1996 LT1, 124k on engine. Mods in sig, nothing major at all. Was reading my new Bible (GMHTP) and the article on general maintenance got me thinking about other maintenance aspects other than fluids, tire pressure, filters etc etc. How bad would an old timing chain affect performance? Could the slack in the chain make the timing a few degrees off, preventing tip top performance? Would there be any telltale signs that there is some slop in the chain without taking apart the front of the engine to inspect?

When should one be replaced?

Thanks

 

I would change it every 100K. They usually say 60K but I have never had one break until well after 100K. My Escort belt broke and destroyed my engine (interference motor). Just for extra info. read on. Some vehicle have whats called a non-interference motor. These motors will not get destroyed by a break. I'm not sure if Camaro is inter. or non-inter. http://www.samarins.com/glossary/timing_belt.html

 

Via the crank position sensor on the 96-97s, you can acutally tell if there is slack in the timing chain. Certain scanners can read the deviation.

 

Don't get confused between a chain and a belt. The chains last forever under normal use, the belts break after 60k.

Plenty of V8's and V6's go over 200k or 300k with the same chain.

 

Ok, so I won't really worry about it right now. The car runs fine but it was something i got thinking about. Maybe i'll put one in next time the opti takes a dump on me.

 

Thats nice to know. Cool.

 

Yeah, timing chains will last damn near forever as long as they weren't defective from the factory. Very rarely have seen chains break. They get some slack in them but don't break often.

 

Agreed
I have over 150k miles on the wife's GAGT on the original chain. Thing still runs strong.

 

haha... and this is what kills me. Why don't all engines use chains? Especially in an interference engine where a belt breaking could be catastrophic?

 

well i am proof thatchains dont last forever. i bought a used z24 cavalier from a dealer a few years ago. a few days later the rod bearings failed and the dealer had to rebuild the engine @ 65k. about 30k later the new chain they put in broke and the # 2 piston slapped the head and cruched the intake valve. no warning just snapped at under 3k rpm.

 

I wondered about this years ago and asked a Tech at the Chevy dealership I worked for. He said He had never seen an LT1 chain break.

 

maybe they wont break but they can certainly skip and still F*** up your heads <-------PROOF

 

My 95 Z28 has 245,000 mile on it with the original chain, it is a little tired though, it has had a hard life, used to run at the drags all the time, it doesnt have the power it used to.
I wouldnt worry about it.
Ron