Timming chain on early C4

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Jul 20, 2016 | 06:56 PM

ps374

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Melting Slicks

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From: Monroe Twp, NJ

Timming chain on early C4

Does the early C4 have the same timing chain as a regular Chevrolet passanger car ? How long does a chain usually last?

Jul 20, 2016 | 07:25 PM

ex-x-fire

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On my early 84 it had the nylon cam gear which usually strips first. They can last a long time or not, depends on maintenance & how its driven. They use the common sbc chain & gear set.

Jul 20, 2016 | 08:56 PM

trilkb

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If you mean regular passenger car as in a 3800 v6, yes. But if you mean a dohc v6 or inline 4 cyl then no.

Typically they last forever lol. Rare for a sbc pushrod engine to have a timing chain failure.

Jul 20, 2016 | 10:51 PM

Patsgarage

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From: Outside the Quick Stop N.J.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ex-x-fire

On my early 84 it had the nylon cam gear which usually strips first. They can last a long time or not, depends on maintenance & how its driven. They use the common sbc chain & gear set.

The gear will probably wear out before the chain does, but chains can stretch out over time. This can cause timing issues, or at worst lead to valvetrain issues. If you are worried about it pull the timing cover and replace it, the parts are cheap.

Jul 21, 2016 | 07:24 AM

yd328

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From: the confused state CT

I saw the nylon gears coming apart around 100k miles on some cars. Now you have to add in the age factor. If it was my car I would replace the set.

Gary

Jul 21, 2016 | 12:24 PM

Joe C

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Quote:

Originally Posted by yd328

I saw the nylon gears coming apart around 100k miles on some cars. Now you have to add in the age factor. If it was my car I would replace the set.

Gary

- I replaced them on one SBC with only 60K on the clock. wasn't really worn, but had cracking within the nylon. replaced the set on my 85, around 100K, with a cloyes double roller from summit for about $55. direct fit - no issues.

Last edited by Joe C; Jul 21, 2016 at 12:25 PM.

Jul 21, 2016 | 01:52 PM

Kevova

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From: near the thumb in the mitten

Chevrolet went away from the nylon silent mesh timing gear in 1986/87 in V8s as the roller cams were installed. Fortunately in most applications with the nylon gear there is a low chance of internal damage when they fail.

Jul 22, 2016 | 03:18 PM

Paul Workman

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From: South-central Missouri

Just FYI (hijacking not intended) the use of the roller chains/sprockets didn't appear until 1990-5 with the LT5 (double roller config), and in 96 with the LT4 (single roller config), according to my sources.

http://www.grandsportregistry.com/lt1vslt4.htm