Hey all,

I've been doing a bit of searching here and a couple of things crossed my mind, I wonder what you think.

It seems that some kind of start up noise comes with owning a M103 with significant mileage on it (by Detroit standards anyway). Most folks seem to determine that it is a lifter/cam follower, and proceed with some kind of oil related treatment , before getting in any deeper.

Something I noticed while "searching", was that several people reported that their, timing chains failed... some time after quieting the lifters with any one of the oil treatments. Given the fact that a lot of these M103 powered vehicles have been acquired with out much of a service record, would it be reasonable to assume that if the lifters/followers are noisy, it may be a good PM step to look into the timing chain assembly?

I suppose what I am asking is...Do the lifters/followers have a comparable service life to the timing chain assembly? I'm asking this because will be replacing my valve seals and lifters/followers this weekend, and plan on doing the timing chain assembly(tensioner, guides and sprockets as needed) next month. From what I understand, these PM steps should ensure a pretty solid motor for quite awhile (147K currently).

I am aware of head gasket issues looming, but I will tend to that when/if, it arises. Sorry for the long post, I would like to keep this motor in good shape as long as it is practical.

Thanks,

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1993 190E 2.6 135k
1989 Ford Thunderbird SC 5 Spd 79K