Well as you can see everything was going so well was just putting the new tensioner bolts in and one sheared while i was using a brand new teng tools torque wrench triple checked the torque setting and i must have had a crap bolt!

just what i needed........... please help my backs hurting

 

Take the other bolt out and you may be able to remove the tensioner depending on how much bolt remains in the tensioner body. If it is too long to slide off the bolt you are going to have to remove the exhaust cam sprocket to get enough room under the chain. Without any tension on the bolt it should just screw out unless it is broken off down in the threaded hole.

Don't know if you have cam alignment tools or are using the zip tie method but either should allow you to remove the tensioner.

The bolts are available at any Ford store here but don't know about merry ol' England.

 

Thanks for the help. Took the other bolt out and got a centre punch and needle nose pliers and 2 hours and managed to get it out. Im sure the bolt was bad and i didnt trust the other bolts after that so decided to use the original bolts and cut them shorter.



Everything was going well. And it just broke i cant blame the torque wrench or myself as i checked and triple checked so it was a bad bolt. They looked a bit cheap so im not very happy with berkshire jags for supplying them, the originals are of a much better wuality so thought i would be safer with those.

Got it all back together and it runs good so im happy.

Took 6 hours to do but pleased its done, the tensioner was cracked on one side but on the drivers side it was cracked all the way down and the shoe was missing and the you can see where the chain has been rubbing on the metal. so im glad i did it.

Thanks for all your help

 

How did you cut them shorter?

 

With a junior hacksaw then chamfered the ends and test fit them.

The original bolts were alot better than the ones i received. Made the job 2 hours longer and i just wish they supplied better bolts

 

Your tensioner's look the same as mind did, you may have sheared a bolt but you dodged a bullet. Good job and glad you got it sorted.

 

Yeah i can't believe how bad it was when i got it removed you can even see where the chain has been rubbing on the metal where the shoe has should have been. i hope to shoe is in the sump and not gonna cause a problem.

one thing i did notice was that you don't have to do the bolts up that tight even the cam caps in the workshop manual say 9nm - 11nm and when i was doing it i thought this can't be right. but i did everything exactly as it should be so hopefully everything will be ok for now

 

The culprit

 

Nice work Steeevo,
Who ever sold you those bolts needs a good slap! Glad you got it sorted out and by the looks of the old tensioner, just in time. I'd drop the oil pan you probably have bits floating around you need to remove. Another XK8 saved from the wreckers, Yeah!

 

Well done Steeevo. Sounds like the job would have been a doddle without the sheared bolt incident.
Any other elements of the job you had a problem with? Used tiewraps?

Rgds,
Mike

 

The pieces of shoe will be in the pickup screen for the oil pump. They may not restrict flow depending on how big they are, but I pulled the pan and removed them for piece of mind.

 

It was only the bolts that added 2 hours on the job otherwise it would have been 4 hours just doing it slowly cleaning all the surfaces and parts with carb cleaner and making sure i got everything torqued correctly and didnt miss anything.

The cable tie method is pretty simple however the cam on the passengers side would not lift up when i was releasing the cam cap bolts so i got a big cable tie and wrapped it round the cam and kept pulling on it as i was releasing the bolts which took some time but after the cam caps were removed just be carefull lifting the cam up and wiggling the old tensioner out the way making sure not to let the spring drop down in to the engine. The drivers side cam just lifted out when i removed the cam caps and was simple im not sure why.

Also remember to remove the orange pin that keeps the new tensioner together after you have fitted it and put the cam back in place.

Also the torque settings dont feel tight but just trust your torque wrench. Get it done mate i cant believe how close i was to complete and utter mayhem. i have added some bg44 to the fuel with my last fill up and I'm sure the engine is running smoother and not so shaky anymore.

Looks like my guides are on their way out too.