[E-Type] Timing Chain Tensioner Fail

E-Type
1

I have experienced a failure of a new chain tensioner on a
recently rebuilt engine. With 2,890 miles on the engine
and arriving home from a 1,500 mile road trip I was hearing
this sound:

Thanks to a recent post from Colin Bennett I immediately
had a very strong suspicion what I was hearing. Exploring
the front cover with a boroscope I found the smoking gun �
the metal tensioner backing plate pressing on the chain
with no shoe present [photo 1]. The tensioner was a Rolon.

The engine had only been in service for a month but had a
couple of long drives in that time. It had been rebuilt
over the summer by Dick Maury & Coventry West so they were
my first call. Dick, of course, was as disappointed as I
that a small, inexpensive part had failed so soon inside
the engine.

Several repair scenarios were considered but in the end the
most practical was for Dick to fly to Tucson and replace
the part in my garage. This had the advantage of not
relying another party (including me) in the rebuild and
thus preserving the integrity of CW�s work.

By happy coincidence the trip coincided with the local
(JCSAZ) Jaguar Concours scheduled for Halloween. Dick flew
in mid-day Thursday, performed the repair and let sealants
set up overnight. The failed Rolon tensioner [photos 2 &
3] was replaced with a Renold brand [photo 4] which appears
to have a shoe that is better secured to the backing plate
� wrapping a bit at the edges which may make it less
vulnerable to shear forces and hopefully held with a
superior adhesive. The Rolon body was retained for
features it has that may be superior to the Renold design.

BTW � the oil, oil filter and chain were all examined to
see where the metal went and what it looked like. Judgment
was that the chain was good, the wear particles almost
invisibly fine and that the oil filter (dissected for
examination) did its job.

On Friday morning fluids were added and we did a (bonnet-
off) test drive up Mt Lemmon. Late morning a group of
local E-Type owners dropped by to help me install the
bonnet and on Saturday morning the car appeared at the
Concours (where Dick was pressed into action as a judge).

It seems to me to be a two-part lesson:

First, hats-off to Dick M and Coventry West for not only
standing behind their work but going the extra mile (more
like 1,800 miles) to make it right.

The second part is a cautionary tale, particularly for
those who have a recently installed a Rolon tensioner.
Whether these incidents are one-off issues or a trend it is
too soon to say � but as the engine is run-in you may want
to be alert to any unusual noises, especially a whirring
sound that goes up in pitch with engine revs.

http://www.jag-lovers.org/v.htm?1446649504--
Geo Hahn 1969 OTS 4.2
Mt Lemmon, Arizona, United States
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2

In reply to a message from Geo H sent Wed 4 Nov 2015:

I must say the hospitality was great. Almost looking forward to
something else breaking so I can repeat the trip (only kidding
about the breaking part). It is a shame about the aftermarket
parts as some are better but there are a lot that are not as good.
Be careful out there. I will have an article soon as to how to
change out the tensioner with engine in the car as there are a lot
of these tensioners out there.–
The original message included these comments:

First, hats-off to Dick M and Coventry West for not only
standing behind their work but going the extra mile (more
like 1,800 miles) to make it right.

–
Dick Maury , Rebuild Dept.- Coventry West
Lithonia, GA, United States
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3

In reply to a message from Geo H sent Wed 4 Nov 2015:

A recurring problem but just to reiterate, it was a Renold
that failed on mine, my experience has been whether Renold
or Rolon, they last either a very long time or very short,
the run in period is up on my engine fitted with a Rolon, so
I am quietly confident…–
The original message included these comments:

I have experienced a failure of a new chain tensioner on a
recently rebuilt engine. With 2,890 miles on the engine
and arriving home from a 1,500 mile road trip I was hearing
this sound:

–
Keith.P. Series2 Roadster
exmouth, United Kingdom
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4

In reply to a message from sozfingers sent Wed 4 Nov 2015:

I have been able to source the Reynolds type by buying Landrover
part C36617L.–
Andrew B. '67 S1 & S1.5 FHCs,'64 S1 OTS www.projectetype.com
Adelaide, Australia
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5

In reply to a message from Geo H sent Wed 4 Nov 2015:

Hello Folks,
It is too bad that we have to deal with inferior parts. I’m
curious, what briefly is the procedure used to gain access to the
chaine tensioner? I would imagine it would involve removing the
head and the oil pan.

Wes Keyes
Yoek, Maine–
Wes Keyes
York Maine, United States
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6

In reply to a message from Weston Keyes sent Wed 4 Nov 2015:

I believe there are three failures of the Rolon part
documented on this web sit in the last 18 months to two
years. I advised all of the major suppliers of this about
a year ago when I was looking for a Reynold style part.
That Rolon junk should be removed from inventories.

