CAT Gear Drives

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71dart

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Has anyone or is anyone running the CAT gear drives? What are your feelings about its performance?

The price on these units is really good so something must be wrong>

Thanks
Mike
 
Ching chow yung fo chop chop

Not in My Mopar EVER I'd rather walk or drive a Chevy.

Did I say that...smack! gotta get control of myself.....:)
 
cuda66273 said:
Ching chow yung fo chop chop

Not in My Mopar EVER I'd rather walk or drive a Chevy.

Did I say that...smack! gotta get control of myself.....:)
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So. I take it by your ever knowledable comments that you have not tried one so you really do not know if there any good or not?

But Thanks for your reply anyway.

Mike
 
My friend got one about three weeks ago and it looks good. Won't know about the fit until he installs it, but I may try one also. My $0.02.
 
Mopar4ever,
Did he buy a big block or smallblock set? I want to get a smallblock set to try, I think ( foriegn or not)

Thanks

Mike
 
My friends set was for a 440. Also, I was mentioning this post at coffee and as it turns out one of the guys I work with has a set in his 360. Says they work fine so far.
 
Mopar4ever said:
My friends set was for a 440. Also, I was mentioning this post at coffee and as it turns out one of the guys I work with has a set in his 360. Says they work fine so far.
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I wasn't aware that CAT did a small block gear drive. I know Milodon does, but it's over $300.
How much is the CAT? And where is it made, although I have my suspicions.... :-k
 
Yes they do have, but not in stock right now. They are made off shore I am sure but at 1/3 the price of Milodon it is worth checking out.

Mike
 
71dart said:
Yes they do have, but not in stock right now. They are made off shore I am sure but at 1/3 the price of Milodon it is worth checking out.

Mike
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The hair on the back of my neck just stood on end..... imagine finding out the hard way that these tings DON'T hold up??? :shock:

We definitely need some qualified input on this one. If they're good I may go for one. Gawd....I love noisey things!
 
All the Cat stuff is made in China. Do you want to trust your American made muscle car to the metalergy of a Chinamen?
I think not! A good American made chain and gear is all thats needed.

Junk in, junk out! of your engine! Dont do it! Buy American!
 
70Barracuda said:
All the Cat stuff is made in China. Do you want to trust your American made muscle car to the metalergy of a Chinamen?
I think not! A good American made chain and gear is all thats needed.

Junk in, junk out! of your engine! Dont do it! Buy American!
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I make my (good...) living fixing Asian cars. I know they have some issues with body metal, but if every engine was as good as Nissan's V-6 they would all be WELDED into the cars! Smooth as silk, just about bullet-proof. Granted we're talking China vs. Japan, but I'd STILL like to see one of these CAT gear drives, just out of curiosity.

Now, if you want to talk JUNK, let's talk about the piece of **** Mopar Performance cam that wiped out in less than 50 miles, costing me a second rebuild..... :puker:
 
GotDart said:
if you want to talk JUNK, let's talk about the piece of **** Mopar Performance cam
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That was made in China??? :roll:
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Nope, it wasn't made "off-shore" as it's politicly correct to say.It was probably made on this continent. :dontknow:

BTW: From what I've heard Scott Brown will get a check for my next camshaft. Any input guys?
 
FASTBACK340 said:
70Barracuda said:
All the Cat stuff is made in China. Do you want to trust your American made muscle car to the metalergy of a Chinamen?
I think not! A good American made chain and gear is all thats needed.

Junk in, junk out! of your engine! Dont do it! Buy American!
Click to expand...

I make my (good...) living fixing Asian cars. I know they have some issues with body metal, but if every engine was as good as Nissan's V-6 they would all be WELDED into the cars! Smooth as silk, just about bullet-proof. Granted we're talking China vs. Japan, but I'd STILL like to see one of these CAT gear drives, just out of curiosity.

Now, if you want to talk JUNK, let's talk about the piece of **** Mopar Performance cam that wiped out in less than 50 miles, costing me a second rebuild..... :puker:
Click to expand...

I will be the guinea pig and buy one when they get in stock. May not use it but I do not drive my car alot and I don't hardly race it, so I chance it. I take pictures of it when I get it.

Mike
 
FASTBACK340 said:
GotDart said:
if you want to talk JUNK, let's talk about the piece of **** Mopar Performance cam
Click to expand...

