awitowsk, find a metal rod or long screwdriver, put one end on the engine in the area where you are hearing the noise then put your ear on the metal tool. You will be amazed at what you can hear. By going around the engine, including putting the rod on the exhaust headers you should have a really good idea of what the noise is. You will be able to hear the valves actuating, cams turning, cam chain and all the rotational parts associated with the crank shaft. If you have a ticker you will almost certainly hear it with the rod on the exhaust headers. There is room to get the rod on the headers, right at the cylinder head without removing any plastic.
Turning the cam chain tensioner CLOCKWISE pulls the plunger in. If the plunger isn't fully pulled in, it will release again when you take the screwdriver out. If the plunger is turned all the way in (clockwise), turn it COUNTER CLOCKWISE (British = Anti-Clockwise) to release the plunger. I highly recommend that no matter what, you finish by
lightly turning the screw in the cam chain tensioner COUNTER CLOCKWISE with a screwdriver to ensure there is no hang-up when the plunger extends. All CW and CCW directions are from viewing the screwdriver hole, while looking toward the front of the bike.
The plunger extends in one direction by means of a spiral shaft inside the plunger, it is not a notched shaft. The problem with my tensioner was non-linear spring tension. With the plunger nearly fully retracted there is strong spring tension but by the time the plunger is ~1/2 way out there was almost no tension. The plunger's normal position is ~1/2 way extended when everything is new. It is a pretty sure bet that there wasn't enough spring tension to take up the chain slack when I released my CCT.
The CCT is held in by two bolts, one is easy to get to, the other is a real pain. We will find out how comprehensive your tool collection is
You will probably want to remove your tank just to get it out of the way, but there is no need to open the valve cover. Be sure to install the new CCT with the arrow up.
ahamlin01 has gone through several CCTs, the last time he replaced his CCT he kindly mailed it to me so I could do an autopsy on it and compare it to my failed CCT. The spring tension on his CCT was significantly stronger than my failed CCT and the spring tension was more uniform through out the travel. The following is part of a letter that I sent to ahamlin01 after comparing parts. Because we have had the little blighter in our hands it is easier for us to envision how the parts fit together.
============================
Your CCT has *a lot more* spring force than my CCT has. That is a genuine scientific measurement
Still, I am unimpressed with the spring force provided. Your CCT has the same wear marks, extension, rod stability, spiral shaft condition and static spring characteristics as mine. The spring tension of your CCT does not fall off dramatically the way my failed CCT does.
Here is an interesting discovery, the spring in the CCT is not in compression, it is wound up like a clock when the CCT is assembled. The following really needs pixs to save a lot of words, I will try to get the pixs fairly soon.
The CCT rectangular rod goes through an end cap that is retained by a circlip. The end cap has 4 tabs, with one tab wider than the others to align the rod within the CCT body. When putting the CCT together the rod has to be fully extended making it too long to let the end cap tabs reach down into the slots in the CCT body. As you turn the tensioner screw to retract the rod it winds up the spring. As the rod shortens it lets the end cap tabs engage the slots with enough room for the circlip to slip into the ring groove. Depending on how I hold the rod and how deeply the spiral shaft is initially engaged into the center of the rod, the spring tension can go from almost nothing to very strong after the circlip is installed. The key point here is that this assembly operation is variable and has a direct relationship to the final spring force of the CCT. During assembly, one turn + or - of the tensioner screw makes a significant difference in the final spring force. Two full turns is like night and day in spring force. Because the end cap can only fit one way it forces the tensioner screw to complete a full 360 degree rotation between end cap tab engagements. How far the spiral shaft was initially engaged onto the rod will determine the actual number of turns of the screw before the circlip can be installed which determines final spring force.
The Engineering part of me wants to believe that there is a minimum and maximum spring force specification that falls within one full turn of the retraction screw. The Manufacturing Engineer in me wants to believe they have a fixture which will always results in a consistent number of turns before the circlip goes on. The Quality part of me wants to believe that all the CCTs are tested to verify conformance. The realist in me acknowledges that most likely there is no assembly jig and the CCTs are only audited, not 100% tested :glare:
The cam chain slipper that the CCT presses against is pinned at the bottom end (near the crank gear) and is tensioned by the CCT's rod, contacting the slipper about 4/5ths of the way to the top resulting in good mechanical advantage. If the CCT were too forceful the chain slippers would have excessive wear which apparently no one has seen. If the CCT is not forceful enough... I don't want to go there
