Yet another Timing chain guide thread...

[450Z]

Well I have found all (I think) of the chain guide parts you have all mentioned that would be in the pan of my 1992 VH45DE. I have been searching for a source of parts to get the valve train back to as new condition and am having problems getting one supplier to get all the required parts I need. Some have gear sets available and no guides or chains, others can get you the guides and chains but not the sprockets. My general rule of thumb with chain drive systems is to change the sprocket and the chain as they both wear out. What suppliers would you recommend for these parts?

[redmanfx]

So ozzie did you ever drop your oil pan?? Should we now call you chunks as a nickname????

red

[Aussie Q45a]

Currently halfway through the job, putting the cover back

The most helpful piece of info was tapping the front edge of the oil pan down to make room for the cover to go back on......

Just another tip that worked for me.

I was a bit reluctant to tap the sump down so I put the front cover in the freezer over night to shrink it a bit. The cover slipped back into place without any problems.The best tip I found was sketching the engine to hold the bolts in the correct order.

Andy did you find any bits in the sump? Cheers Greg

[elwesso]

Good advice!!

[ceningolmo]

I'm elbow deep in the chain guide job right now... when I am done I will post up any suggestions I have.

Good luck Ozzie!

[bmwkiller]

In preparing to do this job, I read what I could find here and on Q45.org. I came across this...

"NOTE: There are 4 guides, a slack-side guide, 2 tension guides and an oil pump chain guide. The slack-side guide has ALWAYS been metal backed and is NOT part of the problem. The problem lies with the tension guide and oil pump guide. These are all plastic and must be replaced."

So I got mine apart and found the noise I was hearing was the oil pump chain. For some reason, the upper guide was not adjusted properly to apply tension on the chain. The bolts were tight, and there was no evidence that the guide had moved. How it came to be in this condition, I have no idea. Anyway, I have two comments on the above quote. First, there are 6 guides, not 4. Second, on my car the two slack side guides on the cam chains are both plastic, and both stamped with a build date of 2/91. Obviously the slack side guide has not always been metal.So now that I've got mine apart and know what I'm looking at, I'm a little more confused. Both the guides on my oil pump chain were metal backed, as were both the tension side guides on the cam chains. I originally thought they had been replaced.However, this article (http://www.q45.org/guidereplacement.html) seems to show exactly the same setup as mine. Metal backed guides on the tension side, plastic on the slack side. Is that the original setup? Have the tension side guides always been metal? Is there a specific point to replacing the original (?) metal backed guides with new metal backed guides, or are we just doing this because it all comes in the kit? If plastic guides are the problem, and only the slack side guide is plastic, why not just replace those two and call it a day? Am I missing something here? Thanks

BTW - 206k on those original slack side (plastic) guides.

[450Z]

I have found the same metal/palstic combo on my 92. The fact that the slack side are metal backed made sure that they did not break, but there is still noticeable wear on them. I'm assuming that much like the L series Datsun motors these guides when new are flat across the chain guide contact area. In my case the slack side guide seems to have let the chain wear in about .070". With that kind of guide material loss, the tensioners have to extend further to maintain proper tension of the chain drive system. So I would think it wise to replace all of the guides. My tensioners looked good with no unusual wear marks. So I think I can reuse those.

[bmwkiller]

The fact that the slack side are metal backed made sure that they did not break...

Thats was the part that had me kinda concerned. The slack side guides in my car and in the above mentioned thread are not metal backed, while the other guides are. Which, again, begs the question....why not just replace the two plastic ones?

[450Z]

The poblem is that the metal backed guides on the slack side will have significant wear, enough that the tensioner could possibly run out of travel and thus will not be able to maintain proper chain tension.

[Ozzie]

BUMP.

And I thought the same too.I figured the other guides would have copped a bit more punishment due to the "plastic only" guides breaking and no longer doing their job.

The car is running great, and I did find a couple of large chunks in the sump once it was removed...

I ended up changing the oil pump too, due to an oil pressure problem later on.

Been fine since

[velvet hammer]

How many km's was on the clock of your Q ozzie?

[Ozzie]

I am avoiding driving at all costs....

And my Q has done 115,XXX Kms, which is nearly 72,000 miles

And I live in Adelaide, South Australia