Timing Gears And Chain

[cbreiter]

So, I picked up some timing gears, and chain off of rockauto for my '90 comanche (4.0 l). Do these look like good enough quality? It is sealed power brand. Just wondering, because most timing sets I've seen have the triple braced links, instead of the double.

[Eagle]

So, I picked up some timing gears, and chain off of rockauto for my '90 comanche (4.0 l). Do these look like good enough quality? It is sealed power brand. Just wondering, because most timing sets I've seen have the triple braced links, instead of the double.

??? What's a triple braced link?

 

The parts in your photos look like the OEM parts, and they look like every 4.0L timing chain set I've ever seen.

[cbreiter]

Ok, just the ones I've used on other engines have a double roller, or look similar to this.

Just had never seen one with just a single roller chain before.

[Jeep Driver]

 

So, I picked up some timing gears, and chain off of rockauto for my '90 comanche (4.0 l). Do these look like good enough quality? It is sealed power brand. Just wondering, because most timing sets I've seen have the triple braced links, instead of the double.

??? What's a triple braced link?

 

The parts in your photos look like the OEM parts, and they look like every 4.0L timing chain set I've ever seen.

 

[Keyav8r]

The first set shown looks like the set I put in my 88, a single roller per link running on the timing sprockets. The second set is not a roller chain. It has "teeth" that mesh with the timing gears. The third set shown is a double width roller chain running on matching double sprockets. Compare the full width teeth on the gear in the second set to the two separate rows of teeth on the double sprocket in the third set.

I believe that the gear type and the double row type are used in higher horsepower services to provide longer service life. When I changed the timing chain set on my 88 it had close to 200,000 miles on it and a lot of slack, but it still ran decently. The single row chain seems to work pretty well on our 4.0 engines as it's not uncommon to see engines still running at 300,000 miles. That being said, the 88 seems to run better/smoother with the new timing set installed.

[87Warrior]

Cloyes makes a double roller for the 4.0. It is what Mopar Performance sells with their cam kits.

 

[Eagle]

When I changed the timing chain set on my 88 it had close to 200,000 miles on it and a lot of slack, but it still ran decently. The single row chain seems to work pretty well on our 4.0 engines as it's not uncommon to see engines still running at 300,000 miles. That being said, the 88 seems to run better/smoother with the new timing set installed.

I did the timing chain on my '88 XJ 4.0L around 200,000 because I remembered that the older AMC V8s used nylon teeth on the large sprocket and I was afraid mine was probably about worn out. In fact, it was as good as new -- virtually no slack at all. I put the new timing set in as long as I had the engine open, but I still have the old parts and I wouldn't hesitate to install them in a beater engine.

 

I'm familiar with double roller timing chains, but I've never heard the term "double braced."

[cbreiter]

I couldn't find a picture of the one I put in my dodge 318, but it was like a roller chain, but had an extra "brace" on each link. Thanks for your input on this, I just wanted to be sure I wasn't going to be putting an inferior part into my engine.