Topic: 22re metal chain giude question

[shudson]

Hello everyone, my name is Scott and i am new here and hope someone can give me some insight. I am in the process of a timing chain install and bought a kit that came with the metal guides.

Both guides have a rubber coating bonded to the metal which seems to be common to all the metal guide kits. When i bolt up the passenger side guide it makes the chain really tight, to the point that it tensions the chain more than the tensioner. It is the proper length chain and it is really tight even if i put the old chain on with the new guide.

When i compare the new metal guide to the old plastic one it seems like the metal one would be the same exact size as the plastic one if it didn't have the eighth inch thick coating on it. If i lay them on top of each other and line up the bolt holes the metal guide would match perfect if it didn't have the coating on it.
It is so tight that it looks like the rubber coating would wear off really quickly. I have read posts where guys checked there chains and metal backed guides after a few thousand miles and found the coating almost completely wore off.

I was thinking i should just burn the coating off before i install it which would make it the correct size and allow the tensioner to do its job. If all the rubber is gonna end up in the pan/pump pickup/oil filter in a thousand miles anyway i cant see that it would hurt.

Any opinions will be appreciated. Thanks

[Williscr3]

I seem to be in the same situation. Both guides are metal. Tensioner is all the way in. I actually had to really force the passenger guide over just to get a bolt in the top. This is my 3rd 22re timing chain ive done. First couple were plastic for left guide. I might try the original guide to see if it is less tight.


Came across this info, towards bottom of page includes pic.
http://www.lcengineering.com/LCNewsletter/2011/September/september11.html

[jimbo74]

those guides are adjustable, they have slotted holes in them

also, is this with the tensioner on? that changes things as well.... make sure your marks are lined up also

[Williscr3]

Yes both sides are slotted but in my case driver side went on smooth, passenger side had to be forced toward center of motor just to get the top bolt in guide which then put decent amount of tension on chain. Then i installed tensioner. All marks are lined up.

[shudson [OP]]

I cant push the passenger side guide over any further to the left. It is still too tight. The original plastic guide seems to be correct when i stuck it back on. Im gonna burn the rubber coating off with a torch and try it like that.

[emsvitil]

I wouldn't touch the coating...........

How about some pictures

[toyodaaddict]

I wouldn't touch the coating...........

How about some pictures

X2 You do not want metal riding on metal in your engine.
where did you get the metal guides? I see a major price difference between vendors, does this possibly reflect quality? I believe its always the driver side guide that brakes, your probably fine to use the plastic guide on the passenger side, if need be.

[shudson [OP]]

If i dont touch the coating the chain is gonna wear it off in a matter of miles anyway. All the pics i have seen show the chain resting on the passenger side guide. I am thinking that metal on metal contact is happening everywhere in an engine anyway, lubricated with oil of course. The old chain was riding on a plastic guide for 190000 miles and that guide was still intact when i removed it.

The kit i have is the same as all the other metal kits, i have looked at pics of all of em and the only difference i see is price. The curved guide is the correct size and the bolts lined up perfect. It just has that coating on it which makes it thicker. I dont believe you could manufacture a rubber coated, metal backed guide and it not be to thick. There isnt enough room between the mounting holes and where the chain should be.

So if a plastic guide shows minimum wear over the span of 190000 miles that means that not much of that plastic ended up in the pan/pickup/filter. I believe the reason for minimum wear is due to lubrication and its for that reason i dont think the metal chain on the metal guide will cause an issue.

Keep in mind that the new metal guide, with the coating removed, is the same exact size and shape as the old plastic one. If metal on plastic multiplied by 190000 miles equals only minimum wear on said plastic  guide then i believe metal on metal should equal even less wear on said metal guide.

Makes sense to me anyway

[shudson [OP]]

I have a great pic showing the situation but i dont know how to post pics

If somebody could explain how i would appreciate it

[OVRAROK]

I have a great pic showing the situation but i dont know how to post pics

If somebody could explain how i would appreciate it

the only way I could figure out how, was to use tapatalk

[emsvitil]

get a photobucket or equivalent account

[shudson [OP]]

Thanks for all the help guys. I talked myself into burning the coating off to make the guide fit.

I am going to pull the valve cover in a couple hundred miles and see what kinda wear ive got on that guide. I just got it all buttoned up about an hour ago and it fired up on the third revolution and sounded great. No leaks so far either.

Now i hafta do a little research to figure out why my timing mark on the balancer wont correspond to the indicator on the oil pump as it should. Way to advanced according to my timing light. The distributor bottoms out on the hold down bolt at about 12 degrees before tdc.

Thanks again