I and others believe the underlying issue is that the
conical filter in the supply line is typically removed when
the Rolon casting is bolted to the block. A small speck of
dirt lodged over the pinhole opening in the side of the
cylinder casting will shut down all oil flow to the
cylinder…as well as the thru hole in the rubber slipper.
Pathetic design. I used the plunger/shoe assembly from
a ‘‘Jaguar style’’ tensioner unit from SNG in conjunction
with an original Jaguar cylinder casting. Important to
keep that conical screen in the oil gallery. The ‘‘Jaguar
style’’ cylinder casting does not include the cylindrical
reducer pip between the oil gallery and the tensioner
body. That little transfer reducer holds the conical screen in the gallery. This makes the casting portion of the ‘‘Jaguar style’’
screen in the gallery. This makes the casting portion of
the ‘‘Jaguar style’’ unit worthless. Bad situation.
Surprised the Reynold unit is available from Rover. Good
tip.–
Eric
DFW Texas, United States
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7

In reply to a message from 64etype sent Wed 4 Nov 2015:

We make sure the conical filters are installed on our
rebuilt engines. There is enough splash lubrication where
it would not be a problem if the oil hole was plugged. The
pressure is there to push it out to tension the chain. The
ratcheting tensioner keeps it from going back. There is a
small hole in the shoe area for oil to flow but as it is
only a small hole, it does not lubricate the whole chain
area. The main problem is the design of the bonding area. The
The Rolon is flat. If the bonding lets go, the shoe piece
just slips off and into the bottom of the engine. The
Reynold design goes over the top and bottom edge. Once
tensioned, it is held in place snug enough that it would
probably stay even if the bonding let go.–
The original message included these comments:

I and others believe the underlying issue is that the
conical filter in the supply line is typically removed when
the Rolon casting is bolted to the block. A small speck of

–
Dick Maury , Rebuild Dept.- Coventry West
Lithonia, GA, United States
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8

In reply to a message from 64etype sent Wed 4 Nov 2015:

Is it just me that is getting confused about how many part
manufacturers we are actually talking about? In this thread
I see Rolon, Renold, Reynold and Reynolds. As far as I can
tell from a little research, Reynold and Reynolds are just
mis-spellings of Renold, though Reynold seems to be a very
common mis-spelling if that is the case. I see references to
it on many websites, including those for MG, Healey and
other motor enthusiasts . A little more research makes the
water even murkier. If you look at this webpage:

http://www.renold.in/Products/TransmissionChainSprockets/Rol
on.asp

you will see that Renold India manufactures Rolon brand
chain! I would presume that means they also manufacture
Rolon chain tensioners. I am therefore beginning to wonder
if the Renold tensioners that are viewed by some as ‘‘better’’
than the Rolon version, are actually an earlier version
produced by Renold/France before their India-based company
started manufacturing the Rolon brand. If so, any Renold
tensioners floating around will be NOS, and probably
difficult to find. Maybe Dick Maury can shed some light on
this?

Confused…
-David–
http://tinyurl.com/b4fdupp XK140MC OTS, S2 XKE OTS, XK8 OTS
Monterey CA, United States
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9

In reply to a message from Dick Maury sent Wed 4 Nov 2015:

Dick,

You say you always fit the conical filter?
The problem with the Rolon tensioner is that it doesn�t have
the spigot that locates in the block and holds the conical
filter in place.
Do you fit the spigot?
My theory is that without the spigot and its tiny oil hole,
it is hard for the oil pressure to �pump up� the piston and
shoe and pressurise it against the chain and as the oil
pressure rises and falls with the revs of the engine, the
shoe gets knocked backwards and forwards by the chain and
eventually breaks.
If the head breaks off altogether and the piston falls out,
there is nothing to restrict the engine oil pressure
bleeding back into the sump and having no oil pressure at all.

Paul–
The original message included these comments:

We make sure the conical filters are installed on our
rebuilt engines. There is enough splash lubrication where
it would not be a problem if the oil hole was plugged. The
pressure is there to push it out to tension the chain. The
ratcheting tensioner keeps it from going back. There is a
small hole in the shoe area for oil to flow but as it is
only a small hole, it does not lubricate the whole chain
area. The main problem is the design of the bonding area. The
The Rolon is flat. If the bonding lets go, the shoe piece
just slips off and into the bottom of the engine. The
Reynold design goes over the top and bottom edge. Once

–
Paul Scott, 65 E-Type FHC, 1E32131, Jaguar 340
Oxford, United Kingdom
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10

In reply to a message from abowie sent Wed 4 Nov 2015:

This is good to know…thanks.

