Timing Gear versus Timing Chain
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Tuned
Joined: Oct 2007
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Timing Gear versus Timing Chain
I see some of the I-6 240/300 CID engines have timing chains and some have timing gears. Does anyone know when Ford changed them? Does one have an advantage over the other? Can I change my timing chain to timing gears easily? Thanks.
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From: raymond alberta
as far as i knew none of the I6s ever had timing chains?
you dont want chains, they stretch and break...gears dont...but gears do make more noise, small price to pay
the stock timing gears in a 300 are not metal i forget what they are called but its some synthetic material made to reduce noise, as a result they cannot stand up to much more than the factory build of the engine...if you want to build one (especially depending on your cam choice) you will probly need ot og to metal timing gears, again the noise...minor detail
as i stated you should already have gears
i think they are called phoelenic??? that jsut rings a bell dont quote me
and i have heard many times that timing chains cannot be used in the 300 for some reason never read much into that
you dont want chains, they stretch and break...gears dont...but gears do make more noise, small price to pay
the stock timing gears in a 300 are not metal i forget what they are called but its some synthetic material made to reduce noise, as a result they cannot stand up to much more than the factory build of the engine...if you want to build one (especially depending on your cam choice) you will probly need ot og to metal timing gears, again the noise...minor detail
as i stated you should already have gears
i think they are called phoelenic??? that jsut rings a bell dont quote me
and i have heard many times that timing chains cannot be used in the 300 for some reason never read much into that
Cargo Master
Joined: Sep 2007
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From: Wahpeton ND
the stock timing gears in a 300 are not metal i forget what they are called but its some synthetic material made to reduce noise, as a result they cannot stand up to much more than the factory build of the engine...if you want to build one (especially depending on your cam choice) you will probly need ot og to metal timing gears, again the noise...minor detail
Ford started using a fiber reinforced phenolic resin cam gear at some point in the 70's or 80's. Prior to that they were a steel crank gear and an aluminium cam gear. There is no way to use a chain without a reverse cut cam as that would turn the cam in a reverse rotation.
I have talked to a few machinists and they say there are realy no advantages or disadvantages to the resin gear other then it is quieter.
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From: Pittsburgh
Some of the OLD I-6's (216, 232) used timing chains. I have one apart in my garage, the chain is about 1" wide.
In theory the phenolic gears are quieter and wear better, however they're more prone to losing teeth and chipping when abused. Regardless of the material, something else in the motor will require attention before the cam gears unless the engine is just totally and completely abused.
In theory the phenolic gears are quieter and wear better, however they're more prone to losing teeth and chipping when abused. Regardless of the material, something else in the motor will require attention before the cam gears unless the engine is just totally and completely abused.
Cargo Master
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From: Wahpeton ND
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Elder User
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Ford did supply metal gears in the P500/600 300's. Having dealt with quite a number of these engines I can tell you they were quiet. You had to use the proper crank gear with them, if you tried to mate a metal cam gear with the steel crank gear used with the fiber gear it would drive you out of the shop. They also made the metal gears in two different pitches one was somewhere around 8 teeth to the inch and the other was about 16. Never saw one fail. The phenolic setup did give leave you on the roadside ever now and then. My experiences and observations. Kotzy
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From: raymond alberta
Ford started using a fiber reinforced phenolic resin cam gear at some point in the 70's or 80's. Prior to that they were a steel crank gear and an aluminium cam gear. There is no way to use a chain without a reverse cut cam as that would turn the cam in a reverse rotation.
I have talked to a few machinists and they say there are realy no advantages or disadvantages to the resin gear other then it is quieter.
I have talked to a few machinists and they say there are realy no advantages or disadvantages to the resin gear other then it is quieter.
i knew it started with a ph and sounded fancy
yeahhhh thats why they dont work...well if you really terribly wanted to you could probably make it work, reverse cut cam...
4wd High
Joined: Sep 2010
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My 72 F250 has the original steel timing gears in it, even after a rebuild at 135000 miles. I don't hear them at all. Both gears were steel. I now have a timing problem, and thought it might be the timing gears, but a mechanic told me 'no', he'd never seen those gears wear out. Break maybe, but not wear out. Turns out my distributor has about 20 degrees rotational play in the shaft, which isn't as solid as I thought. No wonder I couldn't time it!
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