Thread: gear drive timing gear

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does anybody have any info on a noisy gear grive timing gear. Hard to install....pros..cons...thanks Aaron

I put one in for my trip to Los Angeles. The engine had bad cam bearings and it helped mask the related noises. I would not reccomend them for anything.
The fit is an easy one. The idler gear must be measured in, and compensated for. It is simple. Put some clay on the idler, but the cam cover back on, and grind the difference between the cover, mark left, and specs. Simple.
Gear drives are the most annoying, miserable things to drive with I have ever experienced. Kids stuff. Stick with a chain and you will not have to change it later for a chain.

Gear drives are also notorious for adding a lot of unwanted harmonics to the engine, and the associated wear and tear it brings on. Why bother??? A double roller chain does just as good of a job, and doesn't pound on the rest of the components in the engine.

If you want whine, bolt a Roots blower on it. The belt whine is music to my ears.

I don't know........... maybe I've just been lucky or something!! but I've run 3 geardrives in my hotrods........ and never had any problems or noticed any change in harmonics, vibration, or even any change in fluxuation with a timeing light on the degree marks on the harmonic balancer. And I'm getting ready to slap one on my 23T this comeing weekend. The noise dosent bother me, but I can understand how it can get to some people.
This is just my personal opinion........ which with $0.25 will almost get you a bag of chip's. D

I've made good money replacing those dam things when guys get engines built by "experts". They aren't any advantage, and they don't last, not to mention the racket.

"They aren't any advantage"

Exactly. From an engineering standpoint, a chain is more efficient than gears.

good posts...both for and against the gear drive. I, for one, am going to give it a try. My truck is not a daily driver and will only be driven to the lumber yard or the dump. I think I'm going for the cool factor of having that noisy gear under the hood of my very slow COE. thanks Aaron

I understand NASCAR - a venue loaded with very knowledgeable engine builders - do not run timing gears.
They run a roller chain.

On one of the other sites I frequent, one of the guys quoted a speed equipment manufacturer who made gear drives among other things.
When asked why he still made them since the great majority of racers had given up on them, he answered, "Because the kids buy them."

Nothing quite like a stock cam, low comp engine with a noisy timing gear.
Not fooling anyone there.

Hot rodding is about doing and not about posing....

c9x......you couldn't help it. Rodding is a sport of opinion. Negative ones like your should be kept to your self. What one chooses to use or not to use is up to them. By making the statement ...Hot rodding is about doing and not about posing....there is a lot you could and should learn from people sharing information positively. In the future keep statements like this to yourself. Were all her to share knowledge........

dennyW..I did ask for pros and cons based on the product. Not a personal attack. The sound, is what I wanted not the performance gain or loss..I don't think I have to worry about knock sensors or anything like that. I have a 69 350 4 bolt main in a 1947 ford COE with a Marmon Herrington 4 wheel drive and a stock Ford 4 speed tranny with the granny gears......talk about slow. So the irony in looking for performance...I have to laugh..

nothing personal taken. Just here to share info and sometimes a smile!!

Originally posted by 47fordCOE
c9x......you couldn't help it. Rodding is a sport of opinion. Negative ones like your should be kept to your self. What one chooses to use or not to use is up to them. By making the statement ...Hot rodding is about doing and not about posing....there is a lot you could and should learn from people sharing information positively. In the future keep statements like this to yourself. Were all her to share knowledge........

I don't think that was a particularly negative statement and it certainly wasn't any kind of personal attack.

You asked for the pros and cons and that was one.

A lot of people new to the hobby invest in things that will not gain performance or respect.
Respect in the form of "there's a guy who built a nice car."

You don't want people to think you're driving a poser type of car so why invest in equipment that will make it look or sound so?

Interesting part about all this is, I like the sounds of the gear drive making close to, but not quite blower type noises and hearing one on what sounds to be a totally stock engine makes me wonder.

As far as learning from people about sharing information positively, perhaps so.

I've written a lot of stuff on different boards and if you do a little research you'll find I'm a positive person and don't talk down to people.
(Look for an article on this board titled, "Got Time." and maybe you'll see what I mean.)

Even so, I'm not gonna refrain from tossing out a con opinion now and then.
It's not a personal shot at you and try not to take it that way.

c9....thanks for the clarification.