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I am happy with agreeing to disagree


Here is what Mopar says about its timing chain tensioner

:B. Timing Chain Tensioner
This Timing Chain Tensioner stabilizes cam timing by reducing timing chain slack. Use in place of thrust plate P5249637.
P5007709 Timing Chain Tensioner (Small Block and 3.9L, 5.2L, 5.9L Truck Magnum/Jeep® Engines)



I read that as it being a bandaid. It REDUCES timing chain slack. In other words, a chain will over time aquire slack in it. If you install this tensioner, it will reduce this slack.

So it masks/ is a bandaid, of the design of a timing chain on a car.It makes the problem less of an issue, than it would be without it.



A gear drive doesnt need a tensioner, it literally doesnt wear out or stretch.


But that is just how i read it, your results may vary

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It's a friendly diagreement The issue with the SB mopar as stated is a distance issue (poor design)In some respects the tensioner acts like an idler gear but is not that positive contact that the gear provides.If you want to scare your self lock the crank in place and rotate the cam gear back and forth and see the movement in dregrees that even a gear drive has.They all work well when they are in rotation with all the slack drawn.Don't get me started on Pete Jackson gear drives.

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Quote:

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I am happy with agreeing to disagree


Here is what Mopar says about its timing chain tensioner

:B. Timing Chain Tensioner
This Timing Chain Tensioner stabilizes cam timing by reducing timing chain slack. Use in place of thrust plate P5249637.
P5007709 Timing Chain Tensioner (Small Block and 3.9L, 5.2L, 5.9L Truck Magnum/Jeep® Engines)



I read that as it being a bandaid. It REDUCES timing chain slack. In other words, a chain will over time aquire slack in it. If you install this tensioner, it will reduce this slack.

So it masks/ is a bandaid, of the design of a timing chain on a car.It makes the problem less of an issue, than it would be without it.



A gear drive doesnt need a tensioner, it literally doesnt wear out or stretch.


But that is just how i read it, your results may vary

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It's a friendly diagreement The issue with the SB mopar as stated is a distance issue (poor design)In some respects the tensioner acts like an idler gear but is not that positive contact that the gear provides.If you want to scare your self lock the crank in place and rotate the cam gear back and forth and see the movement in dregrees that even a gear drive has.They all work well when they are in rotation with all the slack drawn.Don't get me started on Pete Jackson gear drives.

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OK my turn
Ditch both chain and gear drive (harmonics) and get a belt drive. Matt

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I am happy with agreeing to disagree


Here is what Mopar says about its timing chain tensioner

:B. Timing Chain Tensioner
This Timing Chain Tensioner stabilizes cam timing by reducing timing chain slack. Use in place of thrust plate P5249637.
P5007709 Timing Chain Tensioner (Small Block and 3.9L, 5.2L, 5.9L Truck Magnum/Jeep® Engines)



I read that as it being a bandaid. It REDUCES timing chain slack. In other words, a chain will over time aquire slack in it. If you install this tensioner, it will reduce this slack.

So it masks/ is a bandaid, of the design of a timing chain on a car.It makes the problem less of an issue, than it would be without it.



A gear drive doesnt need a tensioner, it literally doesnt wear out or stretch.


But that is just how i read it, your results may vary

---

It's a friendly diagreement The issue with the SB mopar as stated is a distance issue (poor design)In some respects the tensioner acts like an idler gear but is not that positive contact that the gear provides.If you want to scare your self lock the crank in place and rotate the cam gear back and forth and see the movement in dregrees that even a gear drive has.They all work well when they are in rotation with all the slack drawn.Don't get me started on Pete Jackson gear drives.

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OK my turn
Ditch both chain and gear drive (harmonics) and get a belt drive. Matt

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now thats the ticket right there if your going to spend money mite as well go for broke

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Don, no offense but between DRAM & I, I think we've worked on a few more SB Mopars than you have W/ a chain.... Once a tensioner is installed W/ a GOOD chain, you will see no slop, no matter how much use. I run them on our dirt track cars that sit @ 7000-7600 all night long, & there is no slop after years of use. In fact one motor has same chain/tensioner on it for last 4 years......

Your buddy needs to put a good chain & tensioner on... there will be no slop, street car/drag car/dirt car etc.

If he runs a cast gear chain W/ no tensioner it WILL stretch, & it will stretch fairly quickly. I don't disagree that his did stretch, I'm just saying if he had bought & used proper parts the first time it would'nt have happened.

The Milodon gear drives for SB Chrysler do not whine or make any noise, if they did, I'd never have one on one of my cars, I can't stand that racket.

I do have a Milodon GD on my 394 Turbo motor, but again, it is a 50MM Roller cam motor. If it was Babbit bearing I'd have a billet chain & tensioner on it. Much better places to spend your $ on than a GD IMO. Just my experiences having built/torn down quite few SB motors with both drives & chains.... If I thought they were so much better than a chain/tensioner, I'd try to talk everyone into one.... instead I usually end up trying to talk them out of it.

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Don,
you stated that you never used a cheap timing set, yet you list the names of the ones you used and you used exactly that, cheap timing sets.
the purpose of a timing chain or a gear drive is exactly the same, to control the camshaft timing. put on a quality chain with a tensioner and it does exactly that. there's no mystery to it and it costs less than half of a gear drive. you can call it a band-aid, rite-aid, farm-aid, or whatever you want, but the bottom line is that it absolutely works.
can you guess which people most auto mechanics curse and complain about the most? i wonder why.
have a great day

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Hey Dan,,,,


IM A FARMER!!! LOL

I agree with you and Ryan yet again... and Im no engineer, I just have countless hours behind a wrench, and have seen thousands of failed chain set, mostly cloyes, and OEM sets with cast gears, and or the flat gear multi link gear sets whitch should NEVER be used on anything but a manure spreader...