[DeTomaso] distributor

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 1/27/13 18 48 29, cengles at cox.net writes:


>             More than one bona fide Ford mechanic has implicated the oil
> pump as the actual generator of most of the distributor shaft pin failure
> problems.  I am just an amateur.
> 

>>>I'm even more amateur than you are (by a bunch, when it comes to 
engine-building).   However, I have to wonder if a slack timing chain is playing a 
role, winding up and then shocking the system with on-off-on throttle 
movement?

A stock timing chain is 'good' for perhaps 30K miles.   If you have 60-70K 
miles on it, you will be amazed at how wrecked and sloppy it is when you 
take it out.

Since you have to remove the water pump to get at the chain, it might make 
sense to take advantage of the opportunity and replace it also, if it is 
original, with a good quality aftermarket pump like one from Edelbrock or 
Flowkooler.   And since you're in the neighborhood, it might not be a bad idea to 
replace the damper, just because a stock damper is probably well past its 
sell-by date by now, and they have been known to fail.

Regarding chains, I will copy and paste from a Dan Jones post (which 
appears in multiple websites all over the internet):

Most vendors of timing sets do not make the timing sets they sell. Instead, 

they repackage the chain and gears from multiple vendors. You need to know 
who made the sprockets and chains. One of the guys on the FE Big Block Ford 

forum (FE Engine Specialist Barry Rabotnick) used to work at Speed Pro. 
When 
he worked there, they had offshore companies trying to be suppliers, so 
they 
piggybacked some chain and sprocket testing on an OE bearing durability 
dyno 
run. The Rolon chain from India cost them the test motor a couple times 
when 
it failed before the test was completed. Having recently disassembled a 
351C 
Ford that had a Rolon chain, I can believe it. This engine had 
approximately 
8000 miles on the chain and it was stretched worse than the one I pulled 
from 
my 5.0L at 163,000 miles. 

A summary of the test results for the chains from Barry is listed below. 
Speed Pro ended up using Dynagear sprockets and Morse chain but had some 
quality control issues then Dynagear went out of business. After that they 
sourced the high end Cloyes sets (which used high quality Renold and Iwis 
chain) and the quality control complaints went away. Take a look at the 
name 
on the sprockets and the name on the chain and let me know what they say. 
FWIW, The Ford Motorsport 351C timing sets I've purchased have used the 
Renold 
chain and I think some of the SBF used Iwis but the last FRPP 351C chain we 

examined had no manufacturer markings on the chain. The middle and top of 
the 
line J.P. Performance sets used the Iwis/Jwis chain. I saw some Comp timing 

sets that were Cloyes but that can change and you really have to open the 
box 
to know for sure.

I was discussing the timing chain issue with a local shop that does a lot 
of 
351C work (owner owns a Pantera and Mustang with 351C's and the builder 
raced 
351C circle track). They use and like the Rolon chain bt only the gold 
color 
chain. The Rolon chain that stretched on me was black in color and 
apparently 
the gold Rolon chain is their premium line. FWIW, that shop said it was as 
good as the FRPP stuff they also use and you can buy the chain separately.

Barry mentioned that the sprockets tend to come from Rollmaster 
(Australia), 
SA Gear (US but poor quality) and Cloyes (US, not pretty but good quality). 

Avon also makes some sprockets but sources others. Dynagear (US) used to 
make 
sprockets but went out of business. A bunch of the performance aftermarket 
companies are selling the poor quality chain from India (Rolon), along with 

sprockets from Australia (Rollmaster, J.P Performance) or SA gear. 

Chain durability testing summary:

Iwis (German) - looks very nice but was not tested, but has excellent 
reputation as an OE supplier, used in high end Rollmaster 
and some high end Cloyes sets
Cloyes (US) - tested OK
Renold (France) - tested excellent, used in most high end Cloyes sets but 
not 
always
Morse (US and Mexico) - tested excellent
Daido (Japan) - tested excellent
Tsubaki (Japan) - tested excellent
KCM (Japan) - looks very nice but was not tested
Rolon (India) - failed test 

Sprockets:

Rollmaster - Aus - pretty - never examined QA, good reputation 
SA Gear - US - ugly - crappy
Cloyes - US - not pretty - good QA
Dynagear - US - out of business - so-so when they existed
Avon - some sprockets, buys everything else
Crane - buys everything
Comp - buys everything
Speed-Pro - buys everything
Ebrock - buys everything
Melling - buys everything
Elgin - buys everything

Note: Some of the test data was from Speed Pro, other from TRW.

Dan Jones

=======

It's worth noting that just the other day, I received what was purported to 
be a high-quality timing set for a fellow in Denmark; it was marketed by JP 
Performance of Australia, but it uses Rolon chain.

Back it goes....

Just because a timing set you bought six months ago had quality chain , 
doesn't mean the same one will if you buy it today, as suppliers cut corners in 
an effort to increase profits (or maintain profits while dodging escalating 
production costs).

Mike