Topic: easy way to adjsut 550K cam chain tension???

[traveler]

Having read the factory steps to adjust the cam chain on my '77 550K, and being somewhat puzzled by it, I thought I'd ask you guys....

Is there an easy and simple way to check my cam chain to ensure it is not too loose??

Thanks,

~joe

[crazypj]

Whats to puzzle over?
 remove points cover, set to top dead center 1.4, rotate until spring post is visible in hole, unscrew locknut under carb and watch slotted end of screw. If your not sure it moved, put screwdriver in slot and tweak it a bit, spring should return to correct position.

PJ

[traveler]

thanks.

I resurrected a post that explains it, so as to have a subscription to the post and will copy it down when I get home.

I get puzzled from time to time...sorry.

~Joe

[strynboen]

i have tryed once, with no luck.. så it is not just to doing..its inporting that thain are slack,,when adjusting..i trying with a new chain..and piston 1 in top..hope that helps

[dave500]

hey stryboen,type a "W"instead of a "V"  with all due respect your note on the bottom of your posts says you are trying to learn english.umm? im only trying to help.

[strynboen]

hey thanks for kind help..vith that laungish probblem...at start i have to many wwwwwww,,så i tryed to make a less of them..i just dont have time for a scool lessions..i self get irentaited vhen the beduins vright in aur danish forum,,så i understand it is irateting..i just have så mutch to tell....and trying to only vrightint the most intresting..
but this are not abaut cam chain så sorry,,and let joe get his cam storie back

have made the w,,,,and still learning

[spitcrazy]

note that the slotted screw will only rotate about a quarter turn, be gentle and just make sure it moves freely. Hold it in place where it settles and tighten the lock nut.

I have read that to be absolutely sure all slack is taken up, before you set the locknut, rotate the crank clockwise until she's under full compression and is about to go over. The crank is then pulling the cam chain so that all the slack is on the adjuster side and you will be assured that all slack is taken up and the adjuster is doing it's job to the full extent. Have a friend help if need be

Read about it here: http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=369.0  scroll to post 11.

watch the video on this thread: http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=69500 if the adjuster's operation is a mystery, it was to me. Once I saw the video it all became clear. The manual instructions make it seem as if magic takes place when you loosen that locknut and understanding how it works helped me a lot. The manuals don't say to check for free movement of the screw do they...

[Michael Wilson]

I can't tell if my lock nut loosened or not. I can't spin it with my fingers so I tried to hold the adjuster screw and loosen it with a 10mm wrench, but I couldn't seem to get that to work either. If I turn the lock nut, the slotted adjust screw just turns with it. Any thoughts on how to make sure the lock nut is loose so the adjuster screw can move freely?

[bryanj]

If the slotted screw turns with the locknut the tensioner mechanism is, to put it bluntly, knackered (No Good, Useless, defunct, dead) and will need replacing complete which is a stripdown to base gasket job

[Michael Wilson]

Thats what I was afraid of. Bad news for sure. Thanks for the information.

[spitcrazy]

If the slotted screw turns with the locknut the tensioner mechanism is, to put it bluntly, knackered (No Good, Useless, defunct, dead) and will need replacing complete which is a stripdown to base gasket job

or maybe the locknut is ONLY rusted to the screw? I had the same problem from years of the adjuster being ignored. I broke mine free and all is good.My understanding is that the shaft of the screw has a shoulder it pinches against the block when the locknut is set. It is reasonable to assume that if the locknut is frozen on the screw that the entire issue will rotate, (mine did) if the friction of the taper is overcome (don't forget there is oil spraying aroundin the case to lubricate the taper). If it rotates further than 90 degrees in any direction I would agree it's gone the way of the dinosaur, but...

Michael, The when lock nut is loose, it will rotate freely when the screw is held still. The screw will rotate only about 1/4 turn either way. As I said, the functioning of this bit of engineering is difficult to grasp. Watch the video again and again and think on it. Once you FULLY understand how it works, you will be able to diagnose it. I don't agree that it is knackered just because the locknut is frozen on the screw.

Another video:

[Michael Wilson]

Thanks again. I will try some penetrating fluid to see if I can get that lock nut free and double check to make sure it isn't spinning more than 90 degrees. I have a good feeling that it is done for, but I will double check it again with this new information.

[kck3]

I just adjusted my cam chain tensioner on my 77 cb550k and wish I had done it sooner.  Was a simple procedure and she sounds so much better.

[bryanj]

On the opposite end to the slot is a toothed wheel that doesnt have teeth all the way round so that when in mesh with the rack on the tensioner mechanism it can only rotate about 260 degrees,   SO if it goes round and round it cant be meshing properly which means, and here i revert to a previous post, it is, to put it bluntly, knackered (No Good, Useless, defunct, dead)

[Deltarider]

I wonder if there's any of you that knows a way to improve the standard 500/550 camchaintensioner. I don't know... it's just so flimsy, vulnerable. I don't know what metal Honda choosed, but it's certainly not Rearden metal, that's for sure.

[Roach]

a few people have been puting in 650 cam tensioners you have to crack the cases i think and drill a hole and tab a new bolt.