95 Timing Chain Replacement

G

Gorilla

New Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2020
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6
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PA, USA
So I am searching for some parts for replacing the timing chain on my 95 Sahara. Hoping to find OEM replacement parts for it and think I have all the part numbers that fit my 95 4.0L

1994-2006 Mopar 53020444 Chain-Timing
1987-2006 Mopar 33003446 BUSHING-Timing Chain
1984-2002 Mopar J3242280 SPROCKET
1994-2006 Mopar 53020487 Gasket-Front Cover
1984-2006 Mopar 33004681 Seal-Front Main CRANKSHAFT
1994-1998 Mopar 53020445 Sprocket-Camshaft

I found a website that I THINK has all OEM stuff in stock, at least I can add to cart but I can't seem to find the 2 sprokets or the pin (https://www.moparpartsgiant.com/par...e/timing_cover_intermediate_shaft,00000DZ3,11)

Anyone know where I can get the 2 sprokets and if I do need a new pin as well?
 
As long as the pin and spring are there, no reason why you’d need a new one. It’s a small piece of metal that doesn’t wear. The only purpose it and the spring serve is to keep the camshaft riding in the proper spot. The timing cover presses against it when it’s bolted down which puts some preload on the cam to keep it from walking.

I doubt you’re going to find the sprockets if the websites are showing them discontinued. Maybe new old stock on eBay but that’s a stretch.

Personally, I got a brand new Mopar cover (came with seal and gasket - 53020222), and got a cloyes double roller chain and sprocket kit. No regrets.
 
machoheadgames said:
As long as the pin and spring are there, no reason why you’d need a new one. It’s a small piece of metal that doesn’t wear. The only purpose it and the spring serve is to keep the camshaft riding in the proper spot. The timing cover presses against it when it’s bolted down which puts some preload on the cam to keep it from walking.

I doubt you’re going to find the sprockets if the websites are showing them discontinued. Maybe new old stock on eBay but that’s a stretch.

Personally, I got a brand new Mopar cover (came with seal and gasket - 53020222), and got a cloyes double roller chain and sprocket kit. No regrets.
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Can't beat Cloyes...I've used a few.
 
machoheadgames said:
As long as the pin and spring are there, no reason why you’d need a new one. It’s a small piece of metal that doesn’t wear. The only purpose it and the spring serve is to keep the camshaft riding in the proper spot. The timing cover presses against it when it’s bolted down which puts some preload on the cam to keep it from walking.

I doubt you’re going to find the sprockets if the websites are showing them discontinued. Maybe new old stock on eBay but that’s a stretch.

Personally, I got a brand new Mopar cover (came with seal and gasket - 53020222), and got a cloyes double roller chain and sprocket kit. No regrets.
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Much thanks to you and the rest of the fellas that chimed in. Would you happen to have the # for the Cloyes kit ya got? Would you know any good sites for the mopar cover that are decently priced? Only site i found is moparpartsgiant that has it. All others are made by crown. Any problems with the Crown one?
 
Gorilla said:
Much thanks to you and the rest of the fellas that chimed in. Would you happen to have the # for the Cloyes kit ya got? Would you know any good sites for the mopar cover that are decently priced? Only site i found is moparpartsgiant that has it. All others are made by crown. Any problems with the Crown one?
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I got the 93127 from RockAuto. You can also get the 931275 which is right above it in the listings, but I opted not to. The difference is that the 931275 is made for rebuilt engines and comes with a barely tighter chain. I actually considered it because I have a Jasper reman engine so I was wondering if it would be a better fit for me. But I didn’t want it to be impossibly tight, so I took my chances and the stock style one fit great with no slack and since it’s a double roller I don’t expect it to ever get much if any slack.

