Pictures says more than ......

And I have no idea why someone should change the tensioners, but obviously not the guides.
Car has done ~120.000km, serviced in Japan before it came to Taiwan.

 

This was mine when I got the car (it definitely rattled, was bought as a fixer-upper so I knew it needed a timing job from the start). The middle piece on the right below was pulled out of the oil pan.

One of the primary tensioner mounting bolts sheared off in the block, just to make it fun. Came out easily enough though, luckily.

 

Are the late model 2003 tensioners also made by Sachs? I am in the bicycle industry and was never a big fan of Sachs components. It is a shame that this great engine design was hobbled by this sub par choice of tensioner design and materials used.

 

I don't know the benefit of plastics in engines either but there you go. I've not seen a metal tensioner with any Sachs marks, but the way they're referred to as Gen 3 it could be the OE part is?

 

@ ericjansen - One of your pictures shows the primary tensioner has been replaced, but not the guides?


Who would go in to change primary tensioners and not replace the guides when you're literally right there? Someone has rocks in their head.....


Only benefits with plastics on and inside engines is to save weight, and also because the manufacturer knows it will fail, thinking you will buy genuine...


In this case, because the timing chain is riding on it, can't use metal

 

Back in the late 70's, Dodge used an almost identical application on its 318 motors. They put it on the time chain gear and they'd only lasted about 40k and you were jumping time. This was especially fun to change in a motor home (caravan) which was a van snout.

Ford did some experimentation in the mid-80's in its GT race car using ceramic valves and yes, it was a development attempt to save weight. At least Ford experimented with it in extreme conditions, ...Dodge skipped that aspect, seems Jaguar did also.