Super Tenere Cam Chain Tensioner Failure

[RonH]

The auto tensioner will always be fully extended upon removal by design. Unless I'm missing something, really no way to see or gauge how far the plunger is extended while the tensioner is installed to get any idea how much camchain wear it's capable of dealing with.

 

[Checkswrecks]

No timing chain has ever broken on a Super Ten. That said, the chain is cheap. Adding the labor to replace it might not be so cheap if no other damage is present.

There are no specs on the chain. Not for wear, stretch, free length, etc. Wear is not a warranty issue. If the chain shows no damage, I would not bother to replace it at under~60k unless the engine was being torn down for other repairs.

I did replace mine at 83k, when I suffered CCT failure with piston/valve damage.

Eric is right, in that chains wear and don't stretch. Here was Old Git Ray's at 50,000 miles:

There area actually two ways that wear is measured and a tolerance is given in the maintenance manual, it's just that as Eric mentions neither is a nice simple measurement of chain length. One is shown under "CHECKING THE CAMSHAFT SPROCKET" on page 5-19 of the Gen1 manual, which states "More than 1/4 tooth wear "a" Replace the camshaft sprocket, timing chain, and crankshaft as a set." (Yes, the crank, which I've never even considered in this motor!!!)

The other is how the manual calls for making sure that various cam sprocket alignment marks relate. If you can't get the marks to totally line up as they should, the chain happens to be the item which wears fastest. This definitely could have been worded more directly and it's real easy to miss, but these are tolerance measurements.

Notice that the maintenance manual doesn't include replacing the tensioner with the sprockets, chain, or crankshaft. Again, it's not how I would have written it but they never asked any of us.


As for the tensioner, again the book does not give an easy length measurement to reference and from a practical standpoint RonH is right too. Instead, it calls for smooth function or to replace if not smooth. My guess is that they know if the tensioner sticks out too far, the function will not be smooth. What lets the tensioner stick out so far is a worn chain and the one part which is able to do it's job if the chain is rattling is the tensioner.

Going back to how we got into this discussion, people were addressing the symptom of a rattling CCT by replacing the CCT. I did it on my Gen1, just like so many of us, but the CCT and chain are really a set. To be more precise, they are a set along with the guides and sprockets. We just try to get by with simply replacing the two parts which wear quickest (CCT & chain).

 

[scott123007]

Since this board likes technical, technically, chain stretch has nothing to do with worn sprocket teeth or chain rollers. The pins and bushings are what wear to cause a chain's lengthening. That in turn, slowly deforms the sprocket teeth.
The type of chain in the Tenere should last well over 200 thousand miles with a normally operating tensioner, and proper oil change intervals.
You're welcome

 

[VRODE]

Since this board likes technical, technically, chain stretch has nothing to do with worn sprocket teeth or chain rollers. The pins and bushings are what wear to cause a chain's lengthening. That in turn, slowly deforms the sprocket teeth.
The type of chain in the Tenere should last well over 200 thousand miles with a normally operating tensioner, and proper oil change intervals.
You're welcome

Thank you. I'm getting all paranoid here about a waiting catastrophe and it's a long winter in the northland.

 

[Ramseybella]

That's a bit overstating your situation. :

To my knowledge no current part number CCT has failed. There have been some owner installed ones that were questioned, but there isn't enough info on those to rule out other factors.

OK defective out of the box, tried to return it to the dealer on line and since they switched new ownership I was SOL according to the new owners..
It's behind my back seat of my truck still in the box.

 

[Next]

Out of curiousity, are there any reports of the 2014+ CCTs faililng? Do we have any idea what was changed in 2014 other than the part number?

 

[HeliMark]

Out of curiousity, are there any reports of the 2014+ CCTs faililng? Do we have any idea what was changed in 2014 other than the part number?

http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=15570.msg241901#msg241901

 

[Ramseybella]

Since this board likes technical, technically, chain stretch has nothing to do with worn sprocket teeth or chain rollers. The pins and bushings are what wear to cause a chain's lengthening. That in turn, slowly deforms the sprocket teeth.
The type of chain in the Tenere should last well over 200 thousand miles with a normally operating tensioner, and proper oil change intervals.
You're welcome

:-\ We forget because we now have drive shafts!! Remember chain adjustment, chain lube sprocket replacements getting it lined up with just the right amount of tension?

