CK5
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To Gear drive or Not to gear drive?
- Thread starter lowhd01
- Start date
i had a quiet in a 400 sbc one time. sounded bad a$$. and every one at gas stations said what do you have in that thing? ? ?
no real power bump i could tell. and didnt realy like it for the fact you couldnt here the rest of the motor internals if somthing was going to come loose.
but ya that was cool for a bit. sure dont want 1 for daily driver.
no real power bump i could tell. and didnt realy like it for the fact you couldnt here the rest of the motor internals if somthing was going to come loose.
but ya that was cool for a bit. sure dont want 1 for daily driver.
wayne
3/4 ton status
Gear drives cost horsepower. It's all gears and and takes a little bit more to turn over a chain set up. As far as the will your response improve, no. In all reality all your going to notice is noise. Gear drives are cool for your weekend street rod but on a daily driver/offroad rig I wouldn't do it. You will get some funny looks rolling up to a gas station though.
Oh, and if it's a FI engine the gear drive might mes with the knock sensor.
Oh, and if it's a FI engine the gear drive might mes with the knock sensor.
walla2k5
1/2 ton status
I'm gears front to back, not a chain anywhere. I've been stranded before, because of timing chain failure. Went to a gear drive and never looked back. As far as loosing hp, it's negligible.
Edit: Might also add, this is not a DD.
Edit: Might also add, this is not a DD.
You might want to check for spark scatter as well. I've heard that gear drives on SBC/BBC tend to impart a lot of interesting effects on the distributor.
https://www.fordmuscle.com/forums/all-ford-techboard/466784-gear-drive-timing-chain.html
https://www.fordmuscle.com/forums/all-ford-techboard/466784-gear-drive-timing-chain.html
odin
1/2 ton status
I personally Hate gear drives....and yes I have seen them fail.
Chains act as a cushion, if you will, between the valvetrain and the
harmonics of the crank. With gear to gear it may cause timing issues as posted earlier.
Chains act as a cushion, if you will, between the valvetrain and the
harmonics of the crank. With gear to gear it may cause timing issues as posted earlier.
I ran a gear drive years ago and it was cool for about a week before i got tired of listening to it and yanked it out.
Gear drives keep a very accurate crank to cam timing BUT it also introduces alot of harmonics to the camshaft that gets distributed to other valve train components.
I have not seen a failure of a gear drive system that wasn't caused by another failure first. If you like the noise then go for it. I can't remember if 86 used a knock sensor but i think it did and gear drives will affect the sensor which will try to back the timing off which means a lack of power and possible engine damage from incorrect timing.
Gear drives keep a very accurate crank to cam timing BUT it also introduces alot of harmonics to the camshaft that gets distributed to other valve train components.
I have not seen a failure of a gear drive system that wasn't caused by another failure first. If you like the noise then go for it. I can't remember if 86 used a knock sensor but i think it did and gear drives will affect the sensor which will try to back the timing off which means a lack of power and possible engine damage from incorrect timing.
Anything with ESC (all 305's '81 up? Don't think 350's got/needed ESC) or CCC (computer controlled carburetor) uses a knock sensor. And of course, most EFI.
In all reality all your going to notice is noise. Gear drives are cool for your weekend street rod but on a daily driver/offroad rig I wouldn't do it. You will get some funny looks rolling up to a gas station though.
yeah i have one in my k5 blazer. its ok sounding. i still kinda like the sound and do get the occasional do you have a supercharger or is your alternator going out type questions.
the worst thing about it is if your trying to find a vacuum leak or other problem under the hood this dang thing makes to much noise and all you hear is that wine. but pushing 1100rpms in first gear going slow through a parking lot will turn just about every head
shouldnt be bad, I have the extra noise pete jackson gears in mine, and its like everyone says. driving across town isnt bad, but if I got on the interstate and tried to go cross country (no radio) it would probably drive me nuts. I fell like I need a "powered by makita" windshield sticker sometimes. When I go tbi its staying in there, Im just eliminating the knock sensor, along with the emissions crap
yeah thats what i got. but the swampers cover up the engine noise. last time i went on a expressway trip i brought ear plugs
haha, been there, done that!! except for me it wasnt because of the gears, it was the dual 3" single chamber flowmasters that dump right in front of the rear axle, at certain rpm's they are almost deafening. Given the chance to, I actually dont think I would change it though. With the cam in my 383, my geardrive whine, and my exhaust most people assume a nasty chevelle or something is coming up the street, not a big K5!
