I have a whine that originates from the front of my 71 350 engine.

It started when I changed from the original nylon timing gear to an all-steel gear and chain set - not exactly the expensive kind. When I did this, I forgot to make sure the oiling hole in the oil galley plug was clear.

The whine comes when the engine is hot, and changes a bit with throttle response - if you let off at the right time, it disappears. Going from D to N at full stops lessens the sound. Etc.

I figured it was the oiling hole that needed clearing, so I took off the timing cover again last week - to no avail, since the hole was clear and the chain was nice and oily. So, is this sound to be expected from all-steel gears and chain? The chain is surprisingly slack for a new chain at this point already. Could the sound be something else entirely?

Addendum: I ran the engine with the alt, power steering pump and water pump disconnected to make sure the sound didn't come from any of those things, before I tore off the timing cover.

 

Changing the nylon toothed cam gear was a good thing to do. When I changed mine, I did not get the whine. I used an inexpensive one with the cast iron cam gear and the factory type chain. Sounds in an engine can be deceiving sometime. Try to be sure that the chain is the problem. By coincidence, it might be something else that started at the same time. Check the torque converter. Sometime a stethoscope can be helpful. Others here on the forum may be able to contribute ideas. If it really is the chain you may have to replace it with a different brand and/or design. Best wishes.

 

Thanks for the reply!

How do I go about checking the torque converter - what would I be looking for?

I have a stethoscope, but I focused on the front of the engine, I must admit.

 

How cheap was that timing set?

- Eric

 

Came off Kanter back in the day, the cheapest they had.

 

I don think the tq. Converter wouldnwhine. The trans pump might whine. Seff did you replace the cam ? Could it be your powersteering ? Alt. Rule all that out by taking the belt off.

 

Trans pump? I know nothing about automatic transmissions.

No, didn't change cam or lifters or anything else.

 

I made an edit to my post while you replied but take the belt off the engine and run it for a bit like that. If it stops its something under the hood. If not then look in the trans. Chasing down trans noises sucks.

 

I already tried all the things in your edit, it's in my original post.

I'll try lifting the car and running it, trying to find the sound from underneath instead.

 

Sorry bout that. I'm on my phone and it cut it short so I didn't get that part. Did you top off the trans ? If you have too much fluid you will get foaming and that could cause pumpwhine. Maybe the trans filter is clogged and you have insufficient oiling. You could unbolt the converter and push it back into the trans and fire up the engine and see if it stops.

 

Trans filter is whatever the PO left in there. Not overfilled. It being an oil-related issue would explain why it needs to be warm first.

Could test the converter thing one of these days easily enough. Thanks!

 

If it's the timing chain / gears, you should be able to hear it pretty clearly right through the timing case, especially if you use a stethoscope or a pipe to listen through.

I'm not so concerned with the noise - I can hear my steel-geared timing set if I listen for it - but about the fact that yours has gone slack. If it's a good set it shouldn't do that.
There are some REALLY cheap timing sets out there, and some cheap ones, and some REALLY expensive ones, and I would recommend a decent-quality Cloyes set (like in the $60-$90 range), even though you can get them for $20. I bought a set that was something like 9-way adjustable, even though I didn't plan to adjust it, because I liked the quality of the machining better, and it looked like the best of the "moderate" ones, before you get into the "billet, racing, Carved-From-a-Single-Piece-of-Steel, Forged-in-the-Fiery-Hell-Pits-of-Mordor, Holy Crap " ones.

- Eric

 

Did you notice any wear on the gears? They will get get pointed and have a sharp edge if worn.

 

Eric: The noise was definitely louder with the stetoscope to the timing case/block or timing cover.
It was something like a $20 set. I have a nice 380 stroker waiting to get swapped in over the holidays, so if it's only a matter of premature wear, I'll just wait until this engine's out. We're talking just shy of ½" slack, where it had maybe 1/8" slack when I put it on.
And no, a gear set forged in a magma oven by the Queen of England herself is overkill for a stock soon-to-be-backup engine.

Patrick: No discernable wear on the gears.

 

Yeah, Kanter, like Fusick, tends to mark things up, so if the set was $20, I'd say it was probably forged in the lukewarm plastic-fired furnaces of Shenzhen.

Easy enough to check and replace when that engine's out.

- Eric

 

Could the timing gears be misaligned? Did you reuse the oil slinger that fits behind the crank gear? Are the gears fully seated? I think you see where I'm going here.