i don't remember which way the cam chain tensioner is suppose to face...i always use sharpie or nail polish to mark lines on the outside before removing parts (make that a habit)....if the automatic tensioner latch is not holding or teeth are worn...your tensioner may be bad...replace....don't run your engine with the cam chain tensioner sticking all the way out or if you can move it with your hands back in with your hands on any of the teeth...the latch should be holding it from moving back in...

 

If all you want is quiet, backing off bolts then retightening after the unit clicks over or jamming something down in the OEM unit bashing it into another notch will work fine... of course if you screw up and get it too tight it is possible to seize the cam/head bearing surface. That is the reason people do NOT do any gimmicks. It is pure mechanical engineering to properly take the slack out of the chain rather than do some hap hazard method.

So, if it works you saved about fifty bucks and if you're fortunate it might hold adjustment and not slip again. If it is too tight you risk a couple hundred dollars in damage... heads ain't cheap. I've given you the mechanical explanation of why the OEM unit can fail and the fact that chains are not meant to run under tension. I also think I mentioned putting too much tension on the chain can pull the cam against the metal bearing surface machined in the head. Break that few thousandths of an inch of oil film on the journals and get metal to metal contact, you risk damage. If installing a part that can be adjusted within a few thousandths of an inch quite easily and hold that setting seems like nonsense and some short cut risking putting excess stress on the cam drive makes sense, have at it.

I could care less if you bought the part I make, but I hate to see anyone do some shortcut that can risk damaging their bike.

I just looked at the OEM unit that came out of my KLX250 and the part is made to only fit in one way and I'm fairly certain that the part will not fit properly if installed 180 degrees off. The plunger is both offset and cut to allow clearance on the cylinder head and if put in the wrong way around the plunger would NOT move enough to contact the slider. That was one of the concerns making the replacement part - clearing the casting of the head.

 

I can show you a couple of tensioners you would probably say are fine. But I have examined them after they were pulled due to inability to lock into place. The teeth show one with a definite polished tip (chipped then polished due to the constant back and forth motion over it) and the back side of the rack shows a polished surface where the tensioner slides in and out. I had two from the 650 and one from the 250. Then there is the ZX6RR tensioner I have and the one I sent back to the guy who had me make one for his GSX1250. They are pictured on my web site.

There is a whole lot more pressure than you can generate by hand when the cam drive tried to snap back under deceleration. That is why it can chip and damage the tooth at such a small level yet still snap back and forth over what seems to be teeth in excellent shape. You have to realize what you are looking at. If you've ever seen a gear box with damaged shifter dogs that allow the transmission to pop out of gear you would be surprised how minimal the wear might be yet still allow the problem to occur. Same here but on a far smaller visual scale.

Here is the one from my 250, I didn't clean anything other than wiping oil off with a towel:




It's been sliding in and out over about 1/2" and that one tooth that is shiny is the damaged tooth where the tensioner does not seat.

Here is the ZX6RR with my comments:



If this does not make mechanical sense I have nothing else I can explain. There was no guess work in my researching the problem a few years back. I used the evidence at hand and what I learned from others, then the mechanical application requirements for chains came in to play for the solution. I needed to understand what I was fixing - on MY bikes first. Then others got with me to get the kits as I started making them. Most of the kits I do came about due to other riders requesting them after seeing the problem and understanding what and why.

If there was a short cut that actually solve the problem of keeping the cam chain drive in proper adjustment I would have used it. I have the knowledge and background to have known and understood. There was no short cut other than the manual unit. I also arrived at that conclusion after some serious discussion with some very well qualified mechanic/technicians I knew and worked with at the motorcycle shop. At this point on that bike 30,000+ miles with four minor adjustments, the first 2 were relatively close together as the new cam chains seated in (2 chains on the 650).