Timing chains.

[jonfey]

Hello.
My car is coming up to 31000 miles. It was suggested that a timing chain renewal might be due. The chap who pointed this out to me never heard the

engine, but, offered it as a suggestion based upon the mileage.

The existing ones aren't noisy at all, but, I guess that may not be anything near a guarantee otherwise? Not sure.

So, what would be the best quality chains ( and tensioners?) to buy? And what would be the approximate cost of having the job done? ( including parts).

Any guidance would be appreciated.

Thank you. Jonfey.

[jagorstag]

Hi Jonfey,

You won't go much wrong with Iwis timing chains from LDparts as well as related bits that Peter stocks. If you are unsure of what parts you will need give him a call or send him an email, I understand he is always willing to answer questions and generally help you out.

Can't help you with cost for getting the job done, but depending on where in the UK you live there are no doubt other members on here who can advice on suitable Stag friendly garages.

Cheers,
Joakim

[jonfey]

Hi Jonfey,

You won't go much wrong with Iwis timing chains from LDparts as well as related bits that Peter stocks. If you are unsure of what parts you will need give him a call or send him an email, I understand he is always willing to answer questions and generally help you out.

Can't help you with cost for getting the job done, but depending on where in the UK you live there are no doubt other members on here who can advice on suitable Stag friendly garages.

Cheers,
Joakim

Thank you Joakim. That's a great start.

Jonfey.

[Lingen]

Jonfey.
Are you saying that it has only done 31k miles from new, or since an engine rebuild? If it has been rebuilt, it might have had longer life chains fitted, in which case they could last for quite a while yet. Mine were still fine after 50k. With the offside cam cover removed, it is perfectly possible for someone who knows what he is looking at, to see how far the hydraulic tensioners are extended, which will let you know the extent that the chains have worn. However, if in doubt, get them done anyway.
Mike.

[Paul Kelley]

Hi Jonfey
I echo all the points above and rate LD Parts highly for quality and service (others are available and also good!). There are posts on here you may want to check out vis-a-vis longevity. Tony Hart (pretty much the Stagfather) is clear that the proverbial 25,000 mile marker is meaningless as so much depends on how the car has been driven, frequency of use, oil changes, new parts of better than original quality etc. Some say that they start rattling and give you plenty of warning! Mmm not sure. Regarding costs, a few phonecalls to the various Stag specialists will give you an idea.
PK

[mole42]

A warning though, some vendors sell "German" timing chains that are not JWIS (that is the correct spelling) chains and are not made to the same exacting standards as the JWIS ones. However, the manufacturers spell their Company as IWIS because that is how the German pronunciation sounds.....

[Mark Serj]

At the risk of opening a can of worms here, when I did my research into which chains to fit, I finally took Tony Hart's advice which was to use standard chains as that is all he ever fitted to his racing engines / customers engines and never had any problems. Just saying......and taking cover.........

[Guest]

No need to take cover, I think I fitted standard chains too! It was 4 years ago so I don't really remember

[Bandit1200]

Before replacing chains, tensioners and sprockets on my Stag I purchased 2 sets of chains, 1 set of the standard the other a set of German chains.
Comparing the standard to German chains shows that the latter are far superior in quality so that's what I fitted and the standard chains went on Ebay.
The job is a big one and the cost of chains isn't too much for you to do what I did.

Steve

[GDPR]

Something worth considering nowadays is the quality of replacement sprockets, especially crankshaft - these seem to be made from a shiny cheese, and wear out in double quick time - if you can, and if they are, suggest you try and keep your originals

[garyf]

I wonder what chains Hans from Rimmers would recommend

[fussydave]

At the risk of opening a can of worms here, when I did my research into which chains to fit, I finally took Tony Hart's advice which was to use standard chains as that is all he ever fitted to his racing engines / customers engines and never had any problems. Just saying......and taking cover.........

Interesting Mark, when I had my engine rebuilt by Wards I asked about the IWIS chains and they told me they only fitted standards as the only time they had known of chain failure was with the IWIS chains.

Dave

[jonfey]

Jonfey.
Are you saying that it has only done 31k miles from new, or since an engine rebuild? If it has been rebuilt, it might have had longer life chains fitted, in which case they could last for quite a while yet. Mine were still fine after 50k. With the offside cam cover removed, it is perfectly possible for someone who knows what he is looking at, to see how far the hydraulic tensioners are extended, which will let you know the extent that the chains have worn. However, if in doubt, get them done anyway.
Mike.

Thank you Mike. The car was parked up in a garage for a number of years. ( Between some time in the 90's and 2011 it appears ) It was put back on the road in 2011 and has done very few miles since. All the records / receipts and speedo reading point to the 31000 being original. The engine was worked on by Allards Engineers of Stoke when it was put back on the road, but, I'm not at all sure what was done. I do see what looks like signs of blue Hylomar around the casing. So, it's a bit of an unknown I'm afraid. Maybe I'll listen out for the signs of any noise? There's no sign of any as of yet at all. The post is simply a response to a remark made by a club member who spotted the mileage on the car. Thanks. Jonfey.

[jonfey]

All very interesting gents and certainly "food f or thought".Thank you. Maybe I should wait until I hear the chains complaining? There's no trace of any noises as of yet, my post was simply a response to a comment made by a club member who happened to notice the mileage. ( I do tend to worry about these things ! ) Thanks again. Jonfey.

[Mark Serj]

Don't worry Jonfey, it's called 'Stag Paranoia' and is quite normal........