[alfa] timing chain longetivity

["Watry, Andrew (LNG-SFR)" <Andrew.Watry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I've never had a timing chain break in 30 years of overhead cam engines.
Our 85 BMW 535i had 230,000 on its chain when we sold it, without any
problems. I've never had an Alfa chain break, though I did have an upper
chain in one 2000 engine, and a lower in another 2000, at the same time,
shed rollers.  So it was probably only a matter of time til one broke.
Luckily I caught them both before they broke.  But they both ran fine, with
no odd noises at all.

Normally the federal govt. has legislated the required result, not the means
to get there, in car-related stuff.  There are of course exceptions.  They
have been especially serious about the reliability and warranty on
emissions-related stuff, increasing lately.  It probably is possible to make
a case that the entire engine (and the whole car for that matter), are
emissions-related.

I'll take exception with George's pronouncement that it was the invention of
the Gilmer belt that paved the way for all the OHC engines in non-exotic
cars.  The Gilmer belt came into real-world use in 1961, but the mainstream
OHC revolution didn't really start in earnest til at least 10 years later,
driven mainly by Toyota, Honda, and Datsun.  And many of those early
Japanese OHC engines used chains (510, 240Z, etc.).  Many Euro cars were
using chains all along (Alfa, Ferrari, BMW, Porsche) with a few belt
exceptions (Fiat). England, other than Jag, Aston Martin, and Lotus, had no
idea what OHC was in these days (excepting the departed MGA Twin Cam).  And
American cars didn't get into the act in a big way til the 80s, really.  In
fact, they're still very pushrod oriented in many market segments.  So I'm
not sure I buy it.

Andrew
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