ls2 timing chain waay too much slack
ls2 timing chain waay too much slack i'm putting my motor together and i get to the LS2 timing chain and installed it and it seems to be waaaaay to loose i've done a seach and guy's say up to
.500 look normal ...well it's not normal to me ..i'm not using it screw that .. has any one else used a aftermarket timing set that was tight " LIKE THERE SUPOSE TO BE ".. i've built 5 motors , done many cam swaps and have never run into this problem .
.500 look normal ...well it's not normal to me ..i'm not using it screw that .. has any one else used a aftermarket timing set that was tight " LIKE THERE SUPOSE TO BE ".. i've built 5 motors , done many cam swaps and have never run into this problem .
That amount of slack is normal for a stock chain. I was told by an engineer at Cloyes that the chains are intentionally loose like that so the robots on the assembly line could install the timing sets. Aftermarket chains can be much tighter since they are installed by hand.
Shane
Shane
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+1 on the on the IWIS Katech timing chain.
Even after 75K miles, my original LS1 timing chain didn't have slack like that
LS2 timing chain pictured here.
I couldn't live with that much slack.
.
it's not the money , i just want it right .. now is this katech chain designed to be used with a dampner for aluminum LS2 engines ? and am i going to have the same slack if i order the KATECH chain .. i dont really care what it cost .. just need to get this together ASAP .
I had a similar experience with a ls2 chain. I had the same slack as you, tossed the stock chain back on and it had less slack. I was like *** it, stock chain had 100k on it, put the ls2 chain back on after reading how their supposed to have slack in them.
Installed it dot to dot and turned the motor over a few times by hand, chances of it skipping were very slim. It looked ok by my eyeball and buttoned it all up. Car ran fine and clicked off some 11sec passes so I guess it was alright.
In the back of my mind I always wondered if that slack was advancing or retarding the cam in any way. If you got the cash I would invest in a better setup or atleast degree it, if your poor then go with the ls2 chain.
Also keep in mind that when the motor warms up, stuff likes to expand. Maybe that will take some of the slack out, not much is my guess but maybe others can answer that one.
Installed it dot to dot and turned the motor over a few times by hand, chances of it skipping were very slim. It looked ok by my eyeball and buttoned it all up. Car ran fine and clicked off some 11sec passes so I guess it was alright.
In the back of my mind I always wondered if that slack was advancing or retarding the cam in any way. If you got the cash I would invest in a better setup or atleast degree it, if your poor then go with the ls2 chain.
Also keep in mind that when the motor warms up, stuff likes to expand. Maybe that will take some of the slack out, not much is my guess but maybe others can answer that one.
Staging Lane
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 96
Likes: 1
I've worked on other engines that were much worse than that. I rebuilt a Nissan 280z engine like that and it ran fine with a timing chain that was more than twice as long. The engine only spins in one direction. Once the chain is tight on one side, it tends to not move. I never saw anything weird like fluctuating timing or anything like that. All those engines have loose chains like that with guys spinning the motor up around 7000rpm.
Teching In
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
From: Las Vegas
I just replaced my cam and heads and my LS1 chain was that loose; I figured that installing the LS2 chain, it would have been tighter. Nope. Same thing, so I just went with it. Before changing everything my car had 140K+ and no problems.