Timing Chain Damper
Thread Starter
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 1,250
Likes: 239
From: Dade City, Fl.
Timing Chain Damper Hello All, I purchased a Trick Flow Specialties timing chain adapter kit from Summit back in November and have just got around to working on putting the engine together a couple of weeks ago. The damper in the kit did not fit like the instructions in the kit stated. I called Trick Flow and talked with a tech, but they were unaware the was an issue with the kit. I then called Summit Racing and they also were unaware of any issues. I told both companies the damper in the kit p/n (TFS-30675540) was not the same as the damper in the originally designed kit. There was a parts tag in the plastic bag with the damper S.A.Gear 9617. I am certain the original design was for use with a GM 12588670 Damper. I finally received the GM part and it works perfectly. The holes in the S.A.Gear damper are to large for the fasteners to secure it to the adapter plate. I think a bean counter was trying to save some money and substituted this aftermarket damper without checking with engineering
Anyone else run into this? I can't believe I am the only one to purchase this kit recently
Anyone else run into this? I can't believe I am the only one to purchase this kit recently
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 1,220
Likes: 179
From: Virginia
I will say with many suspension parts and braces, I have had to make some modifications at times to make them fit correctly. Bolt holes not lining up, mostly. A step drill bit usually takes care of that pretty quick.
However, this is NOT one of those parts I would be attempting to modify. Elongating a hole on a transbrace that is 1/4" off, or shaving the mounting plate on bumpstops that are about a 1/8" too wide is one thing, this is a whole other story. I would be pretty pissed.
I did have to make a lot of "adjustments" to my Moroso stroker pan, and baffles to get it to work with a 5.3 oil pickup (had to adjust the tube mounts too), LS7 windage tray, and ARP main bearing studs. All of that was in an LS3... I know... It's a mixed bag of stuff down there.
However, this is NOT one of those parts I would be attempting to modify. Elongating a hole on a transbrace that is 1/4" off, or shaving the mounting plate on bumpstops that are about a 1/8" too wide is one thing, this is a whole other story. I would be pretty pissed.
I did have to make a lot of "adjustments" to my Moroso stroker pan, and baffles to get it to work with a 5.3 oil pickup (had to adjust the tube mounts too), LS7 windage tray, and ARP main bearing studs. All of that was in an LS3... I know... It's a mixed bag of stuff down there.
Ok, I'm in the same boat as you. They sent me the same exact damper that you got and the bushings are a slip fit at best. The only thing holding that damper in place would the be oil pump. That fact that no one at Trick Flow bothered to verify that this knock-off damper would actually fit the bracket is sad. Did Trick Flow send you the correct damper or was is Summit?
Slightly OT, but something else that I've wondered about with that kit... can you tell what holds those round spacers onto the adapter plate? With mine that I got a few years ago, I don't see any sign that they're welded on, but then I don't know squat about welding. Also, I can slip a piece of paper part way between the spacers and the plate.
Thread Starter
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 1,250
Likes: 239
From: Dade City, Fl.
I contacted Summit to speak with a supervisor the day they shipped out the ACDelco damper to me. I wanted to tell someone who "might" care about the parts kit they are selling doesn't work as designed. WELL...it fell on deaf ears with and excuse of "the way our system works is we need a certain amount of returns before it will be flagged". I took my time to try and help out their company rectify a problem and was made felt like they didn't believe me. Hopefully someone at Summit will call someone at Trick Flow. It should be a real easy fix as Summit owns Trick Flow Specialties.
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TECH Fanatic
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 1,250
Likes: 239
From: Dade City, Fl.
Yeah PatSS the bushings are welded on to the adapter plate. I was thinking about tig welding the bushings on the Fwd side of the bracket, but decided to install it as is. There has to be 1000's of these on engines without the additional welding!
Gave Trick Flow a call today and explained the situation. He had me on hold for about 15 seconds and then asked for an address so they could send me the (hopefully) correct damper in the mail. Thanks for pointing this out jetech, otherwise I would have been trying to figure this out three months from now when I pulled the front cover.