Crosthwaite & Gardiner offers a Renold type tensioner in
their LWE catalogue FYI C10332

‘‘I have been able to source the Reynolds type by buying Land
rover part C36617L.’’–
Doug Buchan
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11

In reply to a message from Paul Scott sent Thu 5 Nov 2015:

The tensioners we use have all had the fitting that goes into the
block agaisnt the filter. As far as moving in and out, if you look
at the design, there is a ratchet mechanism to lock it in place as
it moves out so it will not move back in after the engine is shut
off. Sometimes this is not released upon assembly so it does not
work.–
The original message included these comments:

The problem with the Rolon tensioner is that it doesn�t have
the spigot that locates in the block and holds the conical
filter in place.

–
Dick Maury , Rebuild Dept.- Coventry West
Lithonia, GA, United States
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12

In reply to a message from Dick Maury sent Thu 5 Nov 2015:

My recently purchased valve timing system overhaul kit
(from SNG) included a new tensioner that has no orifice
for engine oil at all. Just the spring and ratcheting
mechanism. Has anyone used this type? The spring seems
stiff enough to get the job done.

Thanks–
Kris Gamble
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13

My replacement was similar. Got about 4 or 5 years on it now, with five Oil Leak tours, seems to be OK.
LLoyd----- Original Message -----
In reply to a message from Dick Maury sent Thu 5 Nov 2015:

My recently purchased valve timing system overhaul kit
(from SNG) included a new tensioner that has no orifice
for engine oil at all. Just the spring and ratcheting
mechanism. Has anyone used this type? The spring seems
stiff enough to get the job done.

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14

In reply to a message from davidxk sent Wed 4 Nov 2015:

I introduced the ‘‘Reynold’’ spelling. My mistake, the fa
factory item was Renold (I just checked the old part).

Dick Russ summarized the identical failure of a Rolon part
in an April 2015 post. It’s in the archives. I had a Rolon
Rolon unit from a kit purchase 5-6 years ago. Tried to
return it with no luck because it was part of a kit and I
had already installed the timing chains. The cylinder casting has a miniscule hole in the side,and a miniscule hole in the shoe. It is not machined to accept a spigot.

casting has a miniscule hole in the side,and a miniscule ho
hole in the shoe. It is not machined to accept a spigot.

I looked for a vendor with the ‘‘Renold, Great Britain’’
part. None available…anywhere. As I said earlier SNG
did carry two parts numbers. One was for the original Rolon
Rolon unit that was residing in my junk pile. The other
was characterized as a ‘‘Jaguar style’’ tensioner. I ordered
that part and it has the ‘‘correct’’ rubber shoe design. But
the hole in the side of the casting was larger than the
diameter of the Jaguar spigot. No spigot was provided with
the part. (and no ID as to it’s manufacturer). That is
when I put that plunger/shoe with an old original style Renold
Renold Great Britain part. The missing link for the new
(‘‘Jaguar style’’) part is a spigot sized to the dimension of
the oil gallery and the tensioner casting.–
The original message included these comments:

manufacturers we are actually talking about? In this thread
I see Rolon, Renold, Reynold and Reynolds. As far as I can

–
Eric
DFW Texas, United States
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15

In reply to a message from Doug Buchan sent Thu 5 Nov 2015:

If anyone wants a Land Rover one I currently have 3 spare.–
The original message included these comments:

In reply to a message from abowie sent Wed 4 Nov 2015:
This is good to know…thanks.
Crosthwaite & Gardiner offers a Renold type tensioner in
their LWE catalogue FYI C10332
‘‘I have been able to source the Reynolds type by buying Land
rover part C36617L.’’

–
Andrew B. '67 S1 & S1.5 FHCs,'64 S1 OTS www.projectetype.com
Adelaide, Australia
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16

In reply to a message from abowie sent Thu 5 Nov 2015:

We are currently building one of the C&G lightweight engines at
the moment.

I think that the lower timing chain tensioner for it is different
from standard.

Although looking at the picture in the C&G pdf file it is
identical to my Land Rover one, even down to the casting
numbers…

I am not 100% certain though so I will check and report back.–
The original message included these comments:

Crosthwaite & Gardiner offers a Renold type tensioner in
their LWE catalogue FYI C10332

–
Andrew B. '67 S1 & S1.5 FHCs,'64 S1 OTS www.projectetype.com
Adelaide, Australia
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17

In reply to a message from LLoyd (a rithmetician) sent Thu 5 Nov 2015:

Thanks for confirmation of the oil-less tensioner–
Kris Gamble
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