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Veteran
Posts: 214
| I found a 1957 325 hemi engine that the owner claims was rebuilt 15 years ago but the timing chain snapped on it after a few thousand miles. He pulled the engine and it sits in his garage. Is this engine an “interference” engine?
I don’t want to buy it if damage was caused by any interference with the valves or pistons when the chain snapped. Is it a fairly straightforward job just to replace the timing chain if it isn’t an interference engine? Thank you, Nick |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 9672
Location: So. Cal | Hard to find that information for sure, but I would assume that it would interfere since 9.25:1 is a decent amount of compression. However, I have never heard of one of these timing chains snapping before. That just doesn't happen with them. So something is weird. If that really did happen, there was probably an interference problem in the valve train (or camshaft gear to oil pump) to cause that. So I would look it over really well first. Remove the intake, valve covers, and valley cover to inspect all that. Changing the timing chain is quite easy. You just need a good puller to remove the possible dampener & gears. |
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Expert
Posts: 3398
Location: Chestertown, NY ( near Lake George) | If you can turn the engine two revolutions with this broken chain, most likely it is not an interference engine. |
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Veteran
Posts: 214
| I’m not sure who confirmed that the the timing chain broke. I think that is what a neighbor told him. He said he was revving the engine at idle when he heard a “pop”. I’m going to try to open things up and get a better idea of what is really going on |
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Expert
Posts: 3777
Location: NorCal | Does the distributor rotor turn when the crankshaft is turned? |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 888
Location: Peoples Republic of Oregon | Yeah, chains just don't break, especially the old link belt style. Says that he heard a 'pop'...and then what?
As mentioned, try turning it over BUT, after 15 years in unknown storage conditions it may not want to spin for other reasons.
Bottom line...why do you want the engine and what is the price? |
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