Question, Manual CCT Adjustment - UPDATED!

lois · 12-30-2006, 1:29 PM

Just installed a new manual CCT on the bird. The instructions that came with it want you to pull the upper valve cover and set chain deflection @ 1/4 - 3/8" between the cams.....is there another way to adj this without pulling the top valve cover? (other than installing another automatic one, which I will not do...ever)

Madcow · 12-30-2006, 3:27 PM

Here is how someone on another forum did it. The only way I would adjust the cct this way would be to adjust it then take the valve cover off to see if it has the right amount of deflection between the cam gears.

Quote:

No problems from me. I installed a manual APE brand CCT and my Honda runs great. I did the same thing as Bmblebee. I installed it kinda on the tight side so there was a "whine" present, but i then backed it off until all the whine went away. I would recomend installing it as per the APE instructions... 1/4 to 3/8 chain deflection between the cam gears. Requires removing the "valve" cover.

Link to the thread. CycleForums - APE Cam Chain Tensioner

lois · 12-31-2006, 8:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Madcow

Here is how someone on another forum did it. The only way I would adjust the cct this way would be to adjust it then take the valve cover off to see if it has the right amount of deflection between the cam gears.

Link to the thread. CycleForums - APE Cam Chain Tensioner

Thanks.....I guess it's better to do the friggin thing right the first time and be done with it...thanks man.

Lou

lois · 01-03-2007, 9:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Madcow

Here is how someone on another forum did it. The only way I would adjust the cct this way would be to adjust it then take the valve cover off to see if it has the right amount of deflection between the cam gears.

Link to the thread. CycleForums - APE Cam Chain Tensioner

Well....just finished installing my new manual CCT....not for the faint of heart, I can tell you that.( this coming from a guy with a full automotive shop, and all the proper tools)
I did finaly remove the valve cover etc, to do the job correctly...but honesty, either ,

1) I'v been pulling wrenches for to long and have lost my mind.

2) I'v been pulling wrenches for to long and forgot how to read.
or
3) been pulling something else to much, and have forgotten what I was talking about in the first place.

What I'm getting at is, the instructions that came with the "APE" tensioner said to remove chain guide, rotate the engine in running direction, and tighten the tensioner down until you have 1/4 -3/8 deflection between cam tensioner screw and cams....hmmm, I looked and looked at this but could not seem to see how this was possible. With the tensioner installed, there seems to be no way to set deflection near the manual CCT.

Removing the valve cover was equaly perplexing. What I mean by this is, you can turn the engine in the running direction, and set your deflection to 1/4-3/8 between the cams...then, if you turn the engine over a couple more revolutions, the deflections seems to change...quite abit. hmmmm...

So....by now I'm sure that all of you guys whom have done this job before are laughing your asses off....but after much head scratching and hand wringing, I decided to re- install the old CCT and take some measurments.(yup, turning the motor over as well)
After seeing where everything sat with the old CCT inplace, I ended up talking some measurments and using this info to set the Manual CCT.(wish me luck)

So, the moral of this story, as far as I'm concerned, is this.

Although the automatic CCT's fail from time to time. The average person is FAR better off to install the factory auto unit. It takes 40 minutes, no hair pulling, and unlike myself, there is absolutly no worrying that after the job is finished, that there is a chance that you set it wrong after all, and it is simply a matter of time until your motor goes boom on some lonely road.

The End.

Lou

Madcow · 01-04-2007, 4:59 AM

To bad no one makes a manual cct like Kawasaki did in the 70's. I had a Kawi that used one like this one. It was easy to adjust.

1 take off cct cover & loosen locknut
2 take points cover off & turn engine over by hand.
3 while turning over engine watch the plunger move in & out, when the plunger is in screw in the cylinder barrel until the end of the barrel is flush.
4 tighten locknut & screw on barrel.

Here's pictures of the kawi cct.
in 1st picture you can see the plunger & barrel