New timing tensioner -- is it oil pressure activated?

[deadandbloated]

Replaced water pump, new chain, guides and tensioner.
When barring the engine over the new timing tensioner is not holding pressure against the guide. About every half revolution the chain gets tighter and the tensioner piston pops back inside the housing. Turn a little more and it pops back out...

I'm thinking it's because it uses oil pressure to maintain tension but I dunno...
Not going to button it up until I figure it out. Thanks

 

[Crates]

Yes - uses engine oil pressure to provide tension to the chain.

 

[Green94]

As mentioned, oil pressure creates the tension.

 

[410Fortune]

Some of us run manual tensioners no oil pressure needed

Neat trick with these sohc engines is to press fuel pedal to the floor and crank starter this stops truck from starting and allows build of oil pressure similar to pre oiler or priming

 

[deadandbloated]

Yes - uses engine oil pressure to provide tension to the chain.

Thanks, that's what I thought but wasn't sure. Got it running this evening and it seems all good

 

[peterk9]

Thanks, that's what I thought but wasn't sure. Got it running this evening and it seems all good

Welcome to the Forum.

Peter

 

[deadandbloated]

Welcome to the Forum.

Peter

Thank you

 

[deadandbloated]

Thank you

I've been lurking since 2012 but finally made a post

 

[Xlrick1969]

Replaced water pump, new chain, guides and tensioner.
When barring the engine over the new timing tensioner is not holding pressure against the guide. About every half revolution the chain gets tighter and the tensioner piston pops back inside the housing. Turn a little more and it pops back out...View attachment 435375
I'm thinking it's because it uses oil pressure to maintain tension but I dunno...
Not going to button it up until I figure it out. Thanks

Having the same exact issue. The newer tensioner looks completely different. After I installed it, I started to turn the motor over by hand and the firewall side chain guide was jumping up and down. I took it back out and compared it to the original one. I noticed that the newer part had much less spring pressure on the plunger that the original. I could push it down with my thumb. On the original tensioner the spring is much stiffer, and I can barely move the plunger by hand. A Ford mechanic told me that they stiffen up when the engine runs, and the plunger fills with oil to give it a hydraulic type of operation. Another question that I thought about after speaking with him was, what about the first 100 or so revolutions the engine has to make to fill the tensioner with oil? Seemed to me that the chain could slip a tooth the way that guide was bouncing around. In any event I felt more comfortable actually putting the original one back in. There was nothing wrong with it. Just being paranoid.

 

[Crates]

Having the same exact issue. The newer tensioner looks completely different. After I installed it, I started to turn the motor over by hand and the firewall side chain guide was jumping up and down. I took it back out and compared it to the original one. I noticed that the newer part had much less spring pressure on the plunger that the original. I could push it down with my thumb. On the original tensioner the spring is much stiffer, and I can barely move the plunger by hand. A Ford mechanic told me that they stiffen up when the engine runs, and the plunger fills with oil to give it a hydraulic type of operation. Another question that I thought about after speaking with him was, what about the first 100 or so revolutions the engine has to make to fill the tensioner with oil? Seemed to me that the chain could slip a tooth the way that guide was bouncing around. In any event I felt more comfortable actually putting the original one back in. There was nothing wrong with it. Just being paranoid.

Until the tensioner receives pressurized oil the guide relies only on the spring to keep some load on the chain. This is why I always use a new OE chain that hasn’t stretched and a new OE tensioner whenever I replace the water pumps on these engines. This minimizes the amount of free play in the chain drive and it won’t jump a tooth (every engine goes down the production line this way). Was your new tensioner OE or aftermarket? The aftermarket doesn’t always reverse engineer their parts correctly.

 

[Odrapnew]

Having the same exact issue. The newer tensioner looks completely different. After I installed it, I started to turn the motor over by hand and the firewall side chain guide was jumping up and down. I took it back out and compared it to the original one. I noticed that the newer part had much less spring pressure on the plunger that the original. I could push it down with my thumb. On the original tensioner the spring is much stiffer, and I can barely move the plunger by hand. A Ford mechanic told me that they stiffen up when the engine runs, and the plunger fills with oil to give it a hydraulic type of operation. Another question that I thought about after speaking with him was, what about the first 100 or so revolutions the engine has to make to fill the tensioner with oil? Seemed to me that the chain could slip a tooth the way that guide was bouncing around. In any event I felt more comfortable actually putting the original one back in. There was nothing wrong with it. Just being paranoid.

