M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS

DISCUSSION => General Topics => Topic started by: jdirty on September 13, 2011, 01:00:40 AM

Title: timing chain tensioner cap
Post by: jdirty on September 13, 2011, 01:00:40 AM: is rounded as fuck. there's not much space there. and i need to take it off so i could finish my head swap. upper tc is off. fan clutch is off. rad hoses are off too. so.. that's the most space there is.

any suggestions with taking it off?
(replacement screw cap is on it's way.)
Title: timing chain tensioner cap
Post by: DesktopDave on September 13, 2011, 07:38:55 AM: I go after it with slip-joint pliers if the wrench won't grab. If the pliers don't work I'd drill a hole from side to side, drive a medium-sized self-tapping screw in & tap it off with a hammer. You only need to crack it loose.
Title: timing chain tensioner cap
Post by: MikeDE on September 13, 2011, 08:45:07 AM: Pipe wrench, don't break the head:rolleyes:

If you're desparate and you have a propane torch, lightly heat the area around the cap that you can reach.
Title: timing chain tensioner cap
Post by: M5wanaB on September 13, 2011, 01:29:43 PM: I use an open ended wrench that grabs the walls of the bolt as apposed to the corners of the bolt. I have a metric craftsman set and they come in handy all the freakin time. Cost about $30 for 3 wrenches but as usual, they are worth their weight in gold for jobs like these.
Title: timing chain tensioner cap
Post by: jdirty on September 14, 2011, 08:05:00 PM: i was able to successfully take off the.. head. but not the tensioner cap.
took off the cam gear bolts, compressed the tensioner with a flat-head screwdriver to create slack in the chain, then popped the cam gears off of the cams.
only thing i need to do now is take out the timing chain tensioner from my old head.
it'd be a waste to buy a new one since the tensioner was only a month old and i'm broke! lol

@DesktopDave that drilling suggestion seems so much easier now that i can easily take off the head. i just need to find a drill now. lol or try the slip joint first.

@MikeDE i never thought of a pipe wrench! would've been a pain with the head in the bay still. :P

@M5wanaB i used my dad's set actually. and for some reason the tensioner cap just seemed to feel like melted chocolate. seriously. it was rounded so bad with just about any tool. even vise grips sank their teeth into the cap itself. you could see marks. lol

Thanks for the suggestions guys!
Title: timing chain tensioner cap
Post by: DesktopDave on September 14, 2011, 08:49:40 PM: I haven't messed with mine yet. I'll be sure I'm careful. That cap is aluminum, isn't it? Almost any tool will mar that.
Title: timing chain tensioner cap
Post by: jdirty on September 15, 2011, 12:04:42 AM: Quote from: DesktopDave;106677
I haven't messed with mine yet. I'll be sure I'm careful. That cap is aluminum, isn't it? Almost any tool will mar that.

i'm pretty sure it is. it was just surprising to me as how it was so soft as compared to before. must be the desert heat.. though it was raining hard earlier today.
Title: timing chain tensioner cap
Post by: jdirty on September 19, 2011, 05:28:08 PM: the cap was finally off. done with the head off. used a rag, a vise grip, and a hammer. while hammer the vise grip counter clockwise, the lockring in the tensioner gave way and ejected the other half of the tensioner... so now my problem is assembling the tensioner again.

that little fu...
Title: timing chain tensioner cap
Post by: KenC on September 19, 2011, 05:45:38 PM: make sure to get a replacement crush washer.