Timing Chain Tensioner: Yay or Nay?

I am in the process of putting my 340 back together. I have a tensioner but have read good and bad about them thru the years. What's your say?

Never used one yet. Just something else that can cause problems so spend the money xtra money towards a better chain set.

Mine came apart and tried to eat its way through the cover. The best chain you can find and thats it. I consider it a maintenance item.

Evrytime I take a motor apart, even after just a little while, the chain is as sloppy as a pie eating contest. So I tried the tensioner on my stroker 392 Hemi for the drag Week car. I was skeptical, expecting to see shavings of plastic in the oil and trenches dug into the plastic guides. But nope. Timing was steady, and when I pulled it apart there was zero wear on the tensioner guides. I'd do it again.

I used one on a 340 build but also used a crankshaft oil slinger and the oil dripper on top oil hole it was A-Ok when pulled down many years later

I used one once and it chewed into the plastic. My experience. If you have one and it's been run I bet if you take it off there will be marks/grooves. Might not be a big deal, as the engine was still running fine.

from what I have read it was the fix for sloppy chains and the noise it makes on magnum V6 and would be installed on 5.2-5.9 engines by the dealers for same complaints.

LA engines are hard on the T-chains and I have seen some so sloppy they eat the drip tab off slapping around and you can hear the chain slap at idle often indicating a sloppy chain and erratic timing.

I notice they can be a PITA sometimes with a good double row chain/gears on install as the chain is tight/thicker/more prying and a stock magnum v6 chain/gears tight/thinner not as much prying to get it installed.

I have a low mileage stock chain/gears with some slop to them on my LA engine just adding the tensioner. the chain has enough slack it slides right in place snug and is tight when you pull the lock pin. rock steady and still in service on my daily driver.

I also drilled a pin hole in the lifter oil galley plug and tensioner plate that sprays a stream of oil on the chain/tensioner/fuel pump arm/eccentric along with using the crank oil slinger.

I vote yes but only with a stock chain/gears and no double row chains.

I have never ran them on anything, until I was putting together my daily driver mid 12s deal in my 69 dart on the cheap for fun. Double row chain was super loose. Aka junk, I put one on and 13,500 miles later with 3 cam swaps it looks brand new. The timing is rock solid steady. My chain isn't the smooth chain either. Just my real world experience.

Thanks all. I am gonna run it. It's brand new and I always use an oil slinger and drip tab. I bought a parts truck once that had a 318 in it. The owner said it just quit running one day. I pulled it apart to find the timing chain so loose it had eaten the entire drip tab away as Scratchn said earlier. It was after that it finally skipped teeth and quit running.

I installed the tensioner into my LA SB about a year ago... and noticed that the oil slinger was hitting the bottom of the tensioner... AFTER I had the assembly all setup (degreed, etc). That was not good to see the slinger cocked at an angle against the tensioner!

So, I carefully ground the bottom of the tensioner (using a Dremel) so to give about 1/8" clearance. So far, engine runs great! BUT... I'm a bit worried about the tensioner. I used a PRO GEAR double roller chain setup that I bought from Hughes, as well as purchased the tensioner also from Hughes.... I later spoke to them about it (interference problem)... they said that they'd never heard of that matter... but also.. that the tensioner was never made to fit the LA engines... only the MAGNUMS (V6 and V8).

It wasn't made to fit an early Hemi 392 either, but with a couple mods, I made it work. BTW, this is a great topic.

joel, i have often wondered why you went with a chain instead of a gear drive on your engine ?
you may have said at one time, but if you did, my CRS prevents me from remembering............

I did end up putting a gear drive in it. Not that I had any issue with the chain/tensioner. I figured it was going to be a problem, so I ordered the gear drive after the motor was together. I probably should have done it in the first place. Project creep turned this motor into a lot more than originally planned.

The tensioner wasnt made for the double roller chains.. it was designed for the silent chains.. I have used
then in my LA builds a couple of times but normally I run a gear drive set up(far better)

The tensioner wasnt made for the double roller chains.. it was designed for the silent chains.. I have used
then in my LA builds a couple of times but normally I run a gear drive set up(far better)...

THIS SHOULD BE ADVISED BY THE MOPAR RETAILERS!... USE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!

I tossed the MP one into my 360 build some 10 yrs ago. After 10 summers of occasional use, so 10K of the typical weekend driving, I recently tore the motor down as I started to build the W2 stroker replacement.

My combination was using the Sealed Power 220-3103 chain, which is a double roller.

Anyways, off everything went, no wear, no problem. The chain was on pretty tight after all these years, and I have always found my ignition timing to be absolutely solid, no jumping around, etc.

I will be putting the very same tensioner back on my stoker...although I've always wondered if I should be tossing the crank oil slinger into that mix???

I am overkill with oiling mods on my LA junk. I drill block/cap/pump to 1/2" add 4 extra holes in oil filter plate and galley feeds to 9/32" run full groove main bearings/windage tray, add 1/4" drain back holes in-between lifter bores, drill a hole in the oil galley plug/thrust plate to help oil chain. early LA engines had a hollow bolt on the thrust plate to oil chain. I do the same when adding a tensioner.

If I use the stock oil cooler off the police car/engines I do not drill galley plug/thrust plate or bolt to oil chain as the cooler dumps oil back to the pan thru a hollow fuel pump bolt oiling the chain with cool oil returning to pan. I just use a drip tab and crank slinger with cooler.

also the police engines used a HD double row chain & gears stock but oil it with cool return oil for longevity. windage tray & full groove main bearings = more oil to rod bearings along with #1 & #4 cam bearings have oil groove for full time oiling to rockers.

I have yet to find a replacement set of cam bearings with #4 bearing having the oil groove. but I have 4 police engines that have them. I have the machine shop cut the cam journal instead.

Ma Mopar would not have done these mods if they do not improve longevity in severe duty engines... so is it really over kill?

on a side note.. when I look to buy a tensioner I do shop ebay for early NOS Mopar tensioners for v6 engines. and try not to use the AZ/advance store cheapy on the shelf brands form china. seems to be better quality that way.

good luck

Regarding sourcing the tensioner, I believe there is is only one manufacturer of it... every distributor gets the exact same one... no differences (other than marketing).

Small topic revival; but does anyone know if just the nylon wear-parts are sold seperatly somewhere?
Seems quite useless to replace the entire bracket-unit when the nylon parts seem to be made to be replaced easily.

Some 3 years of running with a double roller timing chain with daily driving.
At the time, I even wet-sanded the outside edges of the chain to remove any sharp edges that could cut into the spanner block...

Looking at the ruts I would say there's also some lack of lubrication as the nylon material seems melted a bit.