Manual can chain tensioner

[TWILES]

I have a 2008 trx450er. The motor is real close to the 450x and atv forumers aren't the most mechanically inclined so I'm asking here. I got a cam from ct racing. It's a web cam in his grind. It's a "drop in" and doesn't require any changes but I hear the timing chain ticking. I asked the dude who put the cam in and he said the stock auto tensioners are junk. Ape and tokyo mods have them.

If you use/know anything about them, let me know a few details like how to tighten the chain. The tokyo mods and ape pro are about the same price. From what I've read about the tightening procedure, the tokyo mods version actually looks like the better one.

I need some input.

Thanks

Travis

[Qqqqqqqqqqqq]

I have the Tokyo Mods MCCT , good product . It comes with instructions that make installation simple

What condition is your cam chain in ? It could be time for a new one

[yellowdatsun]

I'd be wondering if your stock chain is stretched, or your ACCT is bad. The factory auto tensioner works just fine as long as it hasn't reached the end of it's adjustment. The manual one might make the slap go away because it has more adjustment, merely hiding the fact that your chain is stretched of your original ACCT is bad.

Personally, I think the manual ones are a gimmick. There are constant debates on the DRZ forum about them. My take is this, companies at places like Honda have engineers who are paid to figure this stuff out, and have a higher education in engineering than the vast majority of us. So when instructions on things like the MCCT tells me to "listen until the rattle stops", I assume that my untrained ear is not nearly as good a substitute as the engineers at Honda. But hey, that's just my take.

I did the swap to an MCCT on my old DRZ400, and the MCCT didn't make any difference. Waste of time and money.

[TWILES]

The motor doesn't have but 2 rides on it that lasted more than 20 minutes. Those trips were at a local riding area and it didn't run but 30 minutes at a time. The rest of the time I just put around the house. I started hearing it after the cam instal. I bought the bike new nov/2010. The dude who put the cam in said it looked fine and that he started having that trouble after he changed his cam and assumed the tensioner just never worked right again after it was taken off. I thought i'd reset it this weekend and see what happened. If that doesn't work, I'm buying the manual.

Edited March 7, 2013 by TWILES

[yellowdatsun]

Your cam chain should not be making noise after 2 rides on it. Something is wrong with the motor, especially since it started right after you did work on it.

[FORMA MOTO]

The tensioner is stuck. It happens.

[Leardriver]

Like Bill says.

The factory ones aren't necessarily junk. I work on as many of these bikes as anyone, and have never seen a failure. I know it happens, but it isn't the epidemic you start to imagine after reading internet forums.

If a manual one makes you sleep better, then buy it.

[CRF DOC]

Like Bill says.

The factory ones aren't necessarily junk. I work on as many of these bikes as anyone, and have never seen a failure. I know it happens, but it isn't the epidemic you start to imagine after reading internet forums.

If a manual one makes you sleep better, then buy it.

Absolutely.

The 2002 and 2003 CRF450R's had a run of bad ones. Failures right and left. They were redesigned in 2004 and the problem went away, but the internet geniuses were ill informed and projected the issue onto 450X's...

[Dust_Devil]

I agree, nothing wrong with the stocker, replace it with the cam chain every other piston.

[BAJAEXILE]

I run the manual tensioner on both of my 450X's and they work great. I run them to avoid future problems, not because I had a problem. My friends I ride with have the stock tensioner and I've never seen them have an issue.

[JohnnyAirtime]

The tensioner is stuck. It happens.

I'd go with Bill's thought first. Remove it, and see if it needs a bit of 'love'. Maybe removing it, and re-installing it will free it up... or the trouble "sound" will go away. If not, look elsewhere.

When mine stuck, or went bad I was in Baja... it sounded like a soda can of rocks. I limped 100 miles with the sound in my ears. Replaced it, and had no more noise/issues.

Ultimately; I've ALWAYS run the stock (auto) tensioner...

With a manual tensioner, you have to stay abreast of your tension... correct? (rhetoric)

One more maintenance item to check... and then, the questions remains; How often do you have to check/tighten?

Manual = PITA

Auto = worryfree

My rule of thumb, is to change the tensioner when I do a crank replacement. By then, I'm replacing ALL KINDS of things.

[BAJAEXILE]

I'd go with Bill's thought first. Remove it, and see if it needs a bit of 'love'. Maybe removing it, and re-installing it will free it up... or the trouble "sound" will go away. If not, look elsewhere.

When mine stuck, or went bad I was in Baja... it sounded like a soda can of rocks. I limped 100 miles with the sound in my ears. Replaced it, and had no more noise/issues.

Ultimately; I've ALWAYS run the stock (auto) tensioner...

With a manual tensioner, you have to stay abreast of your tension... correct? (rhetoric)

One more maintenance item to check... and then, the questions remains; How often do you have to check/tighten?

Manual = PITA

Auto = worryfree

My rule of thumb, is to change the tensioner when I do a crank replacement. By then, I'm replacing ALL KINDS of things.

Having to limp 100 miles in the middle of Baja and risk jumping a tooth doesn't sound worry free, IMO. Adjusting the manual tensioner every three or four rides takes max of 5 minutes and can be done easily on the trail if need be.

[JohnnyAirtime]

Having to limp 100 miles in the middle of Baja and risk jumping a tooth doesn't sound worry free, IMO. Adjusting the manual tensioner every three or four rides takes max of 5 minutes and can be done easily on the trail if need be.

I hear ya. And would agree with you if it happened more often, then once in the 7years I've been riding a 450X.

However, I've ridden thousands and thousands of miles on two different 450X bikes. Of those two bikes, my '05 is who had the problem and it was soon parted out due to it's second motor and first tranny failure (from a broken shift drum). To say it was ridden hard and put away wet is an understatement. That bike did me well for a long time (starting with a Baja 500 race, in 2006). And countless amount of miles and races afterward. I can only imagine what it's odometer reading would read if it had one. So yes, to say "worry free"... I'm comfortable with that.