[V8] timing belt parts list

[DieMarthaDie@aol.com]

if I may suggest... WHY wait?  you save a bit of money on the part  now, but 
risk a failure and/or the need to go back in and work in the same area  
again... why not bite the bullet and do it all in one shot so you know there are  no 
weak links?  I even threw in valve cover gaskets and a few other things  
while I was making a mess.  Others may be different, but I have NO  desire to open 
that can of expensive worms again if I can avoid it!  Once  into the breach 
dear friends is enough for me for at least 60,000 miles ;)
 
John

120K  miles is probably enough for a tensioner damper, but I think you can 
get  a
good idea of its condition just by holding it in your hand and wiggling  the
shock plunger in and out. If you feel slop, or if the action is not  smooth or
lacks damping then replace it.
I noticed on mine that the  shaft did have slop/play in it. The cause 
(determined
by disection) was  that the shock rod was coming loose where it attached to 
the
piston. I  believe at least one lister has had this unit fail - as in come 
apart.
This  of course will lead to lots of bent valves.

On the plus side, I am  pretty sure you can change the damper simply by 
removing
the right timing  cover. It may be tricky to get it adjusted correctly but I 
am
pretty sure I  did it once. If that vis true, you can do the repair any time 
you
want  without special tools.

Dave