So round up of lessons learned - I expect they've been learned and posted elsewhere, but I didn't see them. I throw them in here for what they're worth.

1. Extracting the pins that hold the guides. I used an M6 bolt and some thick washers as spacers. The holes for the pins are not on an even part of the casting, so I used an extra washer and my feeler gauge to make up for the unevenness.

2. Pulling the pin for the pivot on the tensioner guide: I have now seen a thread where a guy recommends using a magnet. This would not have worked for me. The pin isn't tight, but it's too tight for any magnet I own. A piece of soft tubing over a 3" M6 bolt worked great.

3. My fear of the chain dropping off the crankshaft sprocket drove me to bungee the cam sprocket to the hood. This worked great to maintain chain tension as I pulled the sprocket off and yanked out the guides.

4. Next time, I'm going to get a friend to turn the engine while I guide the new chain in / the old chain out. Dicking around with the zip ties every 90 degrees of camshaft rotation was tedious. Having another pair of hands would have saved me ... an hour maybe?

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1988 420SEL