[dieselcruiserhead]

This is kind of an old photo that I just dug up for someone else. One of you should have said never ever ever use a plastic guide kit with the 22RE. All the answers were half ass from you guys. "You can use the plastic kit but it is not recommended" and so on an so fourth... If you havn't heard that lately then listen again...

In the oil pan:

 

[joez]

i wish i had pics of mine, i had even more pieces than that. i heard a wierd noise on startup, and drove it to work, which was 30 miles away on the interstate. the chain held all the way there, with no guides(that was the noise i heard) until it finally jumped timing then fell off the gear. the carnage was crazy. there were no large peices left. plastic guides should be avoided when possible.

 

[carter]

Oh man! You just reminded me that mine is way, way, way overdue.

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

hard too see but there are about 40 various pieces of aluminum cover and plastic there. Luckily the engine was not damaged...

 

[KC_JoNeS]

Some people think that the nylon ones are ok for the application. I personally run the DOA metal backed, but there are reasons for the breakdown of the nylon guides.

1. Running low oil pressure. With little oil pressure, the chain tensioner has more play, thus allowing the chain to have slack and causing premature failure of the guide. Must maintain oil.

2. Using an improper oil filter. Some oil filters have faulty check valves or none at all. The check valve is required to keep oil in the filter for when the vehicle needs to be started up after sitting for a while. The oil pressure theoretically is up where it needs to be to sustain pressure against the tensioner. There is a small instance of time where the system will have no pressure and the chain will do what it wants, and most likely damage the guide(s). The main idea is to limit the amount of time the pressure is low.

KC

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

The nylon one seemed like crap to me, very soft and I was worried it would break very easy regardless of the condition of the oil, it was just very flimsy and not a food setup at all I thought, as can be seen in this instance. My $.02

 

[85TrailToy]

A friend of mine has an '87 with about 215k on it. Factory timing set. Now that's living on borrowed time!

 

[KC_JoNeS]

A friend of mine has an '87 with about 215k on it. Factory timing set. Now that's living on borrowed time!

It is all about maintenance and driving style.

 

[miniyota]

i have 148000 on my timing chain. i know its on borrowed time. just don't have the time or money to chainge them out.

but if the engine dies it would be a good reason to save up for a ford 302 v8 swap.

 

[KC_JoNeS]

I think timing is alot cheaper than an engine swap.

 

[carter]

A friend of mine has an '87 with about 215k on it. Factory timing set. Now that's living on borrowed time!

I'm at over 258,000 miles on the original chain... At least I believe it is original. I bought it from the orig. owner who was meticulous and had all the reciepts, and there is no mention of a timing chain job.

I took the valve cover off and took a look-see and the guides look fine. But I know I am on borrowed time. :nuke: :nuke: :nuke:

 

[suv]

A friend of mine has an '87 with about 215k on it. Factory timing set. Now that's living on borrowed time!

Is it a 22re? The 22r with double row chain could easily go that far without problems, but if it's EFI, then WHOA!

I don't know firsthand, but I was told by techs at DOA and LC that in general, plastic guides are preferred. Metal guides should only be used if you keep track of maintenance and change your chain every 75k. The metal guides will protect your timing cover from getting chewed. It's harder to tell if the chain is worn, though, so it's possible to have the chain wear way too much and break before you can detect a problem.

My original factory guides were broken, but didn't seem very worn. I think when the tensioner ran out of travel, the chain started slapping and just broke them.

 

[KC_JoNeS]

But I know I am on borrowed time. :nuke: :nuke: :nuke:

It wont go :nuke:

When the driver guide does fail, you will hear the chain smacking the inside of the timing cover when not under load. If not cared for soon after this, it will eat through your water jacket and you will have water in your oil.

 

[carter]

It wont go :nuke:

When the driver guide does fail, you will hear the chain smacking the inside of the timing cover when not under load. If not cared for soon after this, it will eat through your water jacket and you will have water in your oil.

Well that's a relief!

 

[javven]

You should have seen my Mercedes' diesel when it threw the chain. Eeeeek! Scarry. It annhialated the car! As thick as a MB's hide is it beat the hood to hell, ripped up the cover, tore the drive gears to bits.

 

[VT_Toy]

Is it a 22re? The 22r with double row chain could easily go that far without problems, but if it's EFI, then WHOA!

Not all 22R engines had the double row chain with metal guides. I think it was only until 82 or 83. It would seem that they wouldn't have changed until the 84.5 change in deck height and port shapes, but I'm pretty sure they went to single chain with plastic guides before that.

 

[vikingsven]

Some oil filters have faulty check valves or none at all

KC,

So what brand should we all run?

 

[KC_JoNeS]

KC,

So what brand should we all run?

I would recommend staying away from FRAM. Most recommend the factory dealer replacement filter. It is a little more money but a good quality filter.

 

[vikingsven]

Interesting.

So I assume that Fram doesn't have the check valve in it huh?
Factory does? Any other brands that are good?

 

[KC_JoNeS]

Interesting.

So I assume that Fram doesn't have the check valve in it huh?
Factory does? Any other brands that are good?

The FRAM has the check valve, but it is not made with care. Basically, run the FRAM if you like. But if you notice the CLACK, CLACK, CLACK at startup, then obviously it is faulty, so replace it.

The K&N oil filter has a check valve and I have heard some good things about it. I have never run it though.