Why not in a Studebaker V8?

[2R Truck Seeker]

better pull that oil pan. in my 40 years as a mechanic, i have often seen this lead to a locked up oil pump or sheared pump drive causing catastrophic engine failure. that plastic all ends up in the pump screen, starving it until it fails.

Good suggestion... have seen this on several late '60's Chevy small-blocks.... the nylon teeth wind-up in the oil pick-up strainer, starving the pump, often causing the cam to wipe before the bearings let go...

Not one of Detroit's better ideas...

On the roller vs Morse chain topic, I just replaced the timing cahine & sprockets in my '97 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 4-litre six, and when the clerk asked me if I "wanted the roller chain", I said "no", figuring he was trying to "up-sell" me into an aftermarket set. So I got a "standard" Morse-type chain & sprocket set... Imagine my surprise when I pulled the timing cover, and found the Chrysler-Jeep had used a roller-type chain from the factory !!!!

[BobPalma]

Now that is something I would like to see. I like all makes of cars, but the chevy 350 installed in any hot rod or custom has been done over and over again. Too bad I am not in the position to do a Stude 289 swap into something else right now. Oops, sorry if I went off track of the thread.

'Nothing off track, Jet Green. Ask and ye shall receive. Check out the first car in this topic:

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...+rocket+rumble

[BobPalma]

I suspect that engine has a LOT of miles on it. Timing chain and gear problems were definitely NOT common on 318 V-8s, not even well past 100,000 miles. I had the one changed at 117,000 on my '78 LeBaron years ago just as preventative maintenance prior to taking the car on a long trip. Upon disassembly the parts were still in good condition. In the parts stores back in the 80s we routinely sold the timing sets for GM 350s before 100K, never on Chryslers. Dave Bonn

Oh, I doubt it has that many miles on it, Dave.

I rather suspect that 41 years of common plastic/nylon deterioration has as much to do with it as the miles. That's a long time for that material's late-1960s technology to sit around deteriorating in a hot/cold/stress environment. BP

[hausdok]

I guess I've been lucky, I've never had a chain break or a gear strip in any car I've driven. (Probably just hexed myself and it'll happen today.)

I did have a chain stretch so much that I had to adjust the sprocket setting. The Toyota 2M engine that was in my '71 Crown had a double roller chain with a mechanical tensioner. When the spring stretches one can compensate by rotating the cam a little and moving the dowel on the end of the OHC to the next hole in the top timing gear. Reset the timing and off you go for another 30,000 or so.

I remember when I read that in the manual. I was convinced it wouldn't work. When I worked at a dealership I'd never try it and I'd always replace the chain, tensioner and gears. Then one day it happened on my personal car. By then I was an E1 in the Army making $344 a month, married with a kid. There was no way I could afford a new chain and sprockets, so I tried it. Worked like a charm. Go figure.

[Blue 15G]

Yes, anything is possible. Come to think of it, I've experienced a lot of deterioration in the last 41 years too.

Dave Bonn
'54 Champion Starliner

Oh, I doubt it has that many miles on it, Dave.

I rather suspect that 41 years of common plastic/nylon deterioration has as much to do with it as the miles. That's a long time for that material's late-1960s technology to sit around deteriorating in a hot/cold/stress environment. BP

[hausdok]

Yes, anything is possible. Come to think of it, I've experienced a lot of deterioration in the last 41 years too.

Dave Bonn
'54 Champion Starliner

Amen to that. My bones are starting to creak so much I'm thinking of adding a tablespoon of STP to my breakfast cereal in the mornings.

[Jet Green Daytona]

'Nothing off track, Jet Green. Ask and ye shall receive. Check out the first car in this topic:

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...+rocket+rumble

Thanks Bob, I like it, I like it a lot. Todd