Kawasaki GT Cam Chain Tension?

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Floyd78

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I'm driving a '94 Kawasaki GT 550 and it's been brought to my attention that the Cam Chain needs some adjustment. Anyone got any ideas on the best way to do this/ Do I need to drop out the engine? I plan on getting the manual but finances are quite tight at the moment so that's been put on the long finger. Any help would be great!!
 
not well versed on them lumps but looking at some pics the timming chain adjuster is on the l/h side of the barrel/engine..it wont need removed to do...contact me via my avatar and ill send you a link for a free manual download...
 
If I remember correctly the GT550 has the Kawasaki standard in-line 4 cam chain tensioner of the era.
It relies on a spring to put pressure on a blade, against which the chain runs.

Unfortunately Kawasaki thought it would be a good idea to put the spring at 90º to the direction in which its force must act (towards the fron of the engine), and to do this the spring pushes a rod which has a 45º chamfered end, which in turn pushes on a second rod also with a 45º chamfer.

What happens is that the friction between the 2 chamfered surfaces is too great or they get a bit stuck and the tensioner stops pressing on the blade.

There are 3 fixes available:

1: Hit the tensioner with a big stick and it will probably "unstick itself" and start working.
2: Dismantle the tensioner (very easy as it does not need to be removed), lubricate the mating surface of the rod which runs in the spring and re-assemble.
3: Get a different tensioner without the silly 90º system.

Fixes 1 and 2 are temporary as it will jam again !

NOTE: It could also be that the cam chain is too worn for a working tensioner to have the desired effect, in which case change the chain immediately.
 
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