 

[steve68steve]

Out of curiousity, are there any reports of the 2014+ CCTs faililng? Do we have any idea what was changed in 2014 other than the part number?

Mine failed, but only after I'd pulled it for a valve adjustment and failed multiple attempts to re-set it.


After successfully re-setting it, I installed and deployed it - twice - and both times I had chain noise that didn't go away after a few miles of riding. The second time, the timing chain jumped two teeth and I bought a Graves manual adjuster.


I have a 2014, the stock CCT was the "2BS".

 

[WJBertrand]

Do new CCTs come already set?


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[RonH]

Do new CCTs come already set?


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Yes they come retracted and ready to install, however I never install anything without first verifying function, so I tapped mine and saw the rod extended, but could not retract. Nice design in my opinion. Took a little practice to retract successfully, then installed without any problem on my 2012.

 

[EricV]

Do new CCTs come already set?

Yes. You just install it and follow the procedure to release it. People get into difficulty when they play with them...

 

[WJBertrand]

Yes. You just install it and follow the procedure to release it. People get into difficulty when they play with them...

Thanks!


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[Ramseybella]

Be aware that Yamaha updated the cam chain tensioner and superseded the old part number. They did this because of failures, so they are aware of the weakness. They may or may not acknowledge this and may or may not offer to cover some of the cost of the repair, but it doesn't hurt to have the dealer ask the regional rep or Yamaha warranty manager.

Because of the very long cam chain it's more prone to slipping than other engine designs. That said, the general rule is to replace the CCT before 50k. Nearly all the failures have happened after that. Mine was at 82k.

What's your mileage now?

Yamaha knows all the little gremlins they just don't put out a report or recalls about them..
O rings and headlight wiring?
Thanks to Robert SM at Bobby J's getting on the horn with Yamaha I had my main wiring harness replaced after months of High idle and stalling.
Not one issue has reared up in almost two months, in fact it runs better than when i bought it.
The line i was told by the Tech that did the work (thank you) the Geeks at Mother Yamaha have found nothing that could have caused this in all the harnesses that have been returned for inspection that had the same problem..
I was well you then chased off a Ghost.. This was all done Free with expired warranty and $500.00 worth of Yamaha credit for the torture, i am truly grateful for what they did.
But that should tell us they know these issues.
I am at 76000 with a manual CCT, gave it a tiny twist once or twice since install four years ago.

 

[PDX A]

My cam chain just went at 34,000 miles resulting in a massive bill of $3,400. The irony on the bill and cost dosent escape me. Change your cam chain tensioner you 12 and 13 owners ASAP

 

[SilverBullet]

My cam chain just went at 34,000 miles resulting in a massive bill of $3,400. The irony on the bill and cost dosent escape me. Change your cam chain tensioner you 12 and 13 owners ASAP

I really hate to hear these stories.Yours is about the lowest mileage failure I have heard of. Yamaha should have done a recall on this PERIOD. Now plenty of 2nd and 3rd owners of a bike and miles finally getting high enough and into the failure range. If the owners are not reading on the forums about this issue and taking action (probably well over 50% don't) the CCT will fail and be a costly repair. It is not a case of IF it will fail, it is a case of WHEN it will fail.

 

[WJBertrand]

Even though I have a second gen model, I think I'm just going to change the tensioner during the next valve clearance check at 52,000 miles. Cheap insurance and it looks like Yamaha has updated the part number yet again since I bought my '15.

 

[SilverBullet]

My Gen 2 CCT is still quiet as a church mouse after 65K miles. I have no intention of replacing it as long as it stays quiet. My Gen 1 CCT started making a little noise at 13K miles. I had it replaced under YES at 42K miles when it got a little louder. I think I'll need to replace the cam chain before the CCT.

 

[RCinNC]

Any other opinions on the value of preemptively replacing the cam chain tensioner on the 2014 model? Mine 2014 has 46,000 on it, and by the time I get back from Utah it'll be close to its second valve check, which is probably a good time to do it if it's going to be done. I don't have any of the symptoms of an impending failure.

 

[SilverBullet]

Why not install a manual CCT if you're thinking to replace? I probably would have already done that instead of a Gen 2 CCT if not for my YES coverage.

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