You can hold the throttle pedal to the floor while cranking the engine for a few seconds to build pressure in the system as 410Fortune said (a couple years back in post above).
Holding the pedal to the floor puts ECU in 'Flood Clear' mode which does not fire the injectors (no fuel) so you can crank it without it starting.
That's what I did when I replaced the chain and tensioners.

 

[410Fortune]

There are also “pre oilers” you can buy which prime the system
Or like some of us you can run manual tensioners that do not rely on oil pressure to pump up

 

[Xlrick1969]

Until the tensioner receives pressurized oil the guide relies only on the spring to keep some load on the chain. This is why I always use a new OE chain that hasn’t stretched and a new OE tensioner whenever I replace the water pumps on these engines. This minimizes the amount of free play in the chain drive and it won’t jump a tooth (every engine goes down the production line this way). Was your new tensioner OE or aftermarket? The aftermarket doesn’t always reverse engineer their parts correctly.

It was OE. Was there a TSB at one time for this? If so, why was tensioner radically redesigned? My original is much beefier.

 

[Xlrick1969]

There are also “pre oilers” you can buy which prime the system
Or like some of us you can run manual tensioners that do not rely on oil pressure to pump up

Where did you get those manual tensioners?

 

[Xlrick1969]

Until the tensioner receives pressurized oil the guide relies only on the spring to keep some load on the chain. This is why I always use a new OE chain that hasn’t stretched and a new OE tensioner whenever I replace the water pumps on these engines. This minimizes the amount of free play in the chain drive and it won’t jump a tooth (every engine goes down the production line this way). Was your new tensioner OE or aftermarket? The aftermarket doesn’t always reverse engineer their parts correctly.

Do the OE tensioners(primary) fail often?

 

[410Fortune]

The whole guide was re designed
I would think a dealer could help you find the tsb and service records for your truck

The main chain tensioner is a spring, not hydraulic. I know these have been “beefed up” quite a bit since 1997, I always install the latest “3’spring” version if I am inside the timing cover of a sohc.

The factory tensioners are very good they last a good long time. I believe Ford recommends changing them at 60k intervals? I can’t remember or maybe 90k
Clean oil is the difference between a 150k mile sohc and a 300k mile sohc

 

[peterk9]

It was OE. Was there a TSB at one time for this? If so, why was tensioner radically redesigned? My original is much beefier.

Off-hand, I don't recall a TSB for the 5th gen Explorer but you can always check the following thread. It was compiled from TSBs that were posted by members and found using Internet searches. List of Useful Threads - 5th Gen TSB's, Recalls, Remote Start, How To Info

Peter

 

[Odrapnew]

The whole guide was re designed
I would think a dealer could help you find the tsb and service records for your truck

The main chain tensioner is a spring, not hydraulic. I know these have been “beefed up” quite a bit since 1997, I always install the latest “3’spring” version if I am inside the timing cover of a sohc.

The factory tensioners are very good they last a good long time. I believe Ford recommends changing them at 60k intervals? I can’t remember or maybe 90k
Clean oil is the difference between a 150k mile sohc and a 300k mile sohc

You're talking about SOHC?
That wouldn't be for 5th gen then since the V6 is DOHC.

 

[410Fortune]

Yep I’m a jerk this thread is not for the sohc engine

It’s my fault I just log in and check all new threads I missed the fact this is in the 11-19 truck section and the engine in question has cam phasers and dohc

My bad!

 

[Xlrick1969]

Off-hand, I don't recall a TSB for the 5th gen Explorer but you can always check the following thread. It was compiled from TSBs that were posted by members and found using Internet searches. List of Useful Threads - 5th Gen TSB's, Recalls, Remote Start, How Rck