Howdy all - how difficult is it to compress the tensioner by hand then slide the retainer pin in?

 

Other methods welcome also.....

 

Ryan 97 OBW

I use a vise, compress it slowly. A large C clamp might work as well

Very. It also has to be compressed at a slow, steady rate. Use a regular bench vise, it works well.

 

Regards,

Adnan

Very important to compress it VERY slowly. IIRC, the manual says 2 minutes or something of that magnitude.

Haynes gives a warning about the later version, but if you're working on the '97 OBW in your sig line, I don't remember seeing any warning.

 

Since my vise was one of many tools that didn't make the trip cross country last year, I got by using a jack and my Jeep. Now that I think about it, it took about 2 minutes for it to compress all by itself. It moved so slowly that I couldn't actually see it. Make sure the holes are lined up.

...and when your finished with that the next step is to post your question only once...

A large C clamp works just as well, and is a lot cheaper and easier to carry than a vise. . .