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Snapped a timing chain on a 96 F-150 out near Flagstaff last month
Was replacing the water pump on a customer's truck and missed that the chain had almost an inch of slack. It let go during the test drive and bent every valve in the head. Had to pull the motor and rebuild the top end, cost me 14 hours of labor I didn't bill for. Anyone else ever miss something obvious and pay for it big time?
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kai_park1mo ago
Read somewhere that timing chains on those 302s are known to stretch way more than people expect before they snap. Had a buddy who caught his by pure luck when he was doing an oil change and saw the slack. He replaced it before it let go. You probably saved that customer a whole engine rebuild, even if you ate the hours.
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lucaslee1mo ago
That line about the cam being "ten degrees behind" really shows how close these things cut it. @kai_park, you ever hear if there's a specific mileage or age point where the 302 chains usually start getting that bad? Seems like catching it early is the only way to avoid a mess.
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drewsullivan1mo ago
You ever start checking a used truck over and find the timing chain flopping around like a wet noodle... I just had a customer with a late 90s 302 that had almost no stretch left, caught it while I was swapping the water pump. Turned the crank by hand and the cam was a good ten degrees behind where it should've been. Ended up replacing the whole timing set for a couple hundred bucks, saved his engine for sure.
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