Does anyone know for sure which 4.0 tensioner has a washer and which doesn't? I looked up some threads but there was only one person who said they did theirs and it was front washer/rear no washer, but my tensioners came front no washer, rear with washer. They were in seperate sealed bags and seperate boxes, so not sure which info to go with. I even called ford parts look it up and they said they weren't 100% sure which had a washer and which didn't because their system said it didn't have washers at all?!? Anyone know for sure which is which??

 

First of all what year is your ranger, I just did mine about a month ago and it's a 4.0 2007. Neither of mine had a washer on the original tensioner's but when I replaced them with OEM Ford parts I used a washer with both of them with Teflon tape wrapped around the washer for added sealing power which was suggested on this forum. So far I have had zero oil leakage and the small cost for the washer is worth it as far as I'm concerned.

 

When I replaced mine, neither tensioner came with washers. It was that way both times I replaced them. From the factory, mine did have one on the front tensioner but none on the rear. I don't know if that was on purpose or a mistake. I tried to order new ones when I did the second replacement but they we on national back order and I could not wait. So, I still have the original washer on the front and none on the rear. I just use a thin coat of silicone on the rear and that worked for me both times.

 

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It's a 2003, sorry, forgot add that in post. I figured out the whole issue I was having with ny tensioners making noise, and I'm guessing why a lot of other people have issues with aftermarket tensioners not working good or leaking. The 2 oem tensioners looks like there's no washers, but There IS in fact paper thin washers on BOTH of them. They are also coated black and the same color as oem tensioners. The aftermarket ones came with a thicker alum waaher (approx 0.5-1mm thick). The oem washers are about as thick as a sheet of paper. I needed a razor blade to seperate it and remove from tensioner. Just by looking at the tensioner, it appears it has no washers, and the only reason I found it was because I couldn't figure out how it was sealing against oil pressure so I inspected it with a magnifying glass and saw that the flats where socket goes had an ever so slight round bottom to it. Ridiculous. I'm guessing this is why people have issues with oil leaks at stuff because they think the oem has no washer when they removed it. It is also stuck to the tensioner really good, but an razor blade seperated it cleanly.

So for anyone doing this job, the oem tensioners front and back have thin sealing washers, and the replacement tensioner washers will not work good as it is too thick and will allow chain even more slack (and rattle louder) which is the prob I was having. A faint 2sec startup rattle, became a longer noisy rattle after replacement. Leave it ford to design a stupid chain setup in first place, then add on a stupid designed tensioner that has the oil supply hole above the mounting threads instead of having external ears/bolts on it and use an oring or gastet to seal it. smh not to mention a way to completely ruin your heads if you get it wrong upon installation (which I'm positive some people must have had happen). Not sure why some people have said they used thread sealant and/or ptfe tape when that makes no difference at all because oil supply hole is above all the threads right below hex flats, which left me scratching my head as to why all thr posts said that it worked. I'm going reuse the oem ones, and put a thin coat of hard setting fipg on both sides, which should stop any potential leaking from happening.

 

That may be what you found but I can assure you there was no washer on my rear tensioner. The silicone I used was not on the threads, it was on the face of the sealing surface where the washer fits. Anything used on the threads has the potential to plug or restrict the port that supplies oil to the tensioner. Even too much silicone on the sealing surface can squeeze it into that port when tightening. I have never had any leaks with this method.