As for the timing cover, I got it off eBay but looks like the listing I bought from is gone. They must have finally ran out. Maybe try MPG. Honestly, crown is probably perfectly fine. I know of some people who had issues with it but that’s because they were using it on a later TJ engine which has a different factory cover and chain, and it’s actually a different block that they started using in 2000. I don’t know what the differences are for the cover but I know it did not fit right. The real issue is that dorman and crown lost their timing cover to fit basically all years of the 4.0 and that isn’t correct, but they don’t list any other options for the later engines so those guys are kind of screwed - I don’t think they have a real option for a replacement. I think you will be ok with a crown or dorman on your YJ engine.
 
machoheadgames said:
I got the 93127 from RockAuto. You can also get the 931275 which is right above it in the listings, but I opted not to. The difference is that the 931275 is made for rebuilt engines and comes with a barely tighter chain. I actually considered it because I have a Jasper reman engine so I was wondering if it would be a better fit for me. But I didn’t want it to be impossibly tight, so I took my chances and the stock style one fit great with no slack and since it’s a double roller I don’t expect it to ever get much if any slack.

As for the timing cover, I got it off eBay but looks like the listing I bought from is gone. They must have finally ran out. Maybe try MPG. Honestly, crown is probably perfectly fine. I know of some people who had issues with it but that’s because they were using it on a later TJ engine which has a different factory cover and chain, and it’s actually a different block that they started using in 2000. I don’t know what the differences are for the cover but I know it did not fit right. The real issue is that dorman and crown lost their timing cover to fit basically all years of the 4.0 and that isn’t correct, but they don’t list any other options for the later engines so those guys are kind of screwed - I don’t think they have a real option for a replacement. I think you will be ok with a crown or dorman on your YJ engine.
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Much appreciated on the help & info.
My original cover looks good yet. Can I just replace the bearing or is there issues with removing the bearing that you went with a new cover?

Ive been following along on this "how to" video and thought the replacement chain was pretty loose.
Is the kit's chain you got any tighter than what this gentleman used?
I know if I cant get OEM I will be stuck with whats available to keep it running but just wanted to see what I am getting into.

Also read the engine should be degreed for it to be properly set up. Can you recommend the other tools I would need to do this?
 
Gorilla said:
Much appreciated on the help & info.
My original cover looks good yet. Can I just replace the bearing or is there issues with removing the bearing that you went with a new cover?

Ive been following along on this "how to" video and thought the replacement chain was pretty loose.
Is the kit's chain you got any tighter than what this gentleman used?
I know if I cant get OEM I will be stuck with whats available to keep it running but just wanted to see what I am getting into.

Also read the engine should be degreed for it to be properly set up. Can you recommend the other tools I would need to do this?
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I opted for a new one for a few reasons, mainly because my cover was disgusting and it didn’t have the proper stickout for the AC idler pulley to spin freely.

There is no bearing but you could definitely clean up your cover and install a new seal into it just fine.

What how to have you been watching? My replacement chain from cloyes worked out nice and snug.

I don’t know what needs to be degreed means, all I did was took the timing cover off, and rotated the crankshaft with a large ratchet until the dots on the two sprockets lined up. Then zip out the crank bolt with an impact, orient your new sprockets and chain (may have to set the sprockets in the chain multiple times to get them to actually line up) and then slide them onto the crankshaft and camshaft. It was a pretty painless procedure overall.
 
Sorry I forgot to add the link to the "How to" video I mentioned. Here it is

I was reading the comments on this video and came across someone mentioning about degreeing the cam
I'll quote em here

[COLOR=var(--yt-spec-text-primary)]
Patrick Mattie[/COLOR]​

[COLOR=var(--yt-spec-text-primary)]Chain is way too loose. Also the cam must be degreed for the engine to work properly.[/COLOR]




[COLOR=var(--yt-spec-text-primary)]
alonzo nolan[/COLOR]
[COLOR=var(--yt-endpoint-visited-color, var(--yt-spec-text-primary))]5 months agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYo3NAx3yao&lc=Ugy6yWnAif0NOIhtDXB4AaABAg.9M_lBKhNtLu9NSahkpOuFy
[COLOR=var(--yt-spec-text-primary)]this is the only comment worth reading!!
[COLOR=var(--yt-spec-text-primary)]this is the only comment worth reading
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[/COLOR][/COLOR]

Any chance you might know of a good write up on how to do it that you can direct me to please? I havent done this before and wanted to give it a try since I have the radiator removed and had to replace the water pump. All is dissassembled and I figured I would just replace the chain as well being it has 130K on it.

