Vanabanana

Following manual procedure - my cam sprocket #1 timing lined up basically bang on the guide plate mark, I did turn the sprocket towards the #2 position just for some advance and for the mark to hang to the right a fraction just for some midnight science. The head has had a notable amount machined out of it through its life - a distinguishable identifier is the "Nissan" stamp on the head has been cut down. This setup is a known good (previously run) and has only had 20 thou removed for time around. I am realizing I installed the oil pump dry after sitting for a while so I might not actually be gaining oil pressure to see how much tension it will hold as the cam settles. I will report back my findings 😅 Appreciate the responses guys, my friend loves this car and has spent a lot of time, effort and love on this car so we want to do it right :)

I managed to sneak a spanner into the front cover and max out the tensioner side guide and removed a good amount of slack but it still lands and moves slack over to the tight side - no where near as floppy as in the video shared. On reassembly i just reused existing witness marks on the guides mounting plate and obviously wasn't enough. I attached a photo of tensioner protrusion after adjusting the guide still some slack somewhere but am now out of adjustment. Cranked it a fair bit to try get oil pressure and after a while put the tools down and called it a night. It still has more slack than I am comfortable with and have run out of guide adjustment.

Timing chain assembly had less that 10 thou km on it since it was last replaced - i reused the assembly

When turning the engine over by hand all slack goes to the tensioner side. I can try get a photo of the tensioner protrusion but from memory itd be a rough eye-ometer gauge of 20mm, which does seem a little excessive. Im going to have a look tonight for valve spring coil binding and if I have room to maybe put the cam sprocket to the '2' position. The engine has had a life and over the years an untold amount has been taken off the head however we had the machine shop measure a adequate headgasket thickness

Hey folks any advice is appreciated - I am helping my friend rebuild his L24 after it dropped a valve. He has had oversized valves and heavy duty valve springs fitted to the head. Upon reassembly I lined up the crank with the 0 degree position (tdc) and the cam sprocket lines up basically bang on with the guide plate mark. We sat the engine in and were cranking just to check operation and noticed when we stopped cranking the slack moved to the tension side and is enough to get me concerned. I have rotated the engine around dozens of times to ensure nothing has skipped and it very consistently lines up, I look down the gullet of the front cover and the tensioner is there and doesnt look like it has popped out. I understand it needs oil pressure and the tensioner spring is a little dinky and these new valve springs are quite beefy and take a good amount of torque to turn. Im assuming the heavier springs are making the cam settle backwards and pulls the slack over. Is this normal? My experience with sohc hd valve springs is limited. If so - wont the tensioner bleed off and have chain slap every start up? Snapchat-1896105661.mp4