If you bought a timing belt kit recently from IDParts...

dgeist · **Posted:** Mon Dec 09, 2013 10:45 am

All, if you purchased a CRD timing belt kit from IDParts recently, I encourage you to contact them regarding any outstanding issues. I won't go into details as they are contacting customers (like me) by email already, but suffice it to say, it's worth making a call and checking with Corey if they were the source for your kit:

IDParts
sales@idparts.com
Phone: 888-444-7951
Fax: 781-924-5340

Thanks.
Dan

weeks101 · **Joined:** Mon Jul 30, 2012 3:29 pm **Posts:** 747

Can't you just give details?

Hexus · **Posted:** Mon Dec 09, 2013 3:56 pm

Is this a tensioner issue?

cevans · **Joined:** Wed Aug 24, 2005 12:48 pm **Posts:** 278

I'm not very happy with how this thread was posted - very "scare tactics" like. There is no reason for this.

SHORT VERSION:
KITS SHIPPED BETWEEN MID-NOVEMBER AND EARLY DECEMBER MAY HAVE A TENSIONER BOLT THAT IS TOO SHORT. THIS BOLT CANNOT BE USED. NO PARTS HAVE BEEN RECALLED, AND THERE IS NO QUALITY PROBLEM WITH ANY OF THE OTHER COMPONENTS.

The issue is that the bolt for the timing belt tensioner may be too short. Our most recent shipment which we received mid-November had bolts that were 5mm too short. I have notified every customer who has purchased the kit asking them to check the length of their bolt and we are sending replacements.

If the too short bolt is installed it will most likely strip out the 1-2 threads that it does reach. Even if those two threads are stripped you can still use the OE long-enough bolt. I myself always like using new hardware, but the factory bolt can be re-used without concern.

dgeist · **Posted:** Mon Dec 09, 2013 5:27 pm

cevans wrote:

I'm not very happy with how this thread was posted - very "scare tactics" like. There is no reason for this.

The issue is that the bolt for the timing belt tensioner may be too short. Our most recent shipment which we received mid-November had bolts that were 5mm too short. I have notified every customer who has purchased the kit asking them to check the length of their bolt and we are sending replacements.

It isn't possible to install the kit with the shorter bolt - there aren't enough threads, so there is not a huge concern for someone breaking their jeep.

Sorry for the manner in which I posted this, all. My intent was to NOT cause a scare, but to Corey's point, mentioning a problem and not disclosing it fully tends to be worse. For the record, I was only acting as a concerned customer wanting other customers to be informed on the off-chance they weren't reachable by email. I first heard of the issue yesterday while Geordi was bent over my radiator and I honestly didn't know it wasn't possible to assemble it with the shorter bolts.

I'm actually very impressed with how Corey and ID handled the situation and am very happy with the kit and their service. There's a reason they deal in automotive parts and I do not...

Thanks.
Dan

papaindigo · **Posted:** Mon Dec 09, 2013 5:37 pm

The difference in length is immediately very visibly obvious as soon as you stick the new bolt thru the tensioner as the bolt only comes out about 3 thread turns compared to the 8 or so for the proper length bolt. Not a big deal as the new bolt IMHO is a nice but not critical part of the kit, sort of like the paper timing cover gasket that rarely comes apart and is only a dust gasket anyway, so we (geordi and I) just reused the old bolt and I sent Corey an email heads up. That's why geordi knew to look for the issue on Dan's TB job which he did on Sunday after doing one for a friend of mine on Saturday.

In fairness there is no way idparts would have noticed the different length without measuring, comparing, or test fitting the whole batch of bolts to see if some were short or long. They ordered bolts with proper specs and got something else.

geordi · **Posted:** Mon Dec 09, 2013 7:42 pm

I have one thing to add about this - I don't dispute that it will be impossible to properly install the tensioner with this shorter bolt... But the key word there is PROPERLY.

Because it is threading directly into a helicoil in the hole, AND that helicoil sits barely 1/16" below the surface... I DO think that those 3-4 threads would be plenty to get the tensioner to sit in place and not fall out. Unfortunately, if anyone were to do that, and then try to apply the proper torque, I think they would just rip out the end of the helicoil and possibly damage the threads.

Just don't even try it. For want of a 30 cent bolt, you don't need to be wrecking your inner timing cover. Heaven forbid it actually DID hold the torque and you finished the assembly... It wouldn't last long in normal driving conditions, and now you need new rockers AND a new inner cover. It just isn't worth the risk at all.

Also: Dan, maybe you want to edit your first post to explain a little more? I knew what the issue was about, and even I thought that post might have been a little fear-inducing for the general public. I got a little twinge reading it at first, before my brain caught up.

dskater411 · **Posted:** Mon Dec 09, 2013 7:48 pm

While the intent to inform idparts kit buyers of the shorter bolt in this thread is appreciated, the way the original poster went about it (" I encourage you to contact them regarding any outstanding issues. I won't go into details...") was not the best choice of words. I myself instantly thought "uh oh, bad batch of parts? is my car a ticking time bomb?" The details would have taken an extra 30 seconds to explain.

dgeist · **Posted:** Tue Dec 10, 2013 9:53 am

dskater411 wrote:

While the intent to inform idparts kit buyers of the shorter bolt in this thread is appreciated, the way the original poster went about it (" I encourage you to contact them regarding any outstanding issues. I won't go into details...") was not the best choice of words. I myself instantly thought "uh oh, bad batch of parts? is my car a ticking time bomb?" The details would have taken an extra 30 seconds to explain.

Right. That's why I apologized...and praised ID for handling it well.

duramax · **Joined:** Fri Sep 13, 2013 8:03 pm **Posts:** 2

Anyone who thought the three threads of a bolt were enough to tighten the tensioner, probably wouldn't be attempting this job anyway. :banghead:

PermanentGrin · **Posted:** Sat Jan 18, 2014 11:13 pm

I didn't understand why that bolt was necessary. Do the tensioner bolts have a fatigue life issue? I reused the one in my old tensioner (mostly because I wasn't tracking that new bolt.)

If you bought a timing belt kit recently from IDParts...

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