I would guess that was due to poor design of that particular set-up.

I haven't found tractors to be noisy either, or the gear driven engines on boats. And, as i posted earlier, I have a feeling BMW engines are gear driven.
no neither have i ,i dont think it was a particularly good kit ,was the best thing suddenly then died quickly as a fad
 
Could be, I suppose to do the job properly you'd need a nice compact timing chest too and then it's a very expensive kit
 
Could be, I suppose to do the job properly you'd need a nice compact timing chest too and then it's a very expensive kit

Heavy, compact timing case, with plenty of oil swimming around the gears should keep it quiet.
 
Gears work well with pushrods but not so easy for OHC.

Chains require living inside the engine for lubrication.

Belts are handy for engine designers and are generally quiet and easy to change.

Imagine the chains or gears for a quad cam V engine?

Done the belt on a 24 valve V6 a few times, was £100 for the kit including tensoner, but the same engine in wrong wheel drive configuration was an absolute nightmare to change, whereas I just sat on the scuttle on mine.

Nonos

single row chains
fibre gears
very long belt change intervals

All have contributed to scrapping engines.

I have had
chain driven DOHC S2 S4, SOHC S5, OHV S4,
belt SOHC S4, DOHC S4, quad cam V6
gears no idea
none 1 single
 
Gears work well with pushrods but not so easy for OHC.

Chains require living inside the engine for lubrication.

Belts are handy for engine designers and are generally quiet and easy to change.

Imagine the chains or gears for a quad cam V engine?

Done the belt on a 24 valve V6 a few times, was £100 for the kit including tensoner, but the same engine in wrong wheel drive configuration was an absolute nightmare to change, whereas I just sat on the scuttle on mine.

Nonos

single row chains
fibre gears
very long belt change intervals

All have contributed to scrapping engines.

I have had
chain driven DOHC S2 S4, SOHC S5, OHV S4,
belt SOHC S4, DOHC S4, quad cam V6
gears no idea
none 1 single

Agree with all of that, except there are plenty of gear driven OHC about. Should be easier to remove the head than chain or belt on OHC.
 
Get yourself onto any Honda VFR owners forum, you’ll be fighting off dewy eyed old farts bemoaning the loss of gears on the 800 v four engine..... probably me included if pushed.... ;-). Cheers, A

Not only there.
The old boys that taught me diesel fitting would be turning in their graves if they knew diesels are now made with plastic belts.
 
The depth of the timing chest on a 200 could have been a factor due to the water pump running through the timing case & cover, but no reason a deeper cast ally case cover with ZEUS emblazoned on it couldn't have been made to incorporate an extra half inch on the gears to make them helical IMHO.

I still think a 4 row Morse chain running in EP90 like the BW transfer cases would be an optimum solution & relatively low cost, a chain for a BW transfer case is only £240, fit and forget......
 
The depth of the timing chest on a 200 could have been a factor due to the water pump running through the timing case & cover, but no reason a deeper cast ally case cover with ZEUS emblazoned on it couldn't have been made to incorporate an extra half inch on the gears to make them helical IMHO.

I still think a 4 row Morse chain running in EP90 like the BW transfer cases would be an optimum solution & relatively low cost, a chain for a BW transfer case is only £240, fit and forget......
the zeus gears were helical, the chain in the borg warner runs in atf
 
My lancia beta coupe engine was written off cos of a belt failure, I've not trusted the things since. I know of several cases of belts snapping but I've never heard of a chain doing the same.

Col
 
I can only presume Zeus made this kit as a cure for early 300 tdi cam belt wear issues. ( the cam belt kit was later changed).
Or they made it for people who think cam belts are evil scary things from the future.
 
the zeus gears were helical, the chain in the borg warner runs in atf

Every pic I've ever seen shows them in a way that makes them look like they're straight cut and the reports of noise suggest anything but helical gear sets.

I learned something new about a BW Morse chain today ;)

Yes. sensible people, who know that the modern motor industry is run by accountants, not engineers.

You only need look at machines from the likes of CAT, still the market leader in mass excavation 360s and high power dozers, but they are the same way built down to a price not up to a specification.
 
Every pic I've ever seen shows them in a way that makes them look like they're straight cut and the reports of noise suggest anything but helical gear sets.

I learned something new about a BW Morse chain today ;)



You only need look at machines from the likes of CAT, still the market leader in mass excavation 360s and high power dozers, but they are the same way built down to a price not up to a specification.
just the angle in the pics perhaps,this one shows the helical cut
Dcp_1135.jpg
 
Yes, that angle demonstrates it perfectly. I still fail to see what they got wrong with the gear sets that made them so unpopular and prone to failure?
 
Yes, that angle demonstrates it perfectly. I still fail to see what they got wrong with the gear sets that made them so unpopular and prone to failure?

Could be the answer lies in this thread. People have become used to belts, and think they are an acceptable solution.

Myself, I don't.
 
Yes, that angle demonstrates it perfectly. I still fail to see what they got wrong with the gear sets that made them so unpopular and prone to failure?
i cant remember exactly i just removed the kits and refitted belts usually after a failure ,noise was given as another issue
 
i cant remember exactly i just removed the kits and refitted belts usually after a failure ,noise was given as another issue

What was the quality of the gears like?

At one time, there was a problem with the timing gears on V6 Essex engines. They were plastic, with a ring of steel around the outside with the teeth on.
An upgrade kit with all steel gears solved the problem in that case.
 
What was the quality of the gears like?

At one time, there was a problem with the timing gears on V6 Essex engines. They were plastic, with a ring of steel around the outside with the teeth on.
An upgrade kit with all steel gears solved the problem in that case.
i cant say for sure but not the best i think, but i cant remember whether it was gear quality or securing to the shafts that was the issue
 

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