Maybe a little background is required on older American V8 motors & timing chains. If we go back to the 1970s and further, no manufacturer gave though to building a motor that would last much more than 100K miles. If you lived in the Northeast or other parts of the country that salted roads in the winter, the body would be shot in 4-5 years! A lot of V8 motors were build using single tooth timing chains with a PLASITC gear on the camshaft! Some of these motors would break the plastic teeth off the camshaft gear and make a mess in many different ways. Single chains would also stretch as they got older, like sometimes 50K and jump teeth if revved (Throttle floored and shut down) since the chain was stretched. One of the old ways to detect a stretched timing chain was to put a timing light on the motor and rev the throttle and watch the timing.
Simply replacing the stock timing chain with a double-roller chain with steel teeth would solve the problem. The reason the manufacturer didnt go this route was simply money! Today LA series Mopars have another option to go along with the double-roller timing chain, a timing chain tensioner designed to stabilizes camshaft timing by reducing timing chain slack. Replaces the thrust plate. Designed for "A" Engine as well as 3.9L, 5.2L, 5.9L and Magnum engines.
