Timing chain tensioner leaking

[mhardig]

GS450t. I took the starter cover off, cleaned it all pretty. Sanded it down, primed it, painted it with a nice hammertone enamel, and the timing chain tensioner leaks oil all over it. THe gasket between the tensioner and the head is fine, the o-ring in the setscrew is fine, it seems to be coming out from under the rotary-spring portion. Any ideas? is this common? is there supposed to be an o-ring or seal of some kind in there? I'd like very much for this bike not to be a leaker.

[cfcubed]

Mine leaks too... Hard to tell from where but I'm changing its gasket as I have the carbs off for an intake O-ring job. Good stuff here:

http://bwringer.com/gs/camchaintens.html

[mark]

Just rebuilt mine according to bwringers thread, but I have an 850. There are seals in there that need to be replaced. I'm not sure about your model or if the tensioner is the same. You could check Bikebandit.com and see what parts are available for your tensioner or check with your dealer.

[JMHJ]

I had the tensioner off on my old '88 450L to remove the starter. After reinstallation, it had a small leak. I too thought it was at the gasket, and tightned the two bolts, with no effect. I was tweaking around with it some time after, and twisted the little spring-loaded knurled knob a couple of times and let it fall back into place, and surprise! - no more leak after that. Don't know why.

[bwringer]

Your cam chain tensioner may look a little different, but the principles of disassembly operation will be the same.

I give dimensions and a part number on the web page for the seal around the adjuster shaft. Yours is likely the same, but please measure or check your microfiche to make sure.

http://bwringer.com/gs/camchaintens.html

This seal is probably the part that's leaking -- they get very brittle and cracked after 20+ years. It's something we all have to fix once!