Guys, I am exactly 1/2 way home on the Timing belt, tensioner service on my "sold" 86.5. My question is...due to lack of decent pictures I must ask, does the spring and plastic plunger orient "outside" the new boot...IE: the steel sleeve goes inside the tensioner boot, and is secured in place by a wire circlip, and the sleeve protrudes through the boot, and the spring surrounds the sleeve, and the plastic plunger inserts into the sleeve for retention purposes ??? I hope this is right, as this is the way I assembled mine. Looks like it could fall out though if it were to become dislodged from the idler roller assembly, and I don't see how the boot can hold the oil in the tensioner body, with the gapeing hole in the center of it, OR, is the metal pieceon the inside the boot that is secured by the wire circlip supposed to "seal" the inside of the center hole and prevent the oil from leaking out ???

 

Your assembled tensioner should look like the pic below.
The aluminium boot insert has the 'nipple' facing the carrier arm .... and the spring sits around that external to the boot. The teflon/plastic insulated piston rod drops into the nipple to seat in the tensioner piston ....

 

Yeah...thats what I got, thanks Garth. I just was a bit "dismayed" by the lack of detail in the WSM, and in the Pirtle write up with regard to this critical part of the tensioner rebuild. After trying numerous combinations, I finally settled on the configuration you just provided, so alls good. Thanks.

PS...you really did a great job on that one Garth...I know how greasy and grimy that had to have been when you started, and it looks "spotless" in the photo you posted. Mine looks like that too...AFTER 2 solid days of elbow grease and GUNK, many sacrificed toothpicks and my dear old grandmas (god rest her soul) denture brushes...

 

Garth, or whomever can offer expertise in this area...the bottom roller, to the right of the crankshaft (if seated in the driver seat), and below the tensioner body, it is secured by a snap ring on my car, and the plastic shield on my car covers it completely. On the pic Garth posted, the plastic shield leaves the crankshaft exposed on the passenger side of the car...as well as this lower roller, how impotant is this "bottom roller" just to the left of the crankshaft if viewed from the fornt of the car, and looking at the engine bay ? Mine seems to roll fine, but is pretty grimy in there under the plastic shroud. I have sprayed degreaser over all this area, but need to know if this roller is siomething that should be addressed during a complete timing belt -water pump service job, or just the tension arm rollers, and the bushings on the upper tension roller with the shoulder bolt ???

 

Actually, the pic posted above is of a '89 S4 ... so the crank idler bracket has two rollers, one visible either side of the crank nose: the '86.5 and earlier cars ( and some '87's) have one roller on the inboard side as mentioned.
These idler rollers, and the one mounted on the carrier arm pivot do not have continuous contact with the TB and do not exert tension; therefore, they tend to last .
If a bearing feels " as smooth as silk" when turned gently, it likely has lots of life remaining. If you feel even the slightest 'grit', replace the bearing ... those ones are 6201's IIRC.
If you take the housing off the two block pins, slop some antiseize on the pins ....