Hi all.
I just received a 2,2 T engine from USA thats not been running since 1985
and when I started to take it apart I discovered that the chain tensioners was
of the kind I thought they used to lock the chain when adjusting the cams??
Any thought about this??
They had been there for a while.I couldn't see any signs of that the engine had been out or apart.
THanks for any help.Click to view attachment

Some folks, mostly racers, built these engines with these “solid” tensioner versus the actual expanding ones. The thought was that they would be immune from The collapsing issue and could be adjusted manually for wear often as race engines were often pulled for maintenance. I’m sure many found their way into street engines also on rebuilds deemed "good enough" to save a few bucks. They were less money than the “real” ones.

The current options are typically either the 930 style that are considered a more dependable upgrade to the original 911 type, or the pressure fed Carrera type.

By many counts the 930 type along with a widened bushing on the tensioner shaft to prevent rocking is a reliable set up and less dollars than the Carrera type.

But those solid ones should probably come out unless you plan to visit them often.

And these could easily be installed/replaced without the need to tear down the motor completely. You can replace them now at the level of tear down you are at now.

I concur with above. Get the 930 type and ensure the idler and bushing are the newer style.

I did read sometime ago on Pelican these tensioners can cause a lot of intermediate shaft wear and I would expect the chains would be prone to stretching ?,makes me think they would be rather hard to set as you would have no way of allowing for engine expansion ?.
Stock tensioners with chain savers work pretty well if the chains and ramps are up to scratch.