primary timing chain tensioner help

[jmathls01v8]

New here and all the info has been really helpful, but I ran into a problem. I, just finished replacing the left head and the primary and secondary timing chains on an 01 V8. Finally got everything back together and I tried cranking the engine by hand before I started it up and realized I put the cams from the old head into the new head. Of course I had to take the master link out of the primary chain to do that, and now I need to compress the tensioner so I can get the chain back on the cam. Is it even feasible to get to the check valve on the tensioner without taking everything back apart to get the front cover off?

 

[jmathls01v8]

I accidentally threw away the originals ones i took off, so I'm a little lost as to where exactly the check valve is. If anybody could load a pic or something, it would be appreciated

 

[oddball]

IIRC, there is no check valve on these tensioners. They'll compress, just have to be careful to not crack the plastic slides.

Are you sure we're talking about the primary chains? Primary run from the crank to the intake cam, and secondary run from the intake cam to the exhaust cam. There's no way to get to any of the primary chain parts without removing the cover. The secondary tensioner can be removed without doing much - just pull the two bolts, pull it out, press it back down and stick in a thumb tack.