OCI on Cam Chain Driven v. Cam Belt Driven Engines

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Two of my vehicles are cam belt driven the others are cam chain driven. My question is would chain driven engines be more sensitive to rigorous OCIs? Seems belt driven engines have many fewer moving parts needing lubrication. Lots of reports of chain, tensioner and guide failures due to oil neglect. Generally, I prefer a chain cam drive system due to its lack of maintenance. I could be wrong.


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Seems like failures are confined to specific engines so perhaps the problem is elsewhere. As you indicated "due to oil neglect" but clearly there are issues not related to neglect.

Really comes down to proper design, mfg, and maintenance. My 1NZ-FE did 400K+ miles on the original timing chain and guides as do many 1ZZ-FEs

JMO. It is unlikely i would buy a belt vehicle unless it is an older miata.
 
I think the chain is probably a little bit harder on lubricants than the belt. The belt supposed to get changed probably every 60 to 100,000 MI. The chain is usually in there for 300,000 miles. Because you have less access to the chain then to the belt I would keep up on oil cleanliness and oil change intervals.
 
chains "like" clean oil + higher viscosity seems to be better. belts are a crap shoot depending on if its wet or dry, BUT a broken belt or any other failure in an interference fit engine is BIG $$$$$. put 2 full belt kits on my 2001 1.8T jetta + one just after purchase of my 2001 TT 225Q, better safe + DIY is CHEEP
 
chains "like" clean oil + higher viscosity seems to be better. belts are a crap shoot depending on if its wet or dry, BUT a broken belt or any other failure in an interference fit engine is BIG $$$$$. put 2 full belt kits on my 2001 1.8T jetta + one just after purchase of my 2001 TT 225Q, better safe + DIY is CHEEP
Used to buy GReddy timing belts for my older F22 Accord. Was 80.00 but was much sturdier and made for hand driving. Add with a AEM cam gear and it's lighter and runs nice. Miss those 90s Accords.
 
Chains are or were theoretically longer lasting than belts, that is until the manufactures replaced reliable duplex chains with single row chains to eke out 0.5% better fuel economy. The cam chain and sprockets are notoriously the weak link on my engine and I would have much preferred a belt that I could cheaply and easily replace.
 
I've always thought of timing chains as being forever. Only chain failures I've ever heard of in my lifetime of driving is with Fords.
I've seen a few Nissan VQ/VK engines with chain component failures at 50k-150k miles. Lucky owners were in for a chain job, unlucky ones were in for an engine replacement. Extremely lucky ones were the gearheads who went for Euro or HDEO oils in 40-grades, and hitting 200k-400k on original chain components.
I know a contractor who swears by Mobil Delvac 15W-40, runs it in everything. His 2007 Nissan Frontier VQ40 went ~385K miles on original timing chain components, before he sold it (running perfectly) and upgraded to a late model Titan with VK56. You bet he runs Mobil Delvac 15W-40 in that Titan too.
 
Clean oil to lubricate the chains is certainly important, even more so with todays direct injection engines as they produce more soot than N/A alternatives. Soot and chains don't play well together. So yes, I would say all other things being equal, you could theoretically run an OCI longer on a belt driven engine. Not that I would want too personally.
 
Chains are or were theoretically longer lasting than belts, that is until the manufactures replaced reliable duplex chains with single row chains to eke out 0.5% better fuel economy. The cam chain and sprockets are notoriously the weak link on my engine and I would have much preferred a belt that I could cheaply and easily replace.
Yeah. Never any problems with the duplex 10-mm-pitch chain of my '81 Mazda in 606k miles. Now in the Toyota a single-row, 8-mm-pitch chain powers twice as many valves.
 
The same kind of neglect that can mess up a timing chain can also clog up oil control valves in belt driven engines. Chains are much better IMO especially when it means the water pump is driven by the serpentine belt.
 
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