Timing Gears

[Dylan144GT]

Hi Everybody

I'm sorry for being quiet for so long but education has gotten the better of me. Anyway, I'm back and I have a query...

Does anyone have specs on steel timing gears for me? As a set please, not just the driver/driven gear alone. I have a theory that I can get these gears from a catalogue of standard gears as long as I have the vital measurements(though a little editing may be in order, such as weight reduction! ). In particular I am looking for the distance between centres, the helix angles, the pitch circle diameters, the adendum diameters, the dedendum diameters and base circle diameters, ratio/number of teeth. And any others that you think I have missed.

Any info would be much appreciated and any info gained will be shared. I think that $200+ + import is a bit excessive for timing gears.

Dylan

[john h]

Hi Dylan,

Can't help you with the gear specs, but welcome back to the forum. Good to see you posting again.

John

[Dylan144GT]

Thanks John! Yeah, I was stripping the 142 this weekend and its lead to a bit of inspiration! I have decided to part ways with it as its really far gone body wise. They are very rare here and the count is only 7 in the country but unfortunately/fortunately I am not staying in this country after this year as I want to travel a bit and I can't leave my parents with a car that does not move and we are limited in terms of space anyway. This is however only if I can't find a place to keep the thing. If a can find a place to keep it then I will keep it because it's sort of burrowed a place in my heart. Sweet I know, but these cars tend to do that! If I don't get to keep the car then I am going to sell the spares that I don't need and will put that money into Andrea (the 144S). As was mentioned in a PM to you, I have a front suspension rebuild to accomplish and would like to drop the original B20 back into the car. Plus I have GT rims that need refurbishing and rubbering.

As far as the timing gears go, do you have a set that you are planning to put into the B30? I was wondering if you could measure the thickness for me and perhaps count number of teeth on each. That would be a good start. I am planning on removing the timing gear cover this week to inspect the gears and to get measurements too but from what I understand the steel ones are a little different in spec. So a comparison is in order.

Thanks for the welcome back, its been a while and its good to be back on the moose!

Dylan

[laptoprob]

At the VKV, the dutch Volvo Classics Club, the gears don't cost $200:

270654 (ZIE 271944) DISTRIBUTIESET B3 120.45 euro

276274 (ZIE 403799) DISTRIBUTIESET B4 112.50 euro

Not sure which distribution set you'd need, but these are the prices.

I can ask which is the steel one.

Shipping shoeld be about 20 euros.

cheers, Rob.

[john h]

Dylan,

Yeah, I have Volvo Penta steel gears on the b30e, already fitted when I bought it. (That was one of few mods done by the previous owner. When he ran a newish 164 as a company car back in the 70s, he had a fibre gear fail on the autobahn and it stuck in his memory!)

I'll count the teeth for you, but I don't understand/have the equipment for all that other stuff that only you engineers understand!

It might be a few days until I go to the garage though.

Where are you going travelling then?

Cheers

John

[Lesky]

Number of teeth:

Crankshaft gear 21
Cam gear 42

My cam gear is fiber though.

While we are talking about timing gears, I had one fail on me during the longest trip I have and will ever take in my 164. I drove fifteen hundred miles in her and my fibre gear completely shattered at 2 a.m.! When it broke, it sounded like someone running their fingers up and down a comb. I had to settle on a NOS fibre gear for $70 USD and rent a van and trailer to move the car another 150 miles to the nearest volvo mechanic who had actually worked on 140/160s.

Will be getting a steel cam gear hopefully soon.

[Dylan144GT]

Hi all

No problem John, I have lots of time for this one. Its just an interesting prospect at this point. Thus far a fellow engineer doesn't see too much light at the end of the tunnel but you can't know for sure if you don't follow up on it yourself.

I am planning on starting in the States and then I guess its where the wind blows me. Just planning on seeing the world and what it has to offer. More than likely I will land up over in the UK and then I will visit. The RS project would be great to see in the flesh as well as to meet all you fine folk!

Lesky, thanks for the gear tooth count! Another piece of the puzzle. As far as I'm aware, one can't just buy a steel cam gear as the steel gears pressure angle and the fibrous gears pressure angles are different. I can't answer why. I know fibrous gears are quieter and maybe this is a contributing factor. Maybe someone can confirm this as it is just in my memory bank and I can't remember where I have read about it.

Laptoprob, if you convert those prices to South African rands and add import then you are looking at about 1500 - 2000 ZAR. I guess the engineering challenge also appeals to me.

Dylan

Edit: I may have the helix angle and the pressure angle of the two types of gear confused. I do know that one of them is different (or both?). Again, a product of not having the reference of where I read the information and I can't remember where I read it. My apologies!

[Mike B]

[QUOTE=Dylan144GT;691996]Hi all

No problem John, I have lots of time for this one. Its just an interesting prospect at this point. Thus far a fellow engineer doesn't see too much light at the end of the tunnel but you can't know for sure if you don't follow up on it yourself.

I am planning on starting in the States and then I guess its where the wind blows me. Just planning on seeing the world and what it has to offer. More than likely I will land up over in the UK and then I will visit. The RS project would be great to see in the flesh as well as to meet all you fine folk!

Lesky, thanks for the gear tooth count! Another piece of the puzzle. As far as I'm aware, one can't just buy a steel cam gear as the steel gears pressure angle and the fibrous gears pressure angles are different. I can't answer why. I know fibrous gears are quieter and maybe this is a contributing factor. Maybe someone can confirm this as it is just in my memory bank and I can't remember where I have read about it.

Hi
The gears are the same [ if you fit steel one`s drill out the oil hole to alow more oil to hit the steel gears this will make it quiter ]
I fitted one on my 164 , after the fiber one went on M25.
I have a spare 1 fiber and 1 steel gear set I got off Ebay.
Regards
Mike B

[940_Turbo]

I don't entirely understand the obsession people have with steel gears. The fibre ones are exceptionally reliable and I've yet to chabge the gear on a car twice.

It is also extremely rare for the gear to fail completely. Usually they get noisy as the gear comes loose from the metal hub, and only fails many hundreds if not thousands of miles later.

Incidentally the current gear Volvo offers is a re-design and is quiter than the original steel gear.

Secondly most B30 engines in fact used fibre gears, the only ones I've ever opened up that had steel were the engines in a late 164 TE.

[john h]

Dylan

PM sent

John