From what I have read its a VERY common prob.Dodge should have done a recall on this.JMO My 94 v6 did at at 80 K miles.The 250 for labor sounds about right.

 

So what is the problem exactly? Is the chain at risk for breaking when you have the rattle? If it's just noise, there isn't much point in replacing it is there? I thought it had to do with the timing chain cover.

 

mine is starting to make that noise too..I thought it was a pulley bearing..but still made the noise after replacing them.put my stethescope on everything!! drove me nuts! now I know...thx for the post

 

From what I understand there is a tension-er that wears and no longer keeps the chain tight so it is slapping against the cover,with metal to metal some thing will eventually give.

 

Also, from what I understand, it slaps because it's stretched out. It can skip and/or break. If and when it does, your engine's timing will be off and that's a very bad thing.

 

Re Birthing an old post for a common problem!

I have 199k on the Dakota I bought, has the timing chain slap. Is there any point in changing the chain?

Apparently they started slapping at 90k. Has mine been slapping for this long?

Is it a failure issue, or just an annoyance?

 

Yes because if you don't change it and the chain breaks, it will throw the timing off (I think, some vehicles I hear don't mess up) and if it does then it will cost a lot more to fix.

 

This is something you should do. At least these vehicles have metal chains instead of fiber belts, there are plenty of stories of damaged engines when fiber timing belts break.


You should not only replace the belt, you should replace the gears and install a dampener if your truck does not have one, or the old one is worn out.


You are going to have to remove the timing chain cover to reach the timing chain. To get to the timing chain cover you have to take the harmonic balancer off.

And to get the harmonic balancer off you have to break loose the bolt in the middle. I don't have air tools, which is the best way to break the nut loose, so I had to fabricate a tool to bolt to the face of the harmonic balancer to keep the crankshaft in place:

It worked great. I used a 3/4" drive socket and ratchet, and a pipe on the end of the ratchet!.

This is the back side of the timing chain cover.




I marked the gears with white paint and red dots to ensure correct alignment. And I installed a timing chain dampener. My vehicle came from the factory without a dampener, which is a real dumb thing in my opinion.