Hey all,

It's been a long time since I've posted. Now I'm back with a question. I have a 2007 Cooper S. It's on its 4th tensioner and 2nd chain. It's been 4 years since the last chain was put in and a year and a half since the last tensioner was put in. Well it's making noise again. I have all the parts to do a timing chain job, but I had a thought....

Has anyone ever Cryo treated a timing chain before installing? Cryo treated rotors work really well in terms of longevity. And I have a client that works in the drilling business that uses Cryo treated drills that last 3 times as long as non-cryo treated bits.

So, why not the chain since its apparent that it's a wear item on these cars?

To repeat myself, has anyone done this? What are some of your thoughts?

 

We cryo treat all of our chain kits and have been doing so for over 2 years, and so far so good. We've got kits with over 40k miles on them and still going strong without any chain noise.

We applied the theory through motorcycle chains, it's been proven that cyro treating them has doubled or even tripled their life.

 

That's good information. Do you cryo all the parts plastics included or just the metal bits. I assume the plastics can't be treated, but I thought I'd check.

 

Just the chain, tensioner, and bolts. Plastic at -300* isn't too happy. :haha:

 

OK, gotta know. What the heck is cryo treatment?

 

cryo hardening is a steel-specific treatment. Its highly debatable if its worthwhile for steel, but it certainly doesn't do squat for plastic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryogenic_hardening

 

Gotcha, thx. Suppose I should have googled that myself..

 

Nick cryo-treated my new timing chain at Detroit tuned two years ago. It's too early to judge anything, but I feel good about the procedure !