oil pressure or oil thickness...timing chain life.

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Timing chains wear just like everything else, they also stretch...my question is, regarding timing chains, will oil pressure oil thickness, or even add pack (oil with high anti wear additives) contribute to longer chain life. Example, 0w20 will provide sufficient oil pressure for the chain to function properly. However, would 5w30 (or anything thicker than a 0w20) contribute to longer chain life due to oil FILM thickness. Another thought, is an oils anti wear add pack more important than either of these? Thanks in advance!
 
Originally Posted By: gregk24
Timing chains wear just like everything else, they also stretch...


No they don't (stretch)

Originally Posted By: gregk24
, regarding timing chains, will oil pressure oil thickness, or even add pack (oil with high anti wear additives) contribute to longer chain life.


oil pressure: No, don't think so, since I THINK most timing chains run partly immersed in the sump and so are splash/oil bath lubricated.

oil thickness: Yes, probably.

anti wear additives : Yes, probably, since there is probably some metal to metal contact going on. How much might depend, among other variables, on the oil thickness and the efficiency of the splash/oil bath lubrication, which might keep the pins and rollers in hydrodynamic lubrication a lot of the time.

But anyway, isn't this a rather abstract question? The oil has to do rather more than just lubricate the timing chain, so wouldn't/shouldn't be optimised just for that.

Your question might make more sense in the context of an enclosed motorcycle drive chain, some of which I believe used to run in an oil bath, though I don't know which ones.

Most modern motorcycles have exposed chains, due to "the unfortunate dictates of fashion".
 
Timing chains can deffinitely stretch, generally only by a very small amount over a lot of miles but how much they do stretch depends on how the engine is driven, sudden changes in engine speed can put a lot of stress on the chains
 
Originally Posted By: gregk24
Timing chains wear just like everything else, they also stretch...my question is, regarding timing chains, will oil pressure oil thickness, or even add pack (oil with high anti wear additives) contribute to longer chain life. Example, 0w20 will provide sufficient oil pressure for the chain to function properly. However, would 5w30 (or anything thicker than a 0w20) contribute to longer chain life due to oil FILM thickness. Another thought, is an oils anti wear add pack more important than either of these? Thanks in advance!
and I thought I was paranoid.
 
They need to have oil feed - I notice that engines giving timing problems (GM 3.6 V6) appear very dry in the timing cover, unlike earlier chain drive engine designs where the timing cover was awash in oil.
 
Why not worry about something important, like wearing out a tire on a rough road....
 
You are correct they certainly do "stretch" due to wear. It doesn't seem to matter what the viscosity is or how much pressure it has (as long as it has some) it will stretch just the same.

I have seen this first hand on some bike engines, one engine used 10w60 and other 10w40, oil pressure over 100 PSI and high flow to the chain.
Both chains were finished at very similar mileage.
 
Originally Posted By: 19jacobob93
Timing chains can deffinitely stretch, generally only by a very small amount over a lot of miles but how much they do stretch depends on how the engine is driven, sudden changes in engine speed can put a lot of stress on the chains


I agree. People who sit at lights and rev their engines, or people like a neighbor of mine who floor their gas pedal the second the key is released, then floor it again before shutting the engine down will be prone to stretching a timing chain. Yes they do stretch with normal wear, but the situations I mentioned above will exacerbate matters.
 
There seems to be a lot of timing chain problems in european cars these days. Atleast VW, Mercedes and BMW have gained bad reputation, and VW even changed to belt in their new TSI engine line. Oil shouldn't be blamed though, they have just saved some $$$ with low quality tensioners and chains..
 
Chains get longer due to wear of the individual parts-end of argument. I have seen pictures of OHC engines using a double roller chain to drive the camshafts. I presume this is to reduce wear and ?
 
Originally Posted By: Nebroch
There seems to be a lot of timing chain problems in european cars these days. Atleast VW, Mercedes and BMW have gained bad reputation, and VW even changed to belt in their new TSI engine line. Oil shouldn't be blamed though, they have just saved some $$$ with low quality tensioners and chains..


When the new 1.8 TSI came out in 2014 they used chains, are you saying they switched back to belts already?
 
Originally Posted By: gregk24
When the new 1.8 TSI came out in 2014 they used chains, are you saying they switched back to belts already?


1.8 still keeps chain I think, but these smaller 1.2 & 1.4 swap to belt.
 
Originally Posted By: Lubener
Why not worry about something important, like wearing out a tire on a rough road....

Most people are busy polishing the silver on the Titanic on this site!
wink.gif
 
Most timing chains don't run immersed in the pan, that might lead to aeration problems. Mostly they are splash lubricated, either from oil coming past bearings or a dedicated oil jet. I think a thinner oil would be better than a thick one, more oil flow and better penetration of the chain links.

Claud.
 
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Some chain tension systems are hudraulic and rely on engine oil pressure.


Like Ford modular V8. On cold start-up, chain slap can break a chain guide. Part of it is plastic. Oil pressure operates chain guide tensioners. Symptoms of broken chain guide are engine rattle, rough idle, CEL is illuminated.

A faulty oil filter that allows oil to drain back overnite can cause chain slap on cold start-up. If you ever notice a cold start-up rattle, change out the filter ASAP!
 
When I think of chains, it reminds me of adjusting stretched cam chains and more the drive chains on motorcycles I've owned over the years-no shafts/belts for me. Over many years and bikes, I found quite a bit of variation as to their quality-and not particularly related to brand or price. This was years ago now, but something I think about with the cars in our DOHC world-
 
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