Hi Mark

In a perfect world it's good workshop practice to renew everything.

However, as Kevin says, his camper still had tensioner/chain problems with all new parts, and my WM camper has only 40k kms on the clock from new so sprocket wear would be negligible, but still managed to jump and was already on it's second new tensioner.

Unless you have an astronomical mileage on your truck, chain sprocket wear should not be that excessive and I think you should be OK. After all it's evident that it's the tensioner which is the weak spot in the design, how many vehicles do you hear of wearing out timing gears unless by damage or huge mileages? Chains stretch with age, yes, but unless you run stretched ones for too long and the sprocket teeth become pointed, you would normally expect to go through at least a couple of new chains before needing new sprockets. Ask a biker!

Regards

Nigel

take tow
 

Hi Folks
just a check in, got all the spares but somebody undid the adjuster and fell into pieces tried everything to get back together but without the special tool was near impossible.
As a result i must have damaged it so the van only ran for 10 minutes before same problem occurred . wE Had to leave India due to our visas ending and we are due to go and collect the van at the end of June. I Will order new tensioner to coincide with this and A tool just in case. I have a little niggle in the back of my mind, it is about lack of oil pressure the old adjuster was completely shot, but could the new one suffered from this?. Any ideas or advice welcome apart from don't let people play with your new spare parts that lesson has already been learned.

I also have slight vibration in first any ideas!

Also going to change clutch so any tips also welcome.

thanks for all the advice
Mark
p.s full story on joandmarkoverland.blogspot.com

Hi guys, just scanned you blog. First things that come to mind. Did you get the extension from the customs in writing. I hope you did...

Hi mark

You should be able to pick the parts up in Australia

We have aussie members on the iveco 4x4 yahoo group so they should be able to point you towards suppliers

Have a good trip

Hi
not easy but yes have all necessary paper work going back few days early to insure smooth pick up xx

tensioner
 

hi when you order the tensioner i would order the manual tensioner as fitted on the early 4x4 daily.Same fitting & has a bolt adjustment so is not dependant on the oil pressure(in case you have a blocked oil way)Also they only require adjustment every 30k km.There is instructions on how to fit it & the parts numbers on bernhard albicker .org (put into google & use the translator).
Judder in 1st gear could be clutch worn or wet or engine mounts.

Hope this is of help.
I,m sure there is a way to set up a link but havn't got a clue.plus i'm in portugal & its sunny.

Bon dia

Kevin :Beach:

Hi
Thanks intended to to weld nut and bolt on old one so had both options. Would sticking a blast of air down the hole help clear or is there anothre way of checking and clearing a blockage. How comon is this?
thanks Mark

Hi i have never know anyone to have a blockage,but i dont see it doing any harm.
Regards

Kevin

Hi Mark

Just picked up your posts about the tensioner falling apart. I must check the HUBB more often!

The new hydraulic ones come fully retracted, I think the plunger is held in by the internal circlip. It needs very careful handling because the first time it's depressed it pops right out and won't go back in! The idea is when you fit it you must ensure it's held in and when it's bolted home, press it (cover off of course) so it pops out against the timing chain which restricts it from coming fully out and off you go with an automatically correctly adjusted tensioner. As it/the chain wears it comes out to the next circlip groove etc. to take up the slack.

The rub is, Iveco don't seem to put any sort of plastic strap or such like to hold it in place during storage. So any jolt, or drop on the parts counter etc., and out it comes! The first one I had came popped out too although it wasn't in pieces; not knowing any better then, it was a while before I realised what had happened. I eventually made up a crude tool with some thin steel shim which got it back in and it worked OK, but as from my previous posts on this topic it didn't last as long as it should and caused a chain jump, and has been replaced again now.

I think you are being very unlucky with your truck; I agree with Kev, go for the manual option to get it repatriated, you can always resolve the issue and revert to an auto tensioner later if you want to.

I dug my Iveco out of storage at Easter, not been used since last September although I run it up occasionally. Charged the batteries up first (!) then turned it over with the fuel off until I got oil pressure before starting her up with no problems. I do sometimes learn from experience! She then towed my offroad racer to Wales and back for the weekend no problem.

Regards

Nigel

Hi Nigel,

Is there any precautions or preventative medicine that can stop this happening? Too late for Mark I know. it does seem a strange design. a heavy duty truck with a cam chain that can jump easily.

Graeme

tensioner
 

There seems to be just a bad design.(if you look at any iveco 4x4 website all have the same problem)Only solution is fit a manual tensioner or a stick with the standard one and wait for it to fail.
Also the manual one is a lot cheaper.You just have to take a chance,i've not heard of anyone who has suffered any damage to the engine when it goes,however someone may know different.

Yes, it's not a good design. As I've said before, it was probably introduced to get round the bother of having to take the chain cover off to adjust the manual tensioner so reducing service times. Everything is automatic nowadays; it may just be me getting old but that often really annoys me: perhaps I'm a control freak! I imagine the case was designed for the manual one originally and the hydraulic version had to be a cobbled up design to fit. Not providing a proper method of retaining the plunger in new units is just plain daft. When I found the problem on my first replacement I did go back to the dealer; he had four others on the shelf and they were all popped out!

Kev's right, if you don't mind doing the maintenance a manual's more reliable. But a badly adjusted manual tensioner can damage the chain guides if too tight so be careful.

I must reiterate, mine only jumped because I foolishly tried to start it with flat batteries and a 12 volt booster on just one battery, which had always worked previously but this time the truck hadn't been run for some months so the tensioner, which I knew was getting weak again, had emptied itself of oil. I'd never heard of 40.10's jumping the chain before that.

I'm still on an hydraulic unit but carry a manual spare....

Nigel

Hi
Can someone make the process of setting the the manual tensioner a little clearer as I believe some of you have already done it, cannot afford any more disasters

thanks Mark


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ok no more mayday
 

Thanks every one for the help, new manual tensioner installed while laid on the floor in 1inch of monsson rain but at least it was warm along with new fuel lines seemed to have all perished while we were away.

Had enough by then so got local eicher workshop to fit new clutch ,oil changes etc funny to see 4 sets of feet comming out from under van. They took two days to fit clutch! where one of their own vehcles they did in an hour! I witnessed it dont think they are used to working in confined spaces or sit it really that bad a job! any way of to the Himilayas tomorrow. It just gets better

Mark
p.s what do people think of the ex police iveco on ebay at the moment and what weight oil do you guys put in the forward transmission.

how can I tell if the tensioner is knackered?
 

Hi Everyone,

I have been getting a rattle that seems to be coming from the timing chain, so I have taken off the cover and the chain seems tight on the tensioner side and loose on the top or right side. I can move the tensioner with a screwdriver. I have started the engine for a moment or two with the cover off and there is no rattle, had to stop because of oil pumping out! The guides that I can see I have taken off and they look like new, the truck has only done 140k. There is a bit of side movement in the links of the chain too.

any advice welcome

Graeme