Hi there,
I am in the process of replacing some parts on my r53. Belt tensioner,idle pulley,valve cover gasket.....and chain tensioner. There are many ways for us to access the chain tensioner such as crawl underneath or remove the valve cover which you can gain access from the top 9f the engine. My way is to remove the tire and the fender cover and use 19mm with extension.



I cirled in red is the 19mm bolt that hold the tensioner





I use my fancy 1/2 flex head snap on (hhheh im showing off my tool) to maneuver the socket and extension in place. That's it

 

Yep, thats the way I have done it.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ide-rails.html

 

yup

 

Be careful in doing this without removing the valve cover to "pop" the tensioner. I have seen cars where the owners had taken this job upon themselves and didn't "pop" the tensioner and caused the car to jump time.

Personally I've always been a fan of hanging over the back of the engine to do a tensioner, not only to show off the assets but because I don't have to deal with taking the wheel off and the liner out.

 

Since the old tensioner is already "popped" upon removal, can't the new replacement be installed in the extended (pre-popped) position?

 

Yes, it is do-able.

Not many people know to pop the tensioner prior to starting the car, which can often jump time.

 

Understood, and great advice.

I should've been more clear in my last post, but to clarify...

I meant that rather than installing a retracted tensioner, and "popping" it from the top through the removed valve cover, one could alternately install an already extended (popped) tensioner, skipping the step of removing the valve cover to "pop" the retracted tensioner from above...

It seems that installing it already extended would be the preferred way to do the swap, rather than removing the valve cover, correct?