Timing Chain

furrystump said
So I went through the decision making process about a tensioner. Smart people with actual experience did not agree. I put one in. Three years later I pull it apart and the guides are hammered and broken in half. The flat spring is trying to eat its way through the cover. No more tensioners for me. I buy the roll master with the IWIS chain. Been in there 4-5 times since and it is still tight. Finally replaced it two years ago, but kept the old one. No real idea why, just was bugging me. They should be tight. Tensioner is a bandaid for an improper fitting set.

Exactly. I hope I don't have to get into my 273 and If I do I hope I won't find tensioner issues. They were designed for 3.9 Magnum V6's that had single chain slop and were rubbing on the timing cover. They were a metal gear, non roller set. (low bid I am sure) Now saying that, both of my 3.9's had well over 100,000 rounds on the clock and just kept running when the noise got bad. I replaced one with a double roller and never looked back. There's really no reason for a tensioner if you have a good double roller set.