Gear drives

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53 stickfigure

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 27, 2016
Messages
437
Location
Ohio
I always thought that noisy gear drives whine. That s10 i got the other day has the noisy ones. They don't whine that i can hear, they sound like the engine is falling apart. I was just idling through a parking lot and almost sounded like a choo choo train going down the tracks. Is this what they're supposed to sound like? If so, i don't like it.
 
If your noisy gear train is steel gears, then you can't easily change to a timing chain. Your camshaft will turn one way with the gearset and the opposite way with a chain. Also your distributor and oil pump won't be happy.
I've seen fibre cam gears on Fords so maybe Chevys have fibre gears too.
Food for thought.
 
Mac, unless he has a reverse ground cam and two gears meshing, which I kinda doubt, he can easily change it back to a chain. Almost all the gear drives I've ever seen have one or two idler gears to keep the cam and crank rotating the same way. You're probably thinking about on a inline six, some of them do use two gears meshed without the idler gear. Not many reverse rotation cams around for a small block Chevy, maybe a marine cam or something special made.
 
I ordered a cloyes double roller timing chain today. I can't stand that noise. I was going through all the receipts he gave me with the car and found out he put a crane roller cam and lifters in it. I've always heard that you should never run a roller cam with gear drives, they will break. I personally don't know what the difference in cam style would have to do with anything but I'm sure someone has learnt from experience.
 
You're quite right Bam, on two counts. First, if you have idlers in between the two gears then they will both turn the same way. Second, I know nothing about small block Chevys, [and I'd like to keep it that way], but I have tinkered a little with big block Chevys out of big trucks,[427's]. some of them had two gears, and no idlers.
Anyhow, I should not be so willing to express my opinions, [especially about SBC motors].
 
Changed out the gear drives today with a double roller timing chain. I couldnt be happier. If it weren't for the headers and 18 inch glasspacks, you couldnt hear her run. I sold the gear drives for the price i paid for everything to change it over, so all i have in it is the labor.
 

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