Timing chain damper revision?

[AZ3.8Camaro]

I was calling around some local shops and a few of them list 2 dampers for our engine. 1 supposedly is for a chamfered hole, and the other is for a regular hole or something to that effect.
I haven't heard of this before. Anyone know?

[grayman]

i know what chamfered means but i don't know what hole they are talking about, so no.

I was wondering (but i don't have my engine open to see for myself) if the spring that forces the tensioner against the chain could just be adjusted for less tension or even just torqued on with channel locks and a vice...getto style. you know...to take some of the force out of the spring and ease the pressure that the dampner is appyling to the chain.

[AZ3.8Camaro]

You could, but that force was designed in for a reason. It keeps that chain from flopping around in there.

[grayman]

Originally posted by AZ3.8Camaro:
You could, but that force was designed in for a reason. It keeps that chain from flopping around in there.

i guess my idea is moot anyway. If i go in there for a timing chain swapp i would do a double roller.

having another option for the tensioner and single roller would be great though for the 'valvetrain modded' cars. not everyone feels comfortable removing the ballance shaft gear along with worrying about other clearance issues from the fat double roller.

But seeing some of those stock dampner/high lift cam-springs pics really makes me think that easing the pressure that the tensioner applies to the spring might not be a bad idea.
As the timing chain torques and meets 'upgraded' resistance from aftermarket springs the chain straightens out and forces itself on the dampner. the dampner spring is so strong that it doesn't 'move back' readily and thereby causes the soft dampner material to wear out excessivly fast. If the spring were softer but still had a similar range of motion then the dampner would conctact the chain at idle through upper rpm range...taking up some of the slack in the chain...but not yielding such a forcefull contact.

just some thoughts.

[AZ3.8Camaro]

I dunno to me:
Less spring in the damper = less tension on chain = greater chance of chain jumping a tooth.

The problem isn't the chain being pulled into the damper too hard, its the chain being stretched by the increaed force it takes to rotate the cam. The stretched chain causes the damper to be almost rigidly pushed against the chain because of the angle it now makes with its spring, then the chain eats it up. Without the damper, the stretched chain would almost certainly jump a tooth.

[grayman]

ahhhh,
i get it.