Tight Timing Chain

hawkfan

Active Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2012
I'm replacing my stock timing set with a TA V1522b. The old chain slid right off after I took off the tensioner. The TA chain is tight enough that I think I will have to tap on the cam sprocket to get everything back together. Is this normal or am I about to screw up?
 
mine fit tight I was not happy I'm told it has been changed, mine was bought about three years ago
went through two tensioners before i toss it ,I dont want to bash TA I have a lot of there stuff and Love it
just installed a Rollmaster from them its a little tight too
 
I found the same thing when I installed my TA performance stock style single row chain and tensioner, I had the same concerns. Only I was able to install it without the use of a hammer. I was told this was normal. But it was way too tight in my opinion.

I do know that chains will stretch over time and am hoping that it will eventually relax & doesn't wear the billet steel gears prematurely or wear out the tensioner until it stretches.

Been in for the past 4 seasons, but the car has been driven very little. On the positive side of things, the Chain is still silent .
Interested in hearing more about the fix though.
 
Thanks for the replies. If it's 'normal' for the chain to be this tight I feel better about making it work.
 
mine fit tight I was not happy I'm told it has been changed, mine was bought about three years ago
went through two tensioners before i toss it ,I dont want to bash TA I have a lot of there stuff and Love it
just installed a Rollmaster from them its a little tight too
I bought mine around the same time. If I can't get it installed, I will contact them about it. I do not want to have to take the front cover off again just to replace a tensioner.
 
I am interested in this as I am also considering it for my next build
 
call Ta they have always be helpful I was told there was a change
Called them today. You are right. I'm sending my chain back for the revised chain. FYI, he said if the chain doesn't 'crumble' in your hand or can't be folded easily, it is the wrong chain. But my chain was from '12 so I'm pretty sure any new timing sets will have the right chain.
 
I have a few sets of brand new GM timing chain/gear sets I will part with. With that said, a tight chain will stretch in no time. One of the weak links in the Buick V6 is the lack of a high strength timing chain. I've talked at length with Mike at TA and offered to stress test every chain available. Never came to fruitation, though. I've had the little roller pieces break apart. Took me awhile to figure out what and where they came from.
 
It is hard to believe that they can't design and make a good high strength timing chain set for the Buick v6 without any dumb problems. From what i had read i actually thought TA Performance had done it with their stock style single row billet gears timing set. I was going to order one to replace my Comp Cams double roller timing set. Now i'm going to wait and do some more searching to find the best one to get.
 
I just installed a TA single chain with the billet gears and it seemed fine to me.
I bought mine in '12. TA was cool enough to let me send it back for the right one. I have no doubt the new one will work since the TA rep knew exactly what the problem was.
 
Im behind TA 100% its not a perfect world.But TA try's.We have some good venders in the Buick world TA FT TT and a lot more.Im glade to be driving a Buick and the support we get here is better than any mustang form.I think the Mustangs and LS are net but your just another dud with a look alike.
 
Lots of information and mis-information posted here so I will try to clear up the situation on the TA link chain with billet gears.

I probably hold the record for the most broken timing chains in a turbo V-6. I have broken all the brands of double roller chains, and some than once, and also so-called "performance" link chain sets.

When I discussed this with Mike at TA a few years ago, he said try the new-type link chain he developed for the V-8 Buicks. I declined since the V-6 version had a cast cam gear, and I had already trashed 2 of those?

After about 9 months of discussion and searching, he invested in a run of billet cam gears for the V-6 link chain.

Early in the sales of the new TA link sets, it was found in some builds the chain was extremely tight due the normal block production tolerances.

The solution was to find a link chain set which would fit to accommodate blocks and builds with different final tolerances . Tooling for another cam gear is very expensive, so using a different link chain offered an excellent solution.

This situation is clearly experienced in this thread as some sets fit fine, others do not?

My research with other companies like Cloyes has also illustrated the chains will stretch very little, the resultant play after use in a timing chain is mainly gear wear.

When ordering, TA will do their best to supply the proper chain set, but will exchange the chain if needed.
 
Thanks for the info Nick. TA said the replacement chain should arrive Monday. I'll update after I get it installed.
 
Im behind TA 100% its not a perfect world.But TA try's.We have some good venders in the Buick world TA FT TT and a lot more.Im glade to be driving a Buick and the support we get here is better than any mustang form.I think the Mustangs and LS are net but your just another dud with a look alike.

My thoughts exactly. Been doing this hobby for a long time and stuff doesn't always work the way we want it to for many reasons BUT what makes a good vendor is they work with you and make it right. T/A is one of those vendors.
 
Got the chain yesterday and installed it today. It fits fine. Again, TA was easy to deal with and they didn't hesitate to exchange a new chain for a chain I bought 3 years ago no questions asked. Here's a pic for future reference:

IMG_0392.JPG
 
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