I watched this vid as well
which does seem like a easy install but then I came across that "degree" comment and over thought & over read into everything about doing this. Oy! Lol! It got me all worried I may screw something up?

[/COLOR]
​
 
I still don’t know what the comment means by degreeing the cam. All you need to do is get the dots on the sprockets lined up, pull the sprockets off, put your new sprockets and chain on and bolt it down. Both of those videos are accurate representations of the job, but I don’t like the jeepsolid’s method of not lining the dots up until after the chain is off. I’m not 100% sure but I’m pretty sure you could screw up the timing by 180° doing that.
 
I didnt either, I was lost. I even asked my helper and he never heard of it. Then I saw this vid.



Honestly that's why I was asking about degreeing the cam as I assumed by JeepSoilds way of removing the chain and setting the cam would mess with the timing. I wasn't aware of being able to line the dots up with the old chain still on. Now I understand more.

Also found this @1:46
which I believe the guy does line the dots up on the 2 sprockets before taking the old chain off. I think I'm right thinking this. Lol.

Sorry for the confusion and much appreciated on the walk thru. My buddy never did one like this nor have I.
 
Yeah the guy on the jeepsolid video comments is throwing you off. All that would need to be done if you were rebuilding an engine, inserted the cam and needed to hook it up to the crank properly. And honestly the commenter wasn’t wrong, because jeepsolid didn’t really do it right. You shouldn’t pull the gears and chain off and then rotate the two individually. But he was working with a spare engine so really it wasn’t an ideal example to begin with. Bullshitkorner’s video was fine and accurate, I actually used his video as education on how to do my old V6 ranger a few years ago, and then copied that knowledge to my Jeep 4.0.

Literally just get the dots lined up, yank the gears and put the new stuff back on oriented the same way. It’s not bad at all.

You say you/your buddy haven’t done a timing chain like this…I’m curious, what have you guys done? If you’re used to SOHC or DOHC engines instead, then this will be a treat because this is way less stressful than anything with cams overhead if that’s what you’re used to. Those hey way more complex since they are interference design engines with 2-4 cams to keep in time and crazy long chains where it’s easy to end up off a tooth and destroy the whole engine.
 
Im not exactly sure what my buddy has worked on but he stopped rebuilding motors in the 70s. He's older and mostly worked on v8's from that era. I haven't done any thus far. Just asked him for help since the jeeps been sitting for some time now and wanna get it moving again. Thought I'd gather enough info to relay in case it's needed.
I have come across the mentioning of interference engines on Scotty Kilmers YT channel and heard about DOHC engines but it was a bit over my head as I never owned anything like that before. It's crazy how they've built them so advanced.
 
I didnt read entirely into the Degreeing a cam questions, however, yes, kits are sold for those who want to alter their cam timing. The 'adjustable" timing gear sets allow something like 6 degrees of change either way from the normal factory settings. This is something the hipo engine builders work with for particular builds. Not something to fart around with on our jeeps I think. Im pretty sure newer car,bike etc engines with "variable valve timing" work off the same system but their electronically adjusted dependent on rpm and how loud the frap can muffler is. :)
 
Gilaguy23 said:
I didnt read entirely into the Degreeing a cam questions, however, yes, kits are sold for those who want to alter their cam timing. The 'adjustable" timing gear sets allow something like 6 degrees of change either way from the normal factory settings. This is something the hipo engine builders work with for particular builds. Not something to fart around with on our jeeps I think. Im pretty sure newer car,bike etc engines with "variable valve timing" work off the same system but their electronically adjusted dependent on rpm and how loud the frap can muffler is. :)
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Yeah the kit I got (double roller) and the single roller kit I considered both allowed 4 degrees of advance or retarding. The only time I would consider messing around with the options is if I got a single roller, I would do the advance option to hopefully make up for some of the stretch later on. Ultimately decided a stronger kit that shouldn't stretch was the best move, and installed to stock settings. So far seems to run really smooth in my limited number of crank ups.
 
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