Sounds great. Have fun. That it takes time & ya have to work inside a budget just makes it all that much cooler when you are done.

I am just planing on shimming the clutch springs. I hope that's enough.I've reshaped my seat a few times. I seem to give it a "Mohawk" every now & then.

tbalam wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:03:


Whew!  I was worried.  I hadn't been blamed for anything in a couple weeks, but that makes me feel much better.  Thanks.

The chain was 127 mm new?  Huh?

Would you mind measuring the new guides and make a detailed comparison between old and new.

Believe it or not, I found a way to leave the crankcase in the frame and still remove the head and cylinder.

There she sits with the electrical still attached...(I put the side cases back on just to keep dirt out)

Allan wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:03:


Darn.  I wonder how that happened.

What happens if the tensioner comes apart when you're doing 70 on the freeway? (I just got back from a ride in which about 40 miles was at 70 on the freeway and my Savage has about 22,000 on the odometer.)

Also, I just priced out all the parts to do a cam chain job on the Savage and it came to $225 at Ron Ayers. That was for the cam chain, the guides, the tensioner, the clutch cover gasket, three small gaskets and the 8mm circlip. Am I forgetting anything?

Ken

KenGLong wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:03:

well you can't d but one guide without pulling the jug - had you intended to go that far?

KenGLong wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:03:


The tensioner will separate in 2 pieces, the spring will fall inbetween the primary gear and the clutch gear. As the camchain is no longer tight it will skip a few teeth, hence the valve timing is out of sequence, the valves will hit the piston causing consideral more damage than the $ 225 you have to spent now.

Required parts:

The front guide is not required. As reelting said: you have to remove the cylinder head. If the tensioner is not more than 18mm out and the housing is not damaged you can reset and reuse it. The 8 mm circlip can be reused.

Step 1 The tensioner separates:

Step 2 The timing has changed and the valve(s) have hit the piston


And so on: Now you need a complete head, piston, valves, etc.

Kropatchek wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:03:


Wow. Guess I'll get the parts on order and refrain from 70 MPH on the freeway until, I take a look in there.

This cam chain tensioner issue begs the question...how many miles do all of you put on your Savages in a year? Can't be much 'cause if I had to do this cam chain tensioner job every two years...well, you get the idea.

Ken