TRUCK TIMING CHAIN REPLACEMENT

Timing chains can break with little or no warning and leave you on the side of the road with a blown engine that will cost thousands of dollars to rebuild or replace.

Your engine is made up of hundreds of parts. Some of them are static, just sitting there; like the oil pan. Other parts move. Moving parts are going at tremendous speed and great force. It is important that those moving parts not run into each other. Your truck's timing chain keeps parts moving in the correct sequence.

Over the years, automotive engineers have tried a number of approaches to solve this problem, most of them involving gears (a few cars, like the VW Beetle still use timing gears). In 1945, the first experimental timing chain appeared. It was a step forward, but it wasn't a solution until the mid 1960s that the first American-made car (Pontiac Tempest) rolled off the production lines utilizing a timing chain. Timing chains and gears are made of metal and are generally considered to be more durable than rubber timing belts, timing chains are more expensive and less efficient mechanically because of their greater weight, but especially in trucks it's a good trade-off.

So what does the timing chain actually do? It acts as a sort of traffic cop, ensuring that all the moving parts don't slam into each other. When those parts do collide, the result is always very expensive.

While timing belts are usually more easily accessible and can be inspected visually, timing chains and gears are inside the engine and can't be inspected at all from the outside. Reduced engine power and poor economy, intermittent backfire, as well as a rattling noise from the front of the motor, could be warning signs that failure is about to occur, but there may be no warning at all. For this reason, many truck manufacturers recommend replacement at specific mileage intervals. Just give us a call and we'll be glad to let you know when your truck is due. When your timing chain is due to be replaced, it's usually smart to replace the water pump at the same time, since it will have to be removed anyway and the only additional cost will be the price of the pump.

You can save big money and ensure a longer life for your truck by calling our shop today.