Timing chain early warning

[lookskyward1]

Hi guys

I don't often post on here but feel that this needs to be brought to your attention. hopefully it will save someone from a very expensive repair.

I have a 2007 Spanish built Euro4 D40 with a manual transmission, It has covered 106k miles (over 170km). I have owned it for the last three and a half years. It has done some seriously heavy towing.

I have had a light weep of engine oil that I tied down last week to a rust hole in the front of the steel sump pan. A new sump pan would cost me over £200 (about $365) so I decided to weld it up and give it a fibreglass coat.

I removed the sump to find this in and around the oil pickup pipe

Shards of plastic chain guide. This obviously panicked me into ordering and starting to fit a new set of timing chains and sprockets. I'm half way through the job at the moment.

This is the lower chain tensioner guide

You can see the chain has chewed its way through it, the chain had stretched so much the tensioner had almost come apart. Luckily there is no damage and all will be well once I've finished the job.

So the upshot is if you have a high mileage D40 the best way to check if everything is OK will be to drop the sump pan, it's an easy job and it will give you some peace of mind.

 

[doc]

I can't see the pics (work blocks them), but appreciate the heads-up mate.

You're right - sump is an easy job.

When you had the sump off, did you have any visibility of the bottom end of the timing chain?

 

[vool104]

I did my chains at 200,000 didn't quiet look that bad, but yes I found a few small shards in there. I keep saying to people, these timing chains aren't an issue on the yd25 if you are aware that they need attention eventually. An besides 200,000kms or there abouts is good mileage to get out of them I think! Glad you found it pal!

 

[lookskyward1]

I can't see the pics (work blocks them), but appreciate the heads-up mate.

You're right - sump is an easy job.

When you had the sump off, did you have any visibility of the bottom end of the timing chain?

No you cannot see the chain easily. There is a large alloy sump on the D40 with a surprisingly small steel sump pan beneath.

You cannot see the chain until the lower chain cover is removed.

 

[nathand22]

Good save mate, nice one on the heads up too.

 

[Navmania]

That's what happens. The chain will stretch to the point where the tensioner has to push to full extension then it jams the chain because the radius is to tight and it will snap the chain.
Done mine at 100k. The tensioners were ok but the chain had started to stretch, I could see the wear on the sprocket teeth on mine. Good find. It saved you a good 8k for a rebuild if it had of snapped the chain.

Cheers.