Take a look at the last item in the top silent chain list.

http://www.kilangrantai.com/technical.info.htm

Justin, go for it.

Route the wiring thru the neutral light wiring plug.

Here's an idea, put it in series with the neutral light.  when it hits the end the neutral light stays on even when in gear.  

I'd use a magnetic reed type switch, completely sealed don't have to worry about a spark lighting something up.  

I am in charlotte NC and have a spare chain and what not laying about. How about fresh and clean on monday morning I go down to those guys and pick their brains.
Cool.
Srinath.

Srinath,

Here is another thing to ask Ramsey Chain-- if they don't make a quarter inch chain can they acquire some premium plus quarter inch chain for us through a chain industry business contact that they have that DOES make the quarter inch chain that we need.

We need one reel of chain and a matching quantity of connection "staking" pins to make up 66 pin length chains.  We want to buy the chain in bulk on a reel as that is the dirt cheapest way to buy it.  One of us will hold the reel and make up chains for the group as needed.

(PS  If you have a cam gear or crank gear lying loose, take it with you too.  Seems silent chain folks have more confidence "matching up" if they have the chain AND a mounting gear to look at)

Oldfeller

Got a live response from a chain vendor who is willing to work on our early wear out issues but I need an old gear (cam gear would be fine) and an old chain to forward to him for tear-down examination.  

I doubt we will ever see the components back again, so please don't volunteer unless you got some real junk parts you don't really care about seeing again.

Plus side is this vendor has different pins he can put in a chain for us to beat the problems he sees after cutting up and examining the worn chain and sprocket.

==================

"Hi, Kelly,

If you can, please send one new sprocket and one worn sprocket and a worn out chain to my attention.  I’ll use them to make sure that we pick a chain that will wrap the new sprocket and has the best chance of working in your application.  Any information that you can supply would be helpful in terms of loads or speeds.  I understand that the chains are not breaking but only wearing out?  Is this correct?  I’ll be on vacation until July 19th. and it will take a few days to dig through the pile of accumulated E-mails and the like.  We have two types of special pins that we can try depending on what we find with the current worn chain."

===========================

I wouldn't send him a new part to never see again, I'd just send him dead old parts that are so severely worn they are useless.  Some of you guys are "head collectors" and you got some really bad parts of no real value that you could kick in to promote the effort to find us all a better cam chain.

What do you say guys?

Oldfeller

I really like the idea of a micro switch and light to warn of a worn chain, maybe we could connect it to the unused light in the speedo, the one to the right of the neutral light?

Ken,

Please don't send any new parts or really nice used parts. This guy is going to cut the chain up to make samples and he is going to section the gear teeth for micro hardness testing too.  

He is going looking for WHY the chain is stretching so soon (20k is soon, BTW -- they expect 90-100,000 miles as early failure on these type chains in a car).

I will PM you with an address to send the parts if you still want to send them off to be all cut up.

Anybody else got any real junk parts?

Oldfeller

Srinath,  I got the same answer from Ramsey as you did.  The only thing they have is 3/8" chain and that is too far away from 1/4" chain for even a gear swap out to work out for us.

The only other American chain manufacturer for the chain size we need is Borg/Warner Morse and they are locked into exclusive distributorships with a certain very few large automotive  supply houses.  I can only talk to them through their industrial sales avenue using my company functions and that is proving very awkward and I will likely abandon that effort shortly as they seem to see silent chain as an "automotive OE supplier only" item.

Japanese companies have the same exclusive relationships with their own Japanese large automotive parts suppliers -- they won't even respond well to my official company requests for information.  We aren't in their supply chain at all.

Chinese chain suppliers will respond but the language barrier in talking to them is formidable and I suspect that importing chain from China would be very hard to do with many trade barriers that would require import/export liscenses, etc.

This whole thing is much harder than it looked from the outside.  For example, you can buy industrial #50 chain (the same stuff as goes on our chain conversions) in 50 foot rolls for $110 plus shipping but the same wholesale purchase points don't touch can't get silent chain from the same people that make the drive chain that they can get -- it is sold through different supply channels and they have no distributor rights to the silent chain at all.

Frustrating.

Oldfeller