2002 with about 34,000 miles, replaced both tensioners, overall....not too bad.....however..
Had no problem with the front, and, did not take off throttle bodies and all coolant hoses.
On the rear tensioner, I put the locking tool in the old one, cranked it tight, then removed....
when I went to install the new one, tighten the two retaining bolts and the locking tool just falls
out???? Tensioner remains tight, did not extend the way the front one did....could hear it
spring or snap forward. Is this ok ???
Did everything step by step, and double checked.....wonder if there is an issue ??
Thanks
I did exactly the same on 2004 2 weeks ago and had exactly the same result at 52,000km's
So I wound the motor over by hand for a couple of revolutions after taking the timing blank out of the right hand case
and then I locked the rear tensioner and took it out it was only extended by 1/4 of a turn of the key
I then replaced everything and started the bike , nice and quiet just a slight whirring sound
The old rear one I removed was only about 1/3 of a turn out from fully compressed when removed
The old front tensioner was out by 2 turns
I think it is that the rear plunger has less distance to travel to the actual tensioner blade the front plunger has a longer distance to extend before it reaches the same blade
My bike runs fine with no strange noises since
How did you crank it over by hand ???
There's a timing cover on the right side just in front of the clutch. 12 or 14mm nut cast into it, remove and use a socket wrench on the nut on the crank (clockwise).
The rear tensioner does not extend as fully as the front one due to the chain tensioner being closer to the cap.