Quote Originally Posted by 95ninety View Post
I would replace the cam chain tensioner pads regardless if they look fine. They're plastic and the car is 18 years old... nice and brittle by now. You'll have a much easier time doing it with the engine out.
100%, these have failed in almost all cars by now. As mentioned above, just be picky in where/who you buy from, at $20 a set maybe buy a few to find the plastic that feels and fits best. I dug around forever and found ones that seemed to have the most original details from the OEM castings, not sure if I was lucky or not but got good ones, not sure from where.