timing chain conversion?

[blueplanet]

on newer cars now they have a chain instead of a belt. would there be any possibility of converting our cbs to use a timing chain instead of a belt? or would i have to drop in a new engine all together?

[Sway]

I was just talking to someone about this yesterday....wondering if it is possible or not.

[C91BLX7]

Doing the timing belt isnt that hard to do every 90k

[blueplanet]

I get that its easy but i just wanted to know if anyone else has thought about this and if its possible. it would be nice to not have to change it at all. making the car run longer saving money for other engine problems if any.

[foamypirate]

You could, but you'd have to custom machine a crank gear, cam gear, and water pump drive. Also, if you want to retain the balance shaft, you'd have to machine gears for those, as well. Then you'd have to figure out where to bolt up a tensioner for the chain.

[92exa6]

I get that its easy but i just wanted to know if anyone else has thought about this and if its possible. it would be nice to not have to change it at all. making the car run longer saving money for other engine problems if any.

Anythings possible, just need to fab up some sprockets, a tensioner set, and a way to seal the assembly in an oil supplied environment. Timing chains and moreso camchain tensioners do indeed wear and fail. The only problem is there is no scheduled maint on a cam chain or its components until some sort of failure occurs. (typically shown by cold start rattling) I'm currently doing a camchain and head replacement on my sister's car due to tensioner failure at 100k miles. Spend your time and energy on something more worthwhile.

[evil_demon_01]

on newer cars now they have a chain instead of a belt. would there be any possibility of converting our cbs to use a timing chain instead of a belt? or would i have to drop in a new engine all together?

Swap in a K24.
Why do you want to go chain anyway?

You could do it if you have a few grand to spare, for a mod that really has no benefit to the applied engine.

[deevergote]

Belts stretch, slip, and snap much more frequently than chains, so I suppose that's the resoning.

But the amount of money and custom work that it would take to do such a conversion would very likely be significantly greater than simply swapping in an engine with a chain.

[Velocifero]

Belts stretch, slip, and snap much more frequently than chains, so I suppose that's the resoning.

But the amount of money and custom work that it would take to do such a conversion would very likely be significantly greater than simply swapping in an engine with a chain.

x2. Doesn't seem worth the trouble and money at all.

[HondaFan81]

Swap in a K24.
Why do you want to go chain anyway?

You could do it if you have a few grand to spare, for a mod that really has no benefit to the applied engine.

I agree, easier to swap this engine in with mounts from Hasport.

If you want to save money on F22ax timing belt jobs and make it easier do the following:

- remove cruise control
- remove P/S and A/C
- remove balance shaft belt

- replace water pump every 200K miles
- replace timing belt every 100K miles
- replace timing belt tensioner pulley every 200K miles

- replace front engine seals only when leaking
- replace valve cover gasket kit
- do check/adjust valve lash while in there

This will provide easy access and minimize parts that need to be replaced with new. Timing belts are like $40, water pump $45, valve cover gasket kit $25.

[9threeEX]

Chain driven timing is nothing new. No advantage as far as I see. All the ones I've ever encountered are subject to wear and stretching just like a belt. You might even argue that the sprockets also wear and will need to be replaced to match the new chain. They might make it longer between changes but the cost and labor to change are just doubled (or tripled) when it is time.

[evil_demon_01]

Belts stretch, slip, and snap much more frequently than chains, so I suppose that's the resoning.

Chains stretch more than most people realize.
Since the hydraulic tensioner keeps taking up the slack, it's never noticed.
Once it starts stretching the potential for jumping teeth increases dramatically.

At least a belt can easily be checked, whereas a chain doesn't get checked until it jumps a tooth or breaks.

[red07frontier]

It would not be possible to convert to a chain on these motors. Timing chain motors use a hydrolic tensioner. It runs off oil pressure and keeps constant tension on the chain. No way to use that here. Also keep in mind that even the k series has known problems with there tensioners not keeping proper tension on the chain. That's why companys like spoon make upgrades.

One other problem is that unlike a timing belt where you can have a smooth pulley like the tensioner on the f motor uses, a chain can't use a smooth pulley like that so you'd have to use 2 chains and a hydrolic tensioner on each one.
1 chain on crank to cam and 1 chain on crank to waterpump.

[wed3k]

we should keep belts because when they break, they keep machinists like me in business.