Thread: Noisy gear drive etc?

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Hi Guys,
I am considering a gear drive for the rebuild of my 327.
I have heard that they can be real noisy?
I think a little whir can sound cool but if its gonna annoy me and
neighbours well,hmmmm.
Is there any great benefit to the motor over a chain?
Cheers
Shane.

It lasts longer. No performance benefits over a good chain on the street. Get the quiet series from Pete Jackson. It's not really quiet. You got noisy and nosier. The whine sounds cool though.

Do a search of the site it's been discussed before (maybe a year ago?).

Cheers Guys,
I will take that onboard.
Kind regards,
Shane.

A GEAR DRIVE WILL PRODUCE MORE POWER DUE TO MORE ACCURATE CAM TIMING.THE BAD THING IS HAVING YOUR CAM AND CRANK (LOCKED) TOGETHER YOU WILL TRANSMIT ANY AN ALL HARMONICS BACK AND FORTH FROM THE CAM TO THE CRANK AND VICE VERSA WHICH COULD LED TO BEARING PROBLEMS.IF MONEY IS NO OBJECT BUY A BELT DRIVE.THIS REALLY IS THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS.

The noisy one won't bother the neighbors, but it might bother you because you will hear it inside the car a lot more. I have one in my '32, and it could be annoying to anyone desiring a good stereo system. But the whir is music to my ears so I don't mind.

Another thing about gear drive that doesn't help performance is chatter, at a steady RPM. Gears always have some slack. The performance way to go is a belt drive $$$$

I've read posts on other websites about harmonics and gear drives, but I have never heard of a street performance engine fail due to using a gear drive. I did hear from a guy that used one on a circle track car that didn't take it, but that car should have been using a belt anyway. I have an acquaintance who knows of a couple gear driven small blocks that have close to 100,000 miles with no problems. I'm not worried.

Originally posted by rumrumm
I've read posts on other websites about harmonics and gear drives, but I have never heard of a street performance engine fail due to using a gear drive. I did hear from a guy that used one on a circle track car that didn't take it, but that car should have been using a belt anyway. I have an acquaintance who knows of a couple gear driven small blocks that have close to 100,000 miles with no problems. I'm not worried.

THERE MIGHT BE A REASON G.M. HAS NOT USED GEAR DRIVES IN 30 + YEARS.WHAT YEAR'S DID THEY MAKE THE (JIMMY) 6 CYL.?DID OLDSMOBILE SHARE A GEAR DRIVEN 6 CYL. WITH GMC? DAVE I AM SURE YOU KNOW THIS OR MAYBE TECH. DOES.

ford did ok with the gear drives in their 6 cyl.

Originally posted by lt1s10
ford did ok with the gear drives in their 6 cyl.

BUT WHY NOT G.M.THE LAST 30 YEARS?

Originally posted by erik erikson
BUT WHY NOT G.M.THE LAST 30 YEARS?

I don't know, I'd rather have a chain. Ever tried to put a timimg gear in a ford 300, with the cam still in the motor?

GM don't use the gear because they make more noise than a chain drive. They used those plastic coated sprockets that were junk also due to noise, they are much quiter but sure as heck don't last long.

When the plastic gears were introduced, the manufactures stated reason the manufactures gace for using them wqas that they were supposed to be quiter than the steel gears. Truth is they were cheaper to make.

My experience is they generally go about 120,000 miles. I usually liked to replace them at arond 100,000 miles. beack in the 60-70s average milage for most family cars was around 10,000 miles a year, and warrenties were 5 year/50,000 miles.

That figured out to the chain and gear lasting 10 years, and back then at about 100,000 miles the rest of the engine was usually also worn out and ready for a rebuild anyway.

Keep in mind back in those days the cars were heavier, the oils not quite as good, and the cars were generally geared lower all contributing to a shorted life expentency than we have for cars today.

I've always used cloyes double roller chains and haven't experienced a problem yet, but I do like the sound of a gear drive,but then again i like quick change rears for the same reasons.