Acceptable Brands For 6010500711 Timing Chain Tensioner? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Squiggle Dog · #1 09-27-2019, 04:42 PM

I'm doing a timing chain replacement on an OM603 engine and am trying to figure out if replacing the tensioner (part number 601-050-07-11) would be a good idea. I'm doing this on a tight budget, so genuine Mercedes is out of the question.

I've seen the following brands available: Bapmic, Begel, Febi, Laso, and Meyle. But, I'm wondering, which ones are good quality, and which ones are junk? Would I be better off picking one of the brands (and which one) or just continuing to use an original tensioner? I have an original with 189,000 miles on it.

Diseasel300 · #2 09-27-2019, 10:43 PM

The tensioner I sent you in your care package is a good used one. There's not much to them inside, a couple of BB's, some springs, and a plunger.

Squiggle Dog · #3 09-28-2019, 03:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diseasel300

The tensioner I sent you in your care package is a good used one. There's not much to them inside, a couple of BB's, some springs, and a plunger.

I've been leaning on the side of using it. I'm not familiar with the construction and since we are definitely putting a new chain in it, was wondering whether a new one should be purchased. At least they are easy enough to change. But, with the financial situation as it is, I'll probably use the one I got from you. The one from the old head probably has 305,000 miles on it, so I was suspect of that one.

Diseasel300 · #4 09-28-2019, 10:30 AM

Based on the internal construction, I wouldn't hesitate to use it. I wouldn't hesitate to use the 305K one either if it were taken apart and de-sludged. There's not much to fail in there and with good oil pressure there's not much movement either. The engine it came off of had who knows how many miles (odo said 173K when I got it, but hadn't worked since Christ was a carpenter...) but the chain guides were still good and the chain only had 1 degree of stretch, so I'd say that's good enough!

You can see the construction of the tensioner's internals here:

Squiggle Dog · #5 09-28-2019, 04:31 PM

Good deal. We'll go ahead and use the one you sent. But, if anyone has experience with different brands, feel free to post for others who may be pondering the same.

Squiggle Dog · #6 10-26-2019, 08:01 PM

I found the used lower-mileage timing chain tensioner has flattened threads, and it won't thread into the head anymore. The original tensioner threads in no problem.

So, I was going to swap out the internal parts from the lower mileage one into the higher mileage one. But, the bore inside the high mile housing with good threads is very worn and likely to lose pressure. The plunger from the lower mile tensioner has some, but not excessive wear. So, I'll end up with a very worn bore and a moderately worn plunger.

I guess it is what it is, but it will definitely need to be replaced at some point because I can imagine it will leak oil pressure due to the extreme wear in the bore of the housing.

Are there any aftermarket brands of acceptable quality? I read somewhere that brands like Febi don't have a built-in check valve, but am not sure if that's true.

Diseasel300 · #7 10-26-2019, 08:06 PM

Of the brands you listed in your original post, Laso tends to be an OE supplier to MB and BMW. Of the choices available, I'd lean towards Laso. To get the car up and running, I wouldn't hesitate to build a tensioner using the best of whatever pieces you have. If the original high-miles one was working without letting the chain flop around, any reduction in wear can only make it work better right?

Squiggle Dog · #8 10-26-2019, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diseasel300

Of the brands you listed in your original post, Laso tends to be an OE supplier to MB and BMW. Of the choices available, I'd lean towards Laso. To get the car up and running, I wouldn't hesitate to build a tensioner using the best of whatever pieces you have. If the original high-miles one was working without letting the chain flop around, any reduction in wear can only make it work better right?

I'm not sure how well the original tensioner was performing. The engine tended to run rough, shake, and rattle. At least adding the less worn plunger from the one I got from you should improve it over what it was.

I threaded the lower mileage tensioner into the old head a few times to try to clean up the threads, but aluminum just doesn't do a good job of that. Kind of a shame as the bore has a lot less wear. I'll probably put together what I have and will try to get my roommate to order a new tensioner when he can afford it.

Diseasel300 · #9 10-26-2019, 09:51 PM

It's wild that it's fitting that poorly. I unthreaded it from the head by hand! Given the work by previous "mechanics" on that car, who knows how hard it's been torqued in the past.