Timing Chain Replacement _ with gear

[Mad_Trbo]

Is it possible on any car to use a timing gear set up in the place of a timing chain?

If so, is it possible on these Grand national motors?

 

[kh440]

it is possible, however the extra noise that some setups make could play havoc with your knock sensor.

 

[pacecarta]

better setup would be a belt drive ,
but one problem i see with that on the buick is the gear drive off the cam for the oil and cam sensor limits making the belt wide enough to do the job

 

[Mad_Trbo]

Kh440 -

Why would you think the noise might interefere with operation of the knock sensor. The frequency of knock and gear whine I would assume are very distinctive.

Wouldn't the benefit of going with a gear set up be no stretching chain? Is this why many people go to a double chain to eliminate the negative effects of a chain stretching?

Where can one find this gear set up?

Pacecarta -

Why do you like the belt instead of chain or gear. I personally have a belt on my DSM and it has broken twice leaving me with a head of garbled metal. Chain or gear seems more reliable.

 

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

Dont do it, have you researched gear drives on SBC with a knock sensor? Yes it will drive them nuts and pull timing making the car a pig...

Depends on what type of gear drive, but whats the point of straying away from a stock napa 10.00 timing chain that has been put into the 9s versus running a gear drive that might work and set the knock sensor off?

Even if the napa chain only lasts 40,000 miles of street duty and race at the track, its only 10.00 and can easily be changed in a few hours
BW

 

[Mad_Trbo]

Excellent point, I am new to this car and just asking about possibilities.

So is the purpose of a double chain set up to eliminate the possibility of stretched chains and associated timing issues?

 

[TR Custom Parts]

Saw this on ebay. Didn't even know they made them for our cars. Car sure would sound unique with a gear drive and turbo whistle. Had a gear drive on a BBC in my Chevelle and the crank key let go. Lot o' broken parts!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Milo...ewItemQQcategoryZ33625QQitemZ7996408322QQrdZ1

 

[Mad_Trbo]

Wow, this looks promising. Exactly what i was looking for.

Now to find out how many folks are using this unit and what have been the results. I like the idea of not having to worry about maintenace in the typical fashion. Thanks for the tip!

 

[TR Custom Parts]

Went on the Milodon website and of course there is a little note attached for this part. There seems to be two part numbers too.

http://www.milodon.net/geardrives/pg46.htm

1 = Buick V6 engines requires an aftermarket even fire cam with an odd fire nose to run a gear drive assembly

 

[Mad_Trbo]

Turns out the gear drive was discontinued a couple of years back. So much for keeping the files updated.

The engineer there pretty much said verbatim what KH440 said below only after I dug and dug. Seems as though the gear assembly creates some sort of vibration above and beyond the whining noise I was associating with the gear drive.

Looks like a no go.