chain guide wear advice

How many miles on that shoe?? I suspect they're original. By the looks of things, you haven't eaten thru half the shoe pad yet. Maybe @ the halfway point you might begin planning on replacing it??

 

i just replaced both of those shoes on David's and Jim's cars. they were in virtually identical condition but i replaced them as part of the complete motor rebuilds that we are doing on both cars because i have to stand behind the product and they are both a long way away from me.
on my personal 400 they looked the same again and i left them because for the same reason that Bruce points out above.

as for price, i got them from Eurospares because i had a large order already coming from them and they were a fraction of the price you quoted and Classic Parts quoted the identical price which was 101 GBP...i didn't think that was too bad. who quoted you $640 ?...the dealer ?

 

Fritz
I still would like to know how many miles are on the car,....you know, as a reference to the guide wear shown.
Bruce

 

Chain tension which is incorrect can and will cause premature wear and failure at an astounding rate in these cars...

 

I'd say yes w/1 exception, this adj. is a PITA to get to. I'd say more often than not, they're not being adj. every 12,500mi. as they're supposed to. How much could a loosely tensioned chain wear an a pad?

 

http://www.ferraripart.co.uk/ has the tensioner for euro 111.49. It is part # 104 534 or 220 719
Regards, Jacques

 

Fritz,

Thanks for the info. The WSM requires chain to be retensioned every 12,500mi. but no mention for replacement. I'd say w/noise inside chest, it's time 'now'.

Bruce

 

Fritz, I didn't see that anywhere, where did you find it? Bruce

 

I rtfm : "The maintenance and lubrication chart 400i-owners-79 recommends to check timing tension after the first 2.500/3.000 miles and then every 12.500 miles."
Olivier

 

The manuals only show tensioning every 12,500 mi. up to 62,500 mi. & no further, & nothing about replacement. Certainly your situation is 'the' definition of replacement.

Just make sure you're not drinking so much when delving deeply into the engine Fritz, LOL, B.

 

Page B41 of the WSM: "After 50'000 km or when the push rod is not long enough for correct tensioning, replace the chain".
On page B40 they say that every 5'000 km the chain tension shall be checked, whereas the maintenance chart page A9 indicates the chain tension check at 20'000 km intervals!

Peter

 

Hi,
as the engine of the 400 GT is developed out of the 365 gtc/4, I suppose the facts mentioned in the repair instructions for the c/4 will be OK for 400 GT too. For the timing chain there is said :
“Check for stretching due to wear by laying the chain flat, measuring its length when the links are stretched away from each other and when they are pushed together against each other. If the difference is greater than 4 to 6 mm, it is advisable to replace the timing chain.”
And :
“Replace the chain whenever the engine is undergoing a rebuilt and has run over 50’000 km”.

The chain you can buy from your local "Renold" dealer. The chain for c/4 is Renold duplex bush roller chain, ISO No. 06B-2, Renold part No 114038, 3/8 x 7/32, 178 links incl. master link. It is a BS series. I payed
CHF 153.00 for it.

Please check first the link numbers. Regards, Jacques

 

Thanks for that reference Peter.
Bruce

 

My car has just about 67K miles also. I saw the tensioner while still in the motor and at the top at least there was nearly no rubber left. I will post better pictures when I have them.

If a chain (or its tensioner) only last 50 or 60K miles it is no better than a belt and it takes a whole lot more to change. Yes, belts have age issue vs. mile issue for a chain. CA law requires all parts on a motor to last for 100K miles, how is Ferrari handling that one? New materials for belts are certainly better but for chains??
Ken

 

iirc, the 308 GTB motor came with belts and they switched to chains for the 328 or 348. I don't know about the 12's, but I think I heard that they're derived from the 65-degree Dino V6, so I would expect chains.

Could someone give a quick rundown on how to adjust the chain?

 

I think the 430 is the 1st V8 with chains.

I think the chain adjustment for our cars is more of a voodoo type of thing.
The book says to tighten it until it gets noisy then back off 1/4 turn. The lock nut requires a 24mm wrench and the Allen I believe is 8mm, on my car it's so close to the frame that I just used a vise grip on it. My car has always had a clacking noise that I though was an alternator belt but on closer evaluation it was a loose chain. I wasn't sure so I cranked it down 1/2 turn and most of the noise was gone. 1/4 more turn silenced the clacking and I'm happy with it so far. Will I try the crank it down till it gets noisy and then back it off 1/4 turn I'm not sure.

 

B40 / B41 of the service manual, can be downloaded here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5iizmnbfx6hnt0h/400i%20Workshop%20manual.pdf

 

There is a topic that has been on our open forum of the European Ferrari 400 Club which is complementary to that of FC:

Tendeur de chaine de distribution

 

Ak Jim
I bought a stubby 13/16" (or maybe 15/16" if 24mm is correct) to do the lock nut. The adjuster bolt has two cross drilled holes so you can use a slim punch to turn it.

No, I never went for the high pitched noise either.
Ken
p.s. I WILL post my photos of tensioner and guide when I get a chance.