206k miles...change timing chain or not?

ECU5.0 · Apr 28, 2005

alright, im not getting any problems with my timing or anything, but the car runs really well some days and than other days it just runs ok. im sure it just has to do with the weather. but im wondering if its even worth it to change the timing chain...which im sure is the original one since everything like that is original, or should i just hold off until i get heads and cam (who knows when that will be). ive got all the gaskets and a double roller timing chain set sittin in my tool box so ive got the parts i need. im just wondering if its worth it or not. thanks in advance

winder · Apr 28, 2005

It's got a steel sprockets and chain now. It will have quite a bit of wear on the chain. You won't notice anything in the performance. Just a little smoother. Forget putting a cam in a car with that milage unless you freshen the motor. Heads will be ok. Might as well replace the balance as well as the water pump when doing the chain.

nosmatt · Apr 28, 2005

yeah........ think of it like a timing belt on an import.....with 200k, i would. many, many a small block ford i have come accross with abroken chain........do it now, or do it later.....eventually you will. i also highly advise a new balancer as winder suggested, very good idea..... some otehr things.........a water pump, thermostat, front cover seal. i would try to do all that at the same time, save yourself later.

good luck!

Ranchero5.0 · Apr 28, 2005

IMHO at that mileage I find another block and just start a bench rebuild and swap the whole works out. A timing chain swap is pretty pointless.

As a check, remove your distributor cap and put a 15/16" socket on the balancer bolt and roll the crank back and forth to see how much play it has. You can cheat by putting the timing pointer on the balancer timing marks and seeing how much cam timing you are losing before the rotor turns. Just divide the number of degrees on the balancer in half.

Jamie

ECU5.0 · Apr 28, 2005

well the motor is in pretty good shape for the mileage. burns about half a quart of oil and doesnt knock, tick, or smoke really. id love to find a block and build a motor but funds are limited for about another 2 years. as far as the balancer goes...its about a year old and the water pump is just over a year old so im not worried about them. i might have to do what you said jamie just to see if it is slack at all. ill probably just wait on the heads and cam until after i get done with school at uti in 2007. aaahhhh, kind of a long time but hey, it will be worth the wait. ill probably just end up doing it anyways because i really want to work on something and ive got the parts to do it. thanks for the help fellas

Ranchero5.0 · Apr 28, 2005

Took me several years to build mine up. First year was pistons and cheap rings with a home port job on the heads and a hand file to knock the burned spots off the valves while they spun in a drill press (honest). Even ported the GT-40's lower intake a little. Put the used longtubes on. Next year got a new crank and the rods redone, total seal rings, oil pump and made a windage tray. Ported the intake a little more and did some other crap. Even fabbed a X pipe. Next year got the used AFR heads and new Crane cam installed, and ported the lower a little more to match the heads. Resealed and ported the blower a little. This past year or so made some power pipes for the blower, reworked the GT40 upper TB inlet for better flow, ported the header collectors to match the catted H pipe that ran better than the X I made and changed fifth gear in the tranny to get rid of some slop from driving in fifth so much.

Oh yeah, changed the gears over the years, from 3.08's to 3.27's to 3.55's and repacked the rear a couple times to keep it tight.

My budget was $500 every Xmas break to work on the motor till it was right and it took several years to do. Look for deals , be patient and you can do it for about half of new list prices. My kick in the nuts was I had to have the car raod worthy to take me to work every day.

Jamie

seijirou · Apr 28, 2005

Ranchero5.0 said:
Took me several years to build mine up. First year was pistons and cheap rings with a home port job on the heads and a hand file to knock the burned spots off the valves while they spun in a drill press (honest). Even ported the GT-40's lower intake a little. Put the used longtubes on. Next year got a new crank and the rods redone, total seal rings, oil pump and made a windage tray. Ported the intake a little more and did some other crap. Even fabbed a X pipe. Next year got the used AFR heads and new Crane cam installed, and ported the lower a little more to match the heads. Resealed and ported the blower a little. This past year or so made some power pipes for the blower, reworked the GT40 upper TB inlet for better flow, ported the header collectors to match the catted H pipe that ran better than the X I made and changed fifth gear in the tranny to get rid of some slop from driving in fifth so much.

Oh yeah, changed the gears over the years, from 3.08's to 3.27's to 3.55's and repacked the rear a couple times to keep it tight.

My budget was $500 every Xmas break to work on the motor till it was right and it took several years to do. Look for deals , be patient and you can do it for about half of new list prices. My kick in the nuts was I had to have the car raod worthy to take me to work every day.

Jamie

Yeah I've been watching your build over stangnet now for a number of years. I really remember that X pipe. That thing was beautifully made, such a shame the power wasn't there. I'd love to actually see the beast some day.
Mad props Jamie!

rd · Apr 28, 2005

Yes, I would recommend changing the timing chain. My original 5.0 went 160k on the original timing chain with no problem, but I have seen several that have jumped a tooth at high mileage.

Change it now when you can plan the downtime, etc. It may take a bit of extra effort to get it apart, and cleaned up, with that many miles on it. I recommend the Ford SVO or FRPP timing sets, I have two, and between them, they have over a 100k miles on them, and I plan to reuse them for a lot longer.

206k miles...change timing chain or not?

ECU5.0

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