hello, i have a bad valve on my 05 4.2 and have started the head removal.i do have the cam holer tool but not the wedge tool,so i went to the local dealer and they said they dont sell them,ok ---so i copied the tool on a piece of paper and had one made.the problem im having is it will not push the chain,tensioner in.iv tried tapping it with a hammer but am afraid of busting something because im not doing something else right or the tensioner is stuck out.any ideas as to what is going on,the book doesnt say you have to really smack it.and i cant see it budge when i try to pry it in.i did see where another poster had the wedge tool come out during installation and he fixed it by using a small wire to lift a catch in the tensioner and used the wedge to get it back without dropping the oil pan but for the life of me i dont see how,and a pm yielded nothing,any suggestions are very welcome,thanks in advance
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4.2 chain tensioner/tool for head removal
- Thread starter broke4now
- Start date
broke4now said:hello, i have a bad valve on my 05 4.2 and have started the head removal.i do have the cam holer tool but not the wedge tool,so i went to the local dealer and they said they dont sell them,ok ---so i copied the tool on a piece of paper and had one made.the problem im having is it will not push the chain,tensioner in.iv tried tapping it with a hammer but am afraid of busting something because im not doing something else right or the tensioner is stuck out.any ideas as to what is going on,the book doesnt say you have to really smack it.and i cant see it budge when i try to pry it in.i did see where another poster had the wedge tool come out during installation and he fixed it by using a small wire to lift a catch in the tensioner and used the wedge to get it back without dropping the oil pan but for the life of me i dont see how,and a pm yielded nothing,any suggestions are very welcome,thanks in advance
I know ALOT of tensioners on different vehicles need to be "unlocked" before they will retract, but not sure on the 4.2... Someone will chime in, octanerider just played with all this recently so he may know , but he replaced everything so he may not have played with the tensioner.
If it is not moving I would say that it will need to be unlatched. Normally you can use a tiny phillips or a allen wrench in the hole to lift the bar of the spring, it is kind of like a ratcheting mechanism then it will push in as long as you hold the pin back. Like I said though I don't know off hand if that is the case on this engine but I would bet it is...
thanks for replying,i have looked everywhere and the book doesnt even say anything about the release.its at the bottom of the cover so i dont see how i would even get to it,the book simply says to install the wedge between the chain and cover bolt ,sounds easy enough but it just doesnt move.im at a stopping point till i get some information because id rather wait than start the pan removal ordeal.thanks again
broke4now said:thanks for replying,i have looked everywhere and the book doesnt even say anything about the release.its at the bottom of the cover so i dont see how i would even get to it,the book simply says to install the wedge between the chain and cover bolt ,sounds easy enough but it just doesnt move.im at a stopping point till i get some information because id rather wait than start the pan removal ordeal.thanks again
Found this post on the other side... I knew there was a release on it just wasn't sure how it was setup on this motor... Here ya go...
For anyone else that this happens to, know there is a way to do this. The whole problem is that once the lower timing chain tensioner tool becomes dislodged, the timing chain tensioner shoots all the way out and the timing marks won't line up anymore because the chain is in a way tighter. The timing chain tensioner has teeth on it that prevent it from retracting by just pushing on it. In order to retract the piston on the tensioner, you have to lift the little lever on the front of it. The problem is you only have about 3/16 of an inch between the back side of the front cover and the tensioner itself so it's not easy to get to. The way I was able to retract it was by taking a piece of .060 welding rod and bending a tiny 90 degree hook on the end of it. I slipped that down behind the front of the timing cover and hooked the lever to lift it. Then I used the lower timing chain wedge tool to push the tensioner back in. It's kind of a pain to do but it's a thousand times easier then removing the front cover.
you wont belive this ,but i seen that 4 days ago,even sent a private message but didnt get a responce yet,,i may be wrong but in his situation he let the wedge come out during installation therefor allowing the piston to be out of its working ability and needing to be reset,also with his head off it may allow for more room to get to this reset ,but i sure cant see it with the head on,,mine hasnt done that yet and would rather avoid a hail mary.if his went back with the wedge i just dont see why mine wont...i did go to the dealer but getting help was about non exsistant,the parts guy even told me they dont have such a tool,i then said this tool saves the mechanic from doing an additional 12 hours labor,i can assure you someone has it.then another guy come from back and said "oh yeah we have that here "and went back and showed it to me and thats how i copied it,to make it.i thank you very much for putting fourth effort,im sure ill get someone that knows what i need to do,ill just hang in there.thanks again
ok,i gave up on the wedge and just let the chain off the sprockets,to my suprise it didnt expand way out or drop in the pan.i bought a new tensioner and figured out that no mater what position the tensioner is in, if you want to compresse it,you must trip the release.i borowed a trick from another poster and used a small wire to trip it and was able to slide the tensioner back in.i have no idea how or why the book says to "just slide the tool between the chain and bolt"because it doesnt just slide back in without being tripped.i cannot see how you are supposed to hit the release without the head off,so its just a pull the sprocket and hope for the best deal,i guesse.however i marked the crank where tdc was and with the cams on i should be able to keep it right back in time.we will see when i get the head back,heres hoping,thanks for the help.