Camchain inspection

[davem222]

Hey guys,
If I'm inspecting my camchain to see if I need to replace it, what do I look for? It looks fine to my untrained eye, but I imagine you guys could point out a couple of things that my dumb ass wouldn't know about. Thanks!

Dave

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Hey Dave, good idea.
There's 2 things that'll give you an idea of it's condition. First, clean it so there's no oil (I use gasoline) Then:

Lay it out on a flat table, stretch it all the way, measure the length. Then compress it, keeping it straight, measure the length. What's the difference? More than 1/2" - replace for sure. More than 1/4" - replace if you're prudent. Half that distance is the stretch value on the pull side of the camchain. A 1/4" stretch is a 1/8" stretch on that pull side, which results in about 4-5 degrees of cam retard, almost a half a sprocket tooth.

Second method is less precise, just a fast shop trick. Hold out the chain horizontally, with the plates top/bottom, like a fishing pole. How much does it droop. New chain droops very little, really wore out chains droop almost straight down.

Hope this helps...

 

[Brian902]

Not enough info; no mileage, but for the price $49, I would just replace it.

Your are already in this far so you're doing other updates, so...

 

[davem222]

Wow. Awesome! Thanks Brian, AMAZING info TwoMany, Muchos gracias.