This tb135 tensioner would bleed down in 5 minutes. The o-ring was badly scarred and the back-up ring was half gone. The outer seal was installed lip out (backwards I think). The piston was pitted from previous water damage. My plan is to braze the pitted ring and reinstall with new seals. My brazing skills need improvement. I could still- 1) JB weld the remaining pitting 2) attempt to braze again 3) grind off, weld, and pay for turning 4) buy a new piston for $95 5) call it good and put it together
Can you turn the slug around and use the other end? Bob
Unfortunately one end of the piston has a cavity for the idler rod and spring assembly. If I had a drill press maybe. The metal seems pretty hard though. Thanks for the idea
The outer seal should be lip out, it's there to exclude dirt. $95 bucks for a new piston seems reasonable to me, I doubt a machine shop would spray weld and refinish for that price.
Dammit.... thanks RZ I guess I put the seal in wrong. It is double lipped so I hope it lasts a while. I will have to pull the track and motor again as I couldn't figure out my 2-speed problem and the idler fork on that side is cracked and spread around a half inch. I'm going to limp it along and do some adjusting and welding when winter hits. The track adjuster held for 4-5 hours yesterday.
Finally got around to the other tensioner. This one wasn't nearly as problematic. The outer seal was installed "lip in" and I haven't been able to find a definitive answer on the proper install other than RZ's which sounded logical. No pitting on this one so a new o-ring and back-up ring replacement should do the trick. BTW the other tensioner is still holding well.