Wear on RichardRelics Roller Tensioner

[Madpuppy]

I changed out from the spring loaded tensioner to the roller style from RichardRelics on my Max II a few years ago. I maybe have 40 hours on them since I did the change. I was working on annual maintenance and noticed the rollers have some pretty deep gouges in them. I have the rollers pretty tight but there is still play on the bottom chain. So that raised a few questions:

how much gouging is "normal"?
when should I start to worry about the rollers and consider a replacement?
if I do need to replace can I buy just the wheels?
I have the rollers on top of the chains, should I put the rollers under the chains?
finally how tight should I have the rollers against the chains?

[racerone3]

my home built versions gouge down till the rollers of the chain are touching, and not just the side plates, then stop wearing. only time I see any more wear is if one stops rolling

[john swenson]

madpup...on a max 2 the tensioner on the chain from the center axle to the front axle goes on the top of the chain and the chain from the center axle to rear axle goes on the bottom of the chain. tensioners are always on the slack side of the chain. you don't want the roller to wear down till the chain is rubbing the bolt that is thru the roller. i'm not sure what the average hrs. on those rollers should be before changing. make sure the rollers are on the correct side of the chain atleast . johnboy va.

[mike d]

There's a lifetime guaranty on the rollers to the original purchaser.

[Noel Woods]

I had the gouging issue on these tensioners a few years back. Richard stood behind his guaranty, no questions asked, and provided replacements, free. Those have been on my Max2 for several years with no issues. I think there was an issue with the supplier providing Richard with the initial batch of rollers that had an issue. Follow on generations of the rollers have not had these issues. I highly recommend them.

[True Patriot]

There's a lifetime guaranty on the rollers to the original purchaser.

Just spoke to Richards about this problem. From his website, he quoted, "Our adjusters carry a LIFETIME GUARANTEE never to slip, or we will replace them free. This applys to original purchaser of our MAX II adjuster set." Yes he misspelled applies.

If you have too much slack on the bottom, try raising the side on which there is slack, using a floor jack and a stand (or milk crates) on either end, and remove the slack by rotating the tires while in neutral. That will create more slack on the top, which the adjuster will overcome. Too tight, and you will groove the bushings.