I put a COMP Cams Hi-Tech Roller Race Timing Set 3103 in my early 392 Hemi with a .700 lift roller cam. After about a dozen or so dyno pulls, the chain has 5/8" slop, measured by pushing and pulling the chain each way. It seems to me that it is a lot of slop.
What do you guys think? Should I re-use it or get something new and better?

what I would do is (1) turn the dampener to 15 ATDC (2) then back it up exactly/smoothly to TDC (3) then have a helper watch the dist rotor (4) have him confirm the springs have retracted the rotor all the way & wouldn't hurt to have him hold it lightly in that position to take out the intergear/to dist tang slot slop out of the picture (5) with breaker bar/1&1/4 socket/cheater bar for leverage to move it smoothly, move the dampener CW till you helper yells that he felt the rotor JUST move & note how many degrees the dampener moved

Was it that loose when it was assembled?

That is what I call junk.

Sorry to be blunt but that is a fact.

I would call comp and ask if this normal, then I would check the cam centerline and adjust.



Joe

Sounds like a line hone took out a fair bit. What's the availability of an oversize set? I think the RollMaster site has a guide that tells you what o/s set you'd need based on the amount of slop. Thats if an o/s set is available !! If not, what are you going to do ... gear drive maybe !!

Too much align boring will cause the gear drive to not have enough lash between the teeth. Saw a guy eat a really expensive motor that way.

Joel... thats a LOT already and its new... if you can..
see if they make a gear drive for it.. that will give you
adjustment on the idler gear so you can take that play out
of it.... was that one short already for a line honed block
if its stock see about a short chain set up

That much slop will definitely affect your timing events. Do yourself a favor, before installing any new timing chain, soak it in synthetic gear oil on its side for a few days. Nothing protects a chain and reduces initial wear as good as that stuff does.

I've experimented with all different types of oil on my chain saw chains, and nothing even comes close to keeping a chain from wearing like it does. I started using it on my new motor's timing sets about 10 years ago, and chain stretch/wear seems to be a thing of the past. Before that, they all stretched significantly. Strange, but true.

[quote6] Strange, but true. [/quote] Not strange at all, solid gold info, much appreciated!

Better yet, cook it in syn. oil on an open camping burner THEN it`s impregnated into the chain.............Pettis did this on every build w/a chain w/excellent results..........

Thanks for the info! Where is the Thanks Button when you need it..

It really works man............

Thanks for the info. THis chain had no slop when I installed it. Now 5/8" after minimal use. I need to find the best chain I can buy and cook it in synthetic oil.

This is the same timing set as a small block Mopar. What is the best?

Since its a SB I would change over to a gear drive...
I will be changing my 416 over to my spare gear drive...
also if you want you can use the MP tensioner set up which
I have on the 416 right now... I had the front off the other
day and after the initial wear from a double roller chain it
looks great... on the double roller chain it has the 3 walls
(small surface area) but as soon as it starts riding on the
rollers it last great... mine has 700 miles on it now... if
I wanted to leave it on I could/would and have no issue doing
it... but I like gear drives... my gear drive is the KB that
MP sells... not cheap but well worth the cost

Mr.P, do you have a part # for the KB gear drive?

This is the MP #.. not sure if they still sell it but
check with Mancini or one of the other MP places
P5249758... for use with pump eccentric
P5249956... with out fuel pump eccentric...
I bought mine about 8 years back when I was working
and got 25% off... if you get one the drivers side
lifter end hole(at the front) needs to be drilled and
tapped or a plug pushed in.... otherwise your oil pressure
will be super low(half that hole will be open).... the
tensioner one is P5007709..you can get that at Mancini or
some other places... I believe there are other brands for this
one also
EDIT
The gear drive needs 1 hole drilled and taped if I
remember right... plus it fits under the stock SB LA
cover

Or use a Milodon gear drive. Look on th web you can find them used. They don't wear out.

You will never have to worry about cam timing agin. And you won't have to run stupid P/V clearance.

I'd bet a good bit your cam was retarding 6-8* or more under load.

Timing chains are junk. You can use a gear drive or a belt, but why in the year 2016 guys are still running chains is beyond me.

Huh... learn something new every day.

I know of 1000 hp cars w/chains.........I saw some used gear drives for sale so may grab one myself soon cos NOTHING sounds meaner than a gear drive and of course perfect timing doesn't hurt..........

I have a Rollmaster set (uninstalled). I'd heard good regarding it. made in Australia iirc

If you can hear the gear drive it's junk

If you heard my engine run you would not know it has a GD.

This is top quality stuff!!

Same here.. it seems the double idler gear drives are
noisey ... you cant hear mine even if it had the best muffs
on it... I have it apart right now and it looks like new...
about 8-10 years old.... the KB unit is a single idler

I don't think there is any adjustment in double rollers so they're probably made a tad loose so they'd still fit after a line hone. The one's I've seen also have very coarse gears compared to the single idler KB unit I had.

True... the link bar between the 2 idlers is a fixed point
and I'm sure they are a bit sloppy on the mesh..to set a
KB you use a piece of paper as the gap

The Milodon gear drive runs about $450 and is supposed to adjust to any amount of line boring/honing.

The Rollmaster timing set with billet sprockets and iwis chain is the best chain setup. It is around a third of the cost of the gear drive.

Timing chains do not stretch, the pins wear. Eliminating chain wear during the first operation as the chain breaks in would probably extend the life.

R.

Is the Milodon gear drive as good and as quiet as the KB? It's cheaper.

If its a single idler that has a adjustment on it(and
I think it is) then yes its quiet.... you want a single
gear... any dual gear the link bar is pre set and can
be sloppy(noise)
EDIT
The dual idlers sound like a blower

The cheaper timing sets have cast gears which also wear & add to chain slop.

The Keith Black gear drive is not available for the early Hemi/LA.
The Milodon is a single gear, installs under the timing cover. Milodon has been making them for many engines for at least 40 years. It's not a two gear setup.
BTW, two gear setups can usually be bought noisy or quiet. Noisy ones have straight cut teeth. I believe after the first 50 miles the whine would be obnoxious.

I'm sure tooth wear is a factor on chains but not in the first few thousand miles. Also tooth wear tends to put a hook in the flank of the tooth, doesn't do much to the bottom or the opposite side of the tooth, which is where the slop would come from. The Rollmaster high dollar setup has billet gears, so tooth wear should be negligible as long as they picked the material wisely.

There is a third timing alternative, the timing belt that's available from HotHemiHeads.com but it's in the four digit price range.

R.