That was made in China??? :roll:
Click to expand...

Nope, it wasn't made "off-shore" as it's politicly correct to say.It was probably made on this continent. :dontknow:

BTW: From what I've heard Scott Brown will get a check for my next camshaft. Any input guys?
Click to expand...

Scott, The problem was probably not the cam. It was the oil.
The oil out now is lacking in the material it used to have alot of. Sorry I can't remember what it is. Alot of people have lost cams over the last few years for this reason. You need to go to a chevy dealer to get their engine break in lube. Its full of that ? stuff. $6.00 or so for it.
As far as cams go. Racer Brown is the way and the light.
 
The problem with oil is that they are taking out the addatives that help flat taooet cams survive. With 90% of new cars being rooler cams or roller faollowers they arent needed.

However Diesals still use flat tappet cams so Diesal oil still has the addatives.
 
Unless you are running a high lift camshaft (lotsa spring pressure) I would pass on any geardrive. They generate lots of harmonics that usually get absorbed by the chain and big spring pressure is what causes chains to stretch. Spend the money and get a good Rollmaster Timing Set with the German chain( they have red label and blue label sets, I can't remember which one is which, you want the German chain) and your good to go.
 
Just a note: I have had several people tell me that the Dodge big blocks are famous for inconsistent timing and that a gear or belt drive eliminates the problem. Anybody else have an opinion they want to share? (Ha, ha, ha)
 
Mopar4ever said:
Just a note: I have had several people tell me that the Dodge big blocks are famous for inconsistent timing and that a gear or belt drive eliminates the problem. Anybody else have an opinion they want to share? (Ha, ha, ha)
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Expalin how this is possible? What is ha ha? 11 sec 318 runing a chain, 9 sec 440 runing a chain. What am I missing?
 
I'd be afraid to use a belt drive on a BB mopar...i'd rather have metal than rubber for my timing..granted i've never used a belt ...but i've seen cars that would need a belt replaced after 60k miles where as a chain can last up to 150K...
 
Ordered one off Ebag for the hemi. It didn't say it was offshore, but when I got it, it was packaged just like eveerything else from the land of the benevolent communist dictatorship. A gallon of cosmoline, cheap cardboard, no real instructional paperwork. The gears looked nice, but it was a cheap copy of the real dual-idler setup. the gears were not bushed on the axles, and the axles were retained by cheap-looking external circlips. The thrust button was REALLY cheap and was the reason I put it all back together in the box and then spent the next month trying to get the seller to take it back. they did. Long story short, it wasn't worth the gamble to put it in the Hemi. Sure I know the Eagle crank and rods were made there in Walmart's favorite sweatshop land, but they had a proven track record, and they looked and felt nice. The CAT stuff was junky looking. :violent1:
 
The problem with CAT products is they are billed as doing the same things as the good (read "expensive" drives). They are made offshore. What that means is, the quality of the material can be off, the machines grindign/working it can be wron out, both could be issues, or they could be fine. There is little quality control, and that leads to problems. Now, the reasons one uses a gear drive are to keep more precise timing over the life of the engine, the ability to quickly adjust the cam timing, and for some, the cool sound they make. I dont know how easy the CAT adjusts, all small blocks are a pain because of the cover in the way. I dont question the noise they can make..I like the sound, so I got one..But I bought Milodon (B stroker) because it is high quality, and in addition to the noise, also keeps things in time, for a long time. The CAT I doubt can get that accuracy.(no, I havent bought any CAT stuff, because frankly, too many people post in various websites about quality of other products from them) A good chain, with the MP tensioner, will now keep things in time just as accurately perhaps more than a cheap gear drive, probably for less $$. Both transmit harmonics back and forth between the cam and crank. The absolute best thing, is a belt drive..no harmonics, accuracy that is maintained, and adjustability..And a big price tag.
 
Personally, i wont buy anything from CAT...Not because of who makes it, or where it comes from, but because it cant do what it's billed to do reliably.
 
I agree with Moper on the chain set and the MP tensioner. A buddy put one of the gear sets in his 56 Chebbie, and turned a nice sounding engine into a noisy, rattling, sick-sounding POS. I don't believe it was a CAT set, but it was one of the well priced, but still expensive, units. That thing stayed in for one summer before being replaced with a Cloyes chain set, and the engine sounds like it should again. Just my $0.02.
 
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