upper tensioners
 

hello all
I started to do my upper tensioners using the zip tie method. a few things came up. the plug connectors for the coils have little lock tabs that all broke off. 4, I only started the driver side. Are these plugs going to stay put without the tabs? I used a die grinder to remove the stud above the nut at the dipstick. you still have to be careful not to yank the dipstick tube out. the cover gasket was in fine condition. I reused it. Sure enough, the tensioner was 1st or 2nd gen. I couldn't tell which. it looked in good shape. 53,000 miles. I zipped it, then proceeded to remove cam caps. problem. The cap bolts don't have a lot of torque, but it was enough that a couple of the bolt heads started rounding off. the tools had a good fit, and I was careful, but I thought if i'm having trouble getting them off, I might not be able to tighten them up. I removed zip tie and recovered. now what?

I know it's kind of late, but you don't need to remove the connectors from the coils. just unbolt them and lay them on on the intake manifold. I cut a 7mm wrench in half to get to mine without disconnecting them. You should be using a six point socket on the cam bolts as they are pretty soft. If you aren't sure there is enough face to allow proper torque, then replace them.

rumm5, I don't know what year car you have, but the AJ26 coil connectors almost always have broken tabs, and replacements aren't available. You can make them more secure with a little dab of high temp RTV.

thanks gents, I have some rtv, i'm looking for a replacement source for the cam cap bolts just in case.
98 triple black conv. xk8