Duckrs

Anyone know if there's a way to re use them. Heard folk saying there is a way to re set them but not actually say how to do it.

Icurus

Yes and its quite easy, have done quite a few myself.

I have some text somewhere.....

this guide was originally written by someone else, and re-written by me for a little bit more clarity...

I have managed to re-set 3 tensioners today, one I did 4 times to make sure it worked.

Its really quite easy once you have done it a couple of times.

ALWAYS KEEP THE TENSIONER POINTING AWAY FROM YOU, AND WEAR EYE PROTECTION!!!

You will need a G clamp, and I removed the swivel foot from the threaded end.

A vice to hold the G clamp

An old feeler gauge blade 0.50mm


Now if you look at the piston it has 2 circlips, one in the middle and one at the top

The one in the middle stops the piston moving back into the main body when it has been popped

The top one holds the piston in the main body ready to be popped


Now make sure the spring is inside the main body
Slide the piston into the main body
Now make sure that the middle circlip is in the upper groove of the 2 middle grooves in the piston
mount main body and piston into the G clamp and secure in a vice

Now for the 1st tricky part!

Using the old feeler gauge blade that you cut down to be just able to wrap around the pistons body without the 2 ends meeting, compress the circlip and tighten the G clamp so as to push the piston into the main body with the circlip remaining compressed in the upper groove, bit like sliding pistons into an engine block so to speak.

Once the circlip dissapears into the main body, you should be able to hear it clicking as you slowly wind in the G clamp. This is the circlip passing the grooves in the main body and is ment to happen.

Carefully wind in the G clamp until the top of the piston is almost flush with the top of the main body

Now for the 2nd tricky part!

That top smaller circlip sits in a groove that is ever so slightly wider at its lower section, so that it splays the circlip out and makes it sit in a groove at the top of the main body, and with the pressure of the spring inside the main body, keeps it there stopping the piston from popping out.

So with the top of the piston ever so slightly above the main body, take your feeler gauge, which should hopefully have a cylindrical shape and use it to push the top circlip into the main body, thus forcing it onto the wider section of its groove.

Now very slowly un-wind the G clamp whilst holding the tensioner, and if all went well, the tensioner will remain latched and drop out of the G clamp and into your hand!

If not, just wind in or out the G clamp and adjust the height of the piston to main body and try again. This part took me a few goes to find the correct depth required.

**EDIT** I reset another one today, and found that once I had wound the tensioner 90% of the way in, if I moved the very top circlip, this is the LATCHING circlip, If I moved it as far down its location, that is away from the top of the tensioner, and then wound the rest of the body in until the top was almost flush with the main body, then slowly un-wound the clamp, it had latched itself!

Mark_

Nice write up Pete, helpfull as always