how often do these go bad, i have a bit of noise in my motor thought it might be the cam chain, had a oldsmobile with a quad cam set up and its a similar noise. changed it and no more noise.. i know the tensioners are really expensive and i would hate to drop 450 just on a hunch.

 

Get an automobile stethoscope from autozone to pinpoint problems like this without taking everything appart.

 

and what am I going to do with that exactly..

 

ummm...listen?

 

theres a metal rod on the end and you stick it on the surface of whatever might be making bad noises and it amplifies it into your ears.

 

why cant i just do that with a long screw driver.. worked back in the old days..

 

yeah same principle i guess. wont be as precise though. I got mine for $7.

 

well i might just have to do that, the car runs good, just alot noisier them my friends 1.8t's and mine has far less miles... they have 145k and 135k on their motors and you cant hear theres, they dont make a sound mine is noisey as all hell