Mystery Seal in Cam Chain Tensioner

[bwringer]

I was all set with o-rings to rebuild my cam chain tensioner today, when I encountered this mysterious seal instead of the o-ring I expected:





The seal was in the center of the large 30mm nut-like thingy at the left.

Can anyone tell me where to find one of these? Say, in Indianapolis, on a Monday? I'm calling these folks first thing: http://www.mspseals.com .

Thanks!

[gremlin]

bikebandet says its a WASHER. you can look up there schematic there.

http://www.bikebandit.com/

[earlfor]

Check with these people, I have been buying from them for years and they are first rate. AND, they are next door to you. :-)

http://www.crc2onlinecatalog.com/

I believe the owner's name is Bob Eberle (spelling may be wrong) :-) I've spoken with him quite a bit, super nice guy.

Earl

[bwringer]

It's definitely NOT the washer (part # 18 ) on the screw and locknut.



The seal is on the other side of the cam chain tensioner (between the nut # 21 and the o-ring # 20 ), and seals the shaft that rotates and moves in and out when the knurled knob rotates.

The torsion spring, the shaft, the part with the knurled knob, and the part with the large 30mm hex that screws into the tensioner body are not listed or shown on this diagram, on my microfiche, or on any other diagrams I can find in my manuals or on BikeBandit.

This shaft has a ramped collar so that it moves in and out when it rotates. The end of the shaft then pushes against a taper on the hidden end of the pushrod (#15) to keep moderate pressure on the cam chain tensioner without allowing it to get kicked back. The external torsion spring keeps the mechanism under pressure.

It's a tiny little oil seal, not an o-ring or a washer. It's a miniature version of the type of seal you'd see on a crankshaft, driveshaft, or camshaft on a car. It's a press-fit into the large 30mm hex piece, and is made of rubber over a metal frame.

Part #20 is just the o-ring where the large nut assembly screws into the tensioner body - no problems there.

The mystery part is an oil seal meant for a rotating, moving shaft, not a simple o-ring. I definitely couldn't just substitute an o-ring -- the press fit holds the seal in place when the shaft rotates and moves in and out.

I hope this makes things a little clearer -- if I don't have any luck with industrial supply places, I'll check with Cycle Recycle on Tuesday to see if they have any ideas. I go down there quite a lot, and they're great people.

I have found an industrial supply web site that lists this exact size oil seal in Viton as a stock item, but I'm not sure they'll sell just one for a vaguely reasonable price. I'm hoping I can find it locally at a supply house in Indy.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

My '79 GS1000E tensioner has 2 o-rings and 1 seal. I believe your tensioner is the same or similar. The Suzuki part # for the seal is 09284-10006. Got mine in 3 days from the local Suzuki dealer. Hope this helps.

[bwringer]

KK, that's what I wanted to hear! I'll probably order it Tuesday if I strike out with the industrial suppliers. It's $1.47 at Ron Ayers, so maybe I can save a few bucks on shipping.

I found this diagram in the back of my Haynes manual in the section on later models:



Does that look like yours? (3 bolts instead of 2)

Yes, I know, the Haynes legal team is probably writing my C&D letter already...

[bwringer]

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!

I finally located the seal on the BikeBandit diagram for the '83 GS850GL model (mine is a GS850G).

I then did an OEM part number search using the number KK provided and it matched to BB's "in-house" part number.

Cool!

Keith, I owe you a large frosty beverage of your choice if we ever meet. Thanks!

[KEITH KRAUSE]

No problem. As you've found out, the seals are the same.
I probably should have remembered to tell you to look up several years/models of tensioners. The tensioner seal is used on many models, but for some reason it doesn't show up on every diagram.

[bwringer]

I found a local company called, believe it or not, "Metric Seals" and grabbed a seal with the same specs from them. Scchhweeeeet!

This is probably one of the last good weather weeks we're going to have here in Indiana, and I'd hate to spend it bikeless waiting for a stinkin' $1.47 part.

Back on the road tonight!