Tensioner fails to bleed, ideas? (Solved)

[Stand-in]

So I went and replaced my tensioner pistion with this one from bimmerworld
https://www.bimmerworld.com/Timing-Chai ... 0-M30.html
However it as I work it back and forth it doesn't bleed, it stays at the same spring only resistance. The check ball is mobile I can actuate it with a needle nose, and it allowed for solvent to pass in the reverse direction when held open. Slathering oil around the piston to increase the pressure it can hold did not help the situation. It is rather cold out (~40F or 4.4C) so perhaps my 20w50 oil is too thick to bleed? Perhaps I will have my friend bring over his butane torch.

[Stand-in]

I loosed the nut on the end of the tensioner, until the oil dripped down (while running). Perhaps its time to do the timing chain as it sound horrid (slapping), but before that I will check the resistance. At least the engine runs happy and strong.
In other words it seems to have bleed it self, but a full timing job seems to be in order, or it didn't bleed itself. In any case I will see tomorrow, its much too cold right now to hurt my hands on it.

[Stand-in]

Well it took forever but it bleed itself, reason being is the tensioner was out of space in the cup to actually tension the chain, so new chain it is. Looks like I needed a full timing job along time ago. Here's to another 350,000 miles! It also seems the outside of the camshaft gear was ground a bit, so a new one of those is in my future.

Still don't know why it took forever to bleed by hand, but if it did it itself maybe it doesn't matter.

[Jeroen]

Thanks for the updates! I haven't heard of any severe issues with these tensioners before, more an issue on early ///M engines like the E30 M3's S14. So yeah it's likely to be caused by a stretched chain combined with wear on the guide rails. But 350.000 miles is quite a bit!

[Stand-in]

Thanks for the updates! I haven't heard of any severe issues with these tensioners before, more an issue on early ///M engines like the E30 M3's S14. So yeah it's likely to be caused by a stretched chain combined with wear on the guide rails. But 350.000 miles is quite a bit!

Yeah, I will send photos of the state of condition with regards to the tensioner and piston, the spring was compressed at the head, one of the alignment fins on the piston snapped off and scored around the tip of it, and the tensioner itself had cracks and deep tracks scored into it. I also seem to see quite a bit of slack on the oil pump chain, and its easy enough to do while I'm in there.
M10s being indestructible is both a blessing and a curse in this way I suppose; its bad but I don't think a newer engine would have gotten to this point. And what's more, there was no glitter in the oil.

[Stand-in]

Ok this is really the only thing I have concerns about at this point.
https://youtube.com/shorts/i-bP660LL3w

And then here is a imgur link for your enjoyment of 350000 mile timing apparatus destruction.(maybe, the engine was taken apart at some point, there are numbers 1-4 scribed into the pistons.)
https://imgur.com/a/ESvMoVk
I will add the photos of the tensioner when I can find it. It seems to be lost to the depths of my garage.

[Jeroen]

I don't see anything extreme there with that mileage!

[Stand-in]

Snow has come and the packages have been delayed, oh well.
I went and swapped out my timing chain guide, turns out that's a wear item too, check imgur for the photo. I think the tensioner just ended in the trash at this point, the chain had worn through the pad in places and had 4 cracks longitudinally along the spine.
Edit, its probably for the best I don't have the car working right now, I might make it irreparable.

[Jeroen]

but the whole operation is perfectly "just in time"!

[Stand-in]

but the whole operation is perfectly "just in time"!

The sad thing about dad jokes is the people who make them are by definition the most reproductively successful; how dysgenic!
Lol, no hate though fr fr (for real), as the kids say.
I fitted my old timing chain with the new bits as I was curious, as it turns out I might ironically not need a new chain. The timing seemed to be about right where I expected it, and the tensioner fits right in between the limits of the cup in the cover. Anyways after I compare it to the new one that's coming I might just set the new one aside for a rebuild in the future.

[Stand-in]

Ok, finally got the damn think back together. Much more smooth acceleration. I will be short as I have been wrenching from 9 in the morning, and had anything that can go wrong go wrong. Parts, installation, time, you name it.
I leave you with this interesting tid bit from bimmer world support.

"Thank you for reaching out. That tensioner has been updated by BMW and INA to help keep chain tension after the engine is turned off, to prevent chain slapping while the engine is building oil pressure. Unfortunately is has also made it way more difficult to bleed. I have been told that you can disassemble this tensioner pretty easily, and remove this spring, if you wanted the tensioner to act like the original tensioner. I am not aware of an alternative bleeding procedure for the sprung version of the tensioner (possibly pre-filling it with oil)."

So ironically 50 years on and we are still receiving updated parts.

[Jeroen]

And learning all the time! Same thing with the S14 and early S50 ///M engines that had tensioners that had a spring that was too weak, causing chain rattles at cold start, they even added a pressure nozzle to the housing to pressurize the system before the start. Upgrade to later S50/S52 tensioner with a much stronger spring was a worthwhile upgrade.

Even though the S14's engine bottom end is mainly based on the M10, I have not found anyone that compared the M10's tensioner with that of the S14/S50/S52 so I can't tell if that's an alternative option.