My wife's bronco died!

[Jesus Freak]

It is hard to believe that any chain can stretch that much. I know miles and heat make things to funny things, but think about the fact that a quality double roller really cannot be worn out. Good for diagnosing it to the exact part that stopped operation, and for upgrading to the bullet proof replacement part. Two thumbs up

Truth be told, it was probably @Rdnck84_03 s suggestion that made me consider the chain. I really have always thought that a timing chain jumping was a myth. Of course, I would have eventually found it but I would probably still be resisting pulling the engine apart. All of this actually created the opportunity to fix a leaking thermostat housing and finding a water pump bolt that the previous owner left for me to find and fix as well as doing a superior timing chain. I really appreciate everyone's help. As soon as she's fired up I'll report back again.

 

[Rdnck84_03]

The design of the chain is what causes them to wear. All those chains consist of is stacked plates and pins. The continuous flexing of the chain around the sprockets under tension just by nature causes wear.

The sprockets on yours may not be anything as close to as bad as mine were. But I bet if you look at it there are groves worn from the stacked plates of the chain riding over it which also shrinks the diameter of the sprocket.

That sprocket wear is why ford tried the nylon coated sprocket like mine that exploded. I think the concept behind it was somewhat sound, but the plastic they used couldn't handle the task and got brittle and breaks causing total failure.

This is why I always upgrade to a roller chain. They do wear also hut atleast with their design the contact points are larger so they don't wear quite as fast.

James

 

[XOLATEM]

but the plastic they used couldn't handle the task and got brittle and breaks causing total failure.

Good thing that the engines they put them on were not 'interference' engines....

I would have eventually found it but I would probably still be resisting pulling the engine apart.

You know...this is making me consider changing my name to

'Compression Test'...

I remember consulting with some performance guru 'way back when' and he told me two things that have always stood out in my mind...

"Buy what you 'need'...not what you want..."

And...

"First you gotta find out if you HAVE an engine..." (meaning...'does it have enough compression to run..?' )...

Good job, Man...get 'er together and feel satisfied...

 

[Rdnck84_03]

I really have always thought that a timing chain jumping was a myth.

Truthfully those factory style chains only had a service life of about 100k +/-. I have actually seen the same engine jump time twice.

I remember when I was about 5-6 years old, my mom had a 78 LTD with a 351w that they picked up for a couple hundred bucks. This thing burned more oil than anything I have ever seen (about a half quart every 25 miles).

After having it for a around a year it jumped time, dad wanted to scrap the whole thing and get something else because the engine was so worn out that it wasn't worth the money or time.

After the transmission in his dodge wagon went out she convinced him to go ahead and fix it until they could find another vehicle. She drove that car until somewhere around 94-95 when the timing chain gave up the ghost again.

James

 

[Jesus Freak]

Alright Guys, got er dun! Just test drove it about 15 miles. Runs super great, tighter than before obviously but I had thought it was already a super engine. So @XOLATEM , I hate to tell you but you're going to have to wait on someone else to come up with a wire to chase down it was a very "soft ball mechanical failure" as opposed to a "hard ball" where the crank is busted in half. And hey, @Rdnck84_03 , since you're familiar with the timing chain I put on there, I used the 2° advance position on it. So do think I should move my regular timing to accommodate it? I unplugged the thingy and set it to 10°btdc as per regular, but got a thinking about and maybe it should be this way or that way a bit.

 

[Rdnck84_03]

@Jesus Freak I believe the timing should still be set to the factory 10°.

All that changing the cam timing does is change valve opening and closing in relation to piston position.

When setting the ignition base timing, you are setting when the plug fires in relation to piston position.

Hope that makes sense, it sounded good as I was typing it.

James

 

[Jesus Freak]

That's what I figured, but you may have had some logic that I knew not of.

 

[XOLATEM]

used the 2° advance position

According to the current wisdom of the 80's...you picked up some bottom-end torque and sacrificed some top-end HP...

For a DD Bronco that might see some light-duty towing...you did fine...

wait on someone else to come up with a wire to chase down

I panicked when you said the Wife noted some smoke under the dash...

...but at least I was trying to be helpful...

 

[Jesus Freak]

Can you believe this, of all the ungrateful mechanical children.......it got a new and upgraded timing chain, water pump, thermostat, and thermostat housing. On top of that 2 full days of labor which includes diagnostics. And NOW it wants a radiator too. What can I say..........cheeper than a car payment! And it looks cooler too.

 

[Jesus Freak]

Whew!, It's all new, radiator and hoses as well. Maybe it's happy. I got a 2 core radiator instead of the single that usually goes in there so that's beefed up with the timing chain. The new radiator didn't have the same mounting spots for the shroud, so it received the blessings of zip ties until I decide to do something different and I finally added a coolant overflow. The coolant overflow isn't factory, and it really blends in, but if you look closely you can see it. I was thinking that the shroud is unnecessary since it's just a driver, any thoughts?

 

[KansasIDI]

Whew!, It's all new, radiator and hoses as well. Maybe it's happy. I got a 2 core radiator instead of the single that usually goes in there so that's beefed up with the timing chain. The new radiator didn't have the same mounting spots for the shroud, so it received the blessings of zip ties until I decide to do something different and I finally added a coolant overflow. The coolant overflow isn't factory, and it really blends in, but if you look closely you can see it. I was thinking that the shroud is unnecessary since it's just a driver, any thoughts?

If you do any city driving, I recommend that you keep the shroud

 

[Rdnck84_03]

I was thinking that the shroud is unnecessary since it's just a driver, any thoughts?

Well if the idi doesn't need a fan, I would guess the 302 would survive without a shroud.

James

 

[XOLATEM]

I was thinking that the shroud is unnecessary since it's just a driver, any thoughts?

I would keep the shroud...that is my sincere, honest, I-would-not-try-to-steer-you-wrong-Buddy-you-might-thank-me-later opinion...

If you have to make brackets to get it all to fit...I think that it is going to be worth the effort in the long run...

 

[Jesus Freak]

Well if the idi doesn't need a fan, I would guess the 302 would survive without a shroud.

James

I'm not sure that the IDI doesn't need a fan. I just saw that in a thread and was curious.

 

[Jesus Freak]

I would keep the shroud...that is my sincere, honest, I-would-not-try-to-steer-you-wrong-Buddy-you-might-thank-me-later opinion...

If you have to make brackets to get it all to fit...I think that it is going to be worth the effort in the long run...

That's kinda what I think. I want to get a nice shroud at my buddy's junkyard before I go to making brackets though.