[alfa] RE: Timing belts, chains

[Brad Anesi <brad.anesi@xxxxxxxxx>]

Not to dampen the validity of Michael's well-written epistle, but my
neighbor's '92 Saab 9000 threw a timing chain several years ago at the ~70K
mile mark, trashing the head in the process.  I'm sure she would have
ignored any tell-tale noises of impeding doom, as would have 95% of the
motoring population, so the "advance warning" concept falls on deaf ears on
all but for us car geeks.

That said, I'd much prefer to see a chain-driven cam vs. belt, all things
being equal.  I suspect folks like BMW have got chain-driven cams figured
out real well, which is why they never bothered with those silly belt-driven
things that were once all the rage, but gradually faded away like the
dinosaur.  Sorry, I guess I must have hoped in the Delorean there for a
moment... :)

Brad 

------------------------------------------
From: C M Smith <cmsmith@domain.elided>
Subject: [alfa] Timing belts, chains, fwd, and the Feds

<snip> Timing chains routinely last twice or 
three times that long, despite what others might suggest. I don't know 
anybody that had to replace a timing chain. I know one person who got a 
defective tensioner in his SAAB engine which required a new tensioner, but 
the original chain remained in place (some SAAB 99 engines used British 
Leyland tensioners from the TR7 which used a related engine, SAAB had no 
trouble after they went to their own spec tensioner). My current SAAB 9000 
T with a twin cam 16 valve head and single row chain has 280,000 km on the 
original timing chain components. It is expected to outlast the body on the 
car, just beginning to show surface rust around the wheel arches.
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