The "TCT hack" is well known to work -- for a while. OCONUS guys have few options. US guys, including those in Alabama , have a known superior, reliable TCT available.

-- Chuck

 

Bruv, no offense, but you've drilled a hole, sanded a worm gear, and have now tried it for a mere 3K miles without any perceived issue.

I wouldn't call any of that engineering.

Doing something like this is also not for everyone. There's a lot that can go wrong.

OP really should post why he wants to do this so proper advice can be given. But I'm not sure we'll ever cross that bridge.

 

Let’s lay out some facts:

-the simple act of removing and installing the tct (without doing anything to it) can alleviate the noise for months. It does not fix the underlying issue

-any type of hand sanding, with any type abrasive, will reduce the worm gear contact inside the piston, causing bleedout through the piston. It will lower the pressure inside the tensioner. The point of glass beading the worm gear is not to rough it up. It allows the worm gear to wear into the piston, INCREASING its surface area, the same as honing the cylinders allows the rings to wear in to the cylinder walls. If you are not going to glass bead or mildly sandblast the worm, leave it alone. Glass beading the worm has limited success, but has helped some.

-but most importantly, which is something the video did not show or state, was if the noise was tensioner related. There are many noises this engine can make, and doing tct mods will not cure any of them.

-are you sure the noise you are hearing is tensioner related? Post a sound clip if you like. TCT noise is easy to distinguish.

 

The underlying issue is the chain stretching and taking the TCT out of its calibration range. Billman's TCT is really the best solution, because it's a permanent fix, it increases the calibration window of the TCT, and it bolts up like stock. I prefer it over the Toda TCT, considering the quality of the part is above the Toda version and is cheaper even without the core refund, I don't see the issue.

 

Engineering to me is problem solving by design and development, it may be that what I've done is only a temporary fix and as Billman stated it may only be the removal and re-install of the TCT that is the reason for the noise having gone but it's still problem solving.

I'm not saying what I've done is the final or most effective fix but it is working so far and even Billman's TCT has gone through numerous revisions to get to the design he currently uses - which I'd also call engineering.

As you stated doing it yourself is not something everyone will want to do but equally some people would rather try to find a solution themselves instead of just purchasing a part that someone else has done the engineering/R&D on. There's obviously a few aftermarket options for this but all I'm saying is someone shouldn't be shot down or belittled (that's not aimed at your comment btw) just because they don't immediately want to spend money when there may be other options to try.

 

Agree that R&D, experimentation, is indeed engineering.

What everyone is saying though is this isn't a safe place to experiment.

Its not just about getting it wrong, but simply not getting it right can easily destroy your engine. See Billman post.

We couldn't in good conscience not strongly recommend the proven solution that can just be purchased off the shelf.

 

When you live Outside the USA, simply buy a Toda or the new Blox TCT and you are done.

 

Chuck, can you please explain for me what a b series TCT is?

 

Chuck is probably referring to Ballade when he talks about a "Brand B" tensioner. It's a garbage product that can (and probably will) dump metal shavings into your engine. I don't see any reason not to call it out by name.

There are a bunch of threads about the Ballade TCT.

 

B as in Ali Babba brand? The Japanese corporation that built the TCT is NTN, they have subsidiaries Nissin and Adler, so if you get a TCT from one of those brands you know you're getting the factory spec TCT. Any other TCT is a cheap knock off, and should be skipped. All the good TCTs Stock/Billman/Toda use the factory TCT as the foundation.