15mm hex head, so you'll need a 12-pt 15mm box end wrench for tightening.



From this point, it's just a matter of getting the TB back on. Be careful of the o-ring on the intake runner side of the TB - check for pinching as you slide the runner on and use some kind of lubricant. Also note the alignment marks for making sure the intake runner is rotated correctly to align with the airbox and allow the two sheet metal screws to screw in.

Fire it up and enjoy a smoother and quieter engine.

- Mark

I received the parts today to do this, but I didn't get the "small floating piston" seen below. It also is not an any of the parts lists I have seen for doing this. All I got was the big piston, clyinder, and seals. Is it a new part? Is it needed? What is the part number??

Thanks!

-Erik

That there floating piston is part of the $250.00 interim updated tensioner. It is no longer available. The one you have is the latest and greatest.

I changed the cam chain tensioner without removing anything! (except the old one, of course). It was easy. I used a short socket extension and universal joint adapter.

Was that on your '02 R model Erik?

Could you leave the tank on?

And the extension had good clearance behind the R's thinner Telelever arm?

On the GS I could just about do it with the tank off and a 1/4" drive extension.

Let the folks with R bikes know. It may also work with RTs and the other models with the slender cast Telelever arm.

- Jim

I didn't have to remove the tank, or anything else. It was tight, but very do-able. It was on my '02 R1150R.

Sounds much better now too!

Okay, I just replaced the cam chain tensioner in my 2001 GS and now feel the need to repeat what so many others have already said....
The difference was amazing on my bike. I hadn't realized that it should be this quiet. It's my first BMW, I've had it for a little under a year now, and thought "thats how they all sound". Nope. The replacement was very straightforward, using the excellent photo writeup in the Hall of Wisdom. Things were tight, but very doable, even with HB crashbars in place.
In hoping to add to the collective, I offer up these thoughts:

It would have been a bit easier if I had a set of those ball end allen wrenches. The ability to attack from a slight angle would have allowed me to work a bit quicker. I'll have to add some of those to the shopping list, as there is my first OVAD/TBS looming large in the future due to my newfound courage.:thumb

Inside my throttle bodies looked GREAT! Not the slightest bit of anything in there, very clean. Makes me feel like all is well in the guts of my engine. It was nice to have an excuse to work in there so I could take a peek.

I didn't have to disconnect absolutely everything. I disconnected the air intake, the electrical connection to the fuel injector, the injector from the throttle body and the throttle body from the jug. I didn't need to unhook the electrical connector from the TBS, nor the injector from the fuel line. I hung the TB up out of the way and had room to work.

I had a heck of a time getting the old spring out with the paperclip method, and finally used the needlenose pliers method, rendering the spring not so perfect. The good news was that the old piston came out with the spring, so I didn't need to go fishing.

Buy the TB o-ring! When I first slid the intake back, I thought, "that o-ring looks great. I can't imagine needing to replace it."
You do.
I tried the old one, and it just doesn't want to stay seated. Put the new one on and it went perfectly! Boy the o-ring!!

All in all, a very worthwhile modification, and one I wouldn't have attempted without the collective wisdom that is ADVRider. Thanks again!:thumb