Timing chain

Thanks DJ

I just ordered 4 x 10 foot boxes of chain and 9 x connectors from Renold in Perth and saved over $300 compared to the quote from Renolds Sydney.
It's hard to believe how much the price varies even though it comes from the same Melbourne factory.

Cheers,
Al

 

Good stuff Al glad to be of help.

DJ

 

The new chain has arrived.

It was even posted from the Sydney office but with the discounted Perth price.

The two chains at the bottom of this pic are -
Top one is out of one of our Ferrari V12's
The bottom is from a Ford Cosworth BOA 2.9l 24valve V6
The V6 one is a lot longer than our chains but seems to have a lot longer service life even though it still drives 4 cams and 24 valves???
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Does anyone know if the chain offered by Maranello is an uprated part from Reynolds?

Thanks

 

I emailed them around a year ago, they don’t know or won’t say. Was told it comes in Ferrari packaging and they don’t know where it’s sourced from.


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So what is the best option for the chain?

Just buy from one of the parts suppliers such as Eurospares, Maranello, Ricambi, etc. or source directly from one of the chain suppliers Reynolds/Japanese?

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I presume that most chains would do. The real issue is to use the "proper" oil. I know there is the "oil book" on FerrariChat, but I am afraid our cars do not fully qualify for the corresponding analysis as we have this long timing chain.

Viscosity improvers do prevent wear of the cylinders and bearings but are useless for the chain (that does require a strong base-stock). If the first figure is to low (ex 5w50) or if the difference between hot/cold viscosity is high (eg: 10w60), the oil achieves its viscosity through viscosity improvers, not from the base-stock.

That's how the improvers work :


The problem is that the chain will just "crush" these viscosity improvers in no time and you end-up with super thin base-stock.

More on synthetic oil stability : https://selectsynthetics.com/part-2--oil-viscosity-grades-.html
More on timing chain constraints : https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/do-you-think-thats-thick-oil-think-again.286877/#post-4717589

So just use a no-nonsense viscosity and accept that the car has to warm-up for ages...

 

Who knows. Reynolds is the standard others are compared to but I do know some of the Japanese companies make great motorcycle chains.

 

I think the best is to use a good 20W-50.

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Has anyone tried the 20W-50 for diesel engines/trucks? They typically have a higher zinc content, which would not matter in a non-cat car.

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Silly question, where and how is the oil changed on the 412?

It is a dry sump, so reservoir oil screw and also one in the crankcase cover?

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Not a dry sump. Oil plug in bottom just like everything else.

 

Apart from:

Spark Plugs

Oil Filter base o-rings

Timing chain and guides

Valve clearance

WUR inspection (perhaps rebuild regardless)

Injectors inspection and cleaning

Base hoses and pads/discs

Rear suspension accumulators

Fuel pump gaskets/rubber mounting

Replace all fluids

Fuel, oil and trans filter

What else would you go over/replace on a low milage 412?

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I'm finally up to installing the new chain in my engine and thought I would hang it up next to the two old chains I have out of two engines that both had about 100.000 Km on them. I can't find in the service records for either car that they have ever had the chain replaced.

The old chains don't appear to have stretched that much. Both were out of adjustment on the tensioner though. This may be more due to the wear on the two main chain guide pads.

Cheers,
Al
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Shell Rotella "T" 15w40 is excellent for the vintage V12's.

 

I have replaced a number of 400 chains. I'd be really surprised if those had 100,000 km on them. Typically they are a lot longer, after even just 40 or 50,000 km. if you lay them flat on a table and scrunch it up to be as short as possible then pull it out it gains a few links in length. I know a shop that turned a 400 engine backwards replacing the clutch and the chain was so loose it retarded the valves so far it bent the valves.

Do you happen to recall how far in the chain adjusting screw was?

 

I also have excellent result with mobil delvac MX 15w40. I've switched to these oil with narrow viscosity range after reading the result of an analysis of the cause of stretched chain by a japanese manufacturer.

My chain which was changed at approx 55.000km. It had stretched more than Al's when the engine was rebuilt at 98.000km. That's the reason I decided to change the oil. Stretch could have been related to my engine failure though.

@Al Campbell : As a curiosity, are the sprockets still nice? This would indicate whether the chain could have been changed without removing the whole timing chest.