aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

I've found a couple of posts about timing gears but nowhere have I found a recommendation for who makes or where to buy the best aluminum Model A timing gear.

What say you? Is one better than another or are they all the same?

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

Snyder's has one, looks good.

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

Dan McEachern, hands down. [email protected], (510)532-8228

He also makes the timing gear in bronze, and steel crank gears. His gears are works of art.

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

I have used the Snyder’s aluminum gear with the stock crank gear in an engine and it worked well. Lots of folks have complained about the aluminum gear being “noisy” but I could not hear it over the noises in the car. Good luck with you project….

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

There are clearly at least two "generic" manufacturers of aluminum timing gears in addition to McEachern. The Snyders gear looks different from the gear sold by, e.g., CW Moss. I find it hard to believe there's any functional difference between these three gears if they're all made to the same size spec. This isn't a jet turbine we're talking about.

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

Good evening Mike.
I have been running the aluminum camshaft gear from Don Snyder for 7,000 miles now. It works exactly as it should. Compared to the previous, worn Pertinax gear, I cannot detect any increase in noise levels.

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

I too have heard complaints about aluminum being noisy always from guys that have never tried them! I've run them for over 60 years and have never had a noisy one! One had a casting flaw in the center of a tooth, I ran it for at least 20 tears, and it is still good!

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

Snyders. Many miles on mine. Cannot hear it. Of course I cannot hear a lot of things.

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

X2 I have one in my Burtz.

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

Thanks everyone.

I really appreciate your time, thoughts, and experience.

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

Both of my aluminum gears came from Bert's. Neither make noise.

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

I agree,

Dan makes the best gears. I have used lots of them.

Chris W.

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

Here is a set, installed. Pardon the goofy angle, the engine is on a stand.

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

Someone today mentioned something that I'd like your collective opinions about. It was suggested that perhaps fiber timing gears are designed that way to fail before something else fails catastrophically. Or perhaps Henry just wanted to save a cent or two per car.

What say ye?

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

Guten Mittag Mike.

In this country, these "Novotex" spur gears were installed in four- and six-cylinder V-engines until mid-1985. The reason for this choice was smooth running, as the plastic gears operated against the steel crankshaft gear with a slight preload.
However, this solution was not considered ideal, as these camshaft gears would wear out after an average of 120,000 to 140,000 km in the six-cylinder models; in the four-cylinder models, due to the presence of an auxiliary balance shaft, they lasted only 80,000 km.
There were some experimental production runs utilizing lapped metal gears (steel, I believe?), but these produced a high-pitched singing at high RPM. This was deemed too intrusive for vehicles in the 6-cylinders luxury class.
The more comfortable solution was the toothed belt, though this, too, suffered from a poor service life.


In the case of the simple Model A, I suspect that the primary motivation was actually cost-saving rather than noise reduction. After all, as metal gears, they demand significantly higher manufacturing precision, furthermore, the lapping process, which required forced pairing, had to be performed largely by hand, piece by piece.

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

I recently read an SAE Transactions article about the ‘29 Chevy engine, which also used phenolic resin (“Celeron”) timing gears. The head of engineering for the project said that they decided to use Celeron gears because they found that, while the gears would wear down, they also appeared to expand by absorbing oil from the crankcase. He said the rate of wear and the rate of expansion balanced each other perfectly. I can try to find the article if people want to know more.

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

The only difference may be in the material and heat treat - there are many grades of aluminum and levels of heat treat. I don't think anyone advertises those details.

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

Materials, sure to be different, but Dan is a craftsman and that is reflected in finish and more importantly tolerances maintained.

I have stacks of metal gears, some are just better than others.

John

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

I have an aluminium timing gear in all of my cars with mileages ranging from 10,000 miles to about 80,000. If there is any noise coming from them, I can't hear it but my wife says I am deaf too!
I'm sure they all came from Snyders over a period of 20 years or more. That's good enough fr me.

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

Anyone know why Antique Engine Rebuilding would not use a metal gear?

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

This is because the risk involved in installing a plastic gear is significantly lower. With a metal-on-metal setup, much tighter tolerances are required. If the flank clearance is too tight, you will experience rapid wear; if it is too loose, you may hear a slight clicking soound.
Therefore, as a precautionary measure, the crankshaft gear should also be replaced whenever a metal camshaft gear is installed.
The plastic gear is more forgiving of errors because it runs more smoothly.
When I had to replace the Novotex gear in my engine six years ago—because it was severely worn—I opted for an aluminum gear instead. It was available in a slightly oversized version, designed to compensate for the clearance in a used crankshaft gear.

During the engine overhaul earlier this year, I reused that same gear. It worked out well; I don't detect any bothersome noises.
Meanwhile I think, that was a bit of luck, too.

However, if I had to make the choice again today, I would go back to using a Novotex gear. That way, you eliminate the risk that the gear pairing won't be optimal. And for a classic car, the shorter service life is of no consequence.

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

AER engine, 6.0 head, large valves, touring cam, 5-6 years later the fiber timing gear let go in one spot , where spark occurs. I run the timing advanced when on a long uphill climb it will spark knock sometimes having to retard the timing by hand . At replacement time no fiber gear available went with an aluminum gear from Brighton‘s .

Re: aluminum timing gear recommendation
 

Very true. I have one of his bronze gears - just waiting for an engine that is worthy of using it in.