water pump & timing gear?

[MikeChase]

Our '94 w/220,000 will likely need a water pump soon. Opinions from those who have been there - is it worthwhile to replace the timing chain & sprockets at the same time? Worthwhile as in runs better & longer? It runs well now...

And, OEM or aftermarket?

Thanks!

[DmaxMaverick]

With 220K, no doubt it's due for a timing set. OEM or common U.S. name brands are good. Gears are better, but spendy.

[greatwhite]

Well, you can measure the chain deflection if you want and make a decision based on that and gear tooth wear, or you can spend a couple bucks on am OEM quality chain and gear set and forget about it for another 220,000.

To me, a couple hundred is worth peace of mind to swap em out with new OEM quality stuff. The dealer will want a premium for those parts and they'll probably be from china anyways. Ask around when you're shopping and make sure you get them from a quality supplier. By that I mean who actually makes the parts, not who's selling them.

You'll need a front cover gasket set also. That should include the front crank seal, which you should replace.

Might be a good time to toss on a fluidampr if you plan to ever go that way.

At least give the balancer a good looking over while it's off.

As to gears; meh.

Do 'em if you want to or if it makes you feel good to know you have timing gears instead of a chain, but not required on a daily driver. Waste of money IMHO, but that's only my personal outlook on it and by no means the final word on the subject...

[N9Phil]

Six years ago I had the same situation on one of my 95's. My water pump was leaking. I replaced the water pump with the high volume pump used in 97 and up. It required a few parts that I got from Kennedy Diesel. I also replaced the timing chain with a timing gear. I didn't want to have a chain bust on me. Not normally doing this repair it took a total of 17 hours. I took my time and I took a picture of every step. After getting the pump and gear set in, I printed out the pictures and I had a picture of every step when putting things back together. When I was finished I had one bracket left over. It was the first part that I had removed when I started the project. I didn't start taking the pictures until I had removed the first part. I went over to my other 95 and raised the hood to see where the extra part went. It is nice to have another to compare with. After doing it once I could probably cut the time in half. The high volume pump mad a big difference in my engine temperature.

[racer55]

The original timing chain should be a Cloyes true roller double chain and gears-they seldom fail but it never hurts to check deflection while you are there.

If you shop the aftermarket for a cloyes chain you will find them pricey but compare that to the dealer and buy the best deal.