M42 ninjas,
Please help... this is the first I've cracked open my valve cover and I don't know what things are supposed to look like.
The car has 215k miles on it. Recently, it developed the rattle at ~3k RPM common to a failing chain tensioner. I purchased and installed a new one. The sound went away... for a few thousand miles and returned. I guessed, as is discussed in this thread:
... that the chain/cam gears/rails were shot and the tensioner only temporarily masked the problem. This is what things looked like when I took off the valve cover:
From what I understand, worn cam gears are generally pointy. These certainly don't look that way to me. In addition, I was under the impression that the old style guide rails that fell apart were steel. The top guide that I can see is the newer, plastic style.
To those with a trained eye, do these gears look worn? If my assumption about the guides is right, is it fair to assume the chain/gears/guides have been replaced at some point (I've only owned the car two years)? If so, is it possible the new tensioner has failed already? Any other advice?
Thanks!
Please help... this is the first I've cracked open my valve cover and I don't know what things are supposed to look like.
The car has 215k miles on it. Recently, it developed the rattle at ~3k RPM common to a failing chain tensioner. I purchased and installed a new one. The sound went away... for a few thousand miles and returned. I guessed, as is discussed in this thread:
... that the chain/cam gears/rails were shot and the tensioner only temporarily masked the problem. This is what things looked like when I took off the valve cover:
From what I understand, worn cam gears are generally pointy. These certainly don't look that way to me. In addition, I was under the impression that the old style guide rails that fell apart were steel. The top guide that I can see is the newer, plastic style.
To those with a trained eye, do these gears look worn? If my assumption about the guides is right, is it fair to assume the chain/gears/guides have been replaced at some point (I've only owned the car two years)? If so, is it possible the new tensioner has failed already? Any other advice?
Thanks!
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