Are Febi Bilstein Timing Chain Kits good?

[clk320x]

I have bought a genuine MB timing chain kit for my OM651 at a cost of £400. This includes the chain, tensioner & 2 cam sprockets.

Febi do a kit with all of these parts for £200. Is it worth the saving? I’d normally only buy genuine but OEM chains on the 651 seem to be pretty shit as they all seem to stretch, could Febi be better perhaps?

cheers!

 

[clk320x]

@merc85

 

[merc85]

Tbh we have had very little to do with Chain kits,

I've sold a few FEBI over the years and can say we have never had a problem with any of them.

Despite what some have said, I personally haven't had a issue with any febi items i've retailed ever.

 

[E55BOF]

I rather think Febi are an OE manufacturer, so if you're asking whether you can find a better-than-OEM replacement, I doubt it.

 

[clk320x]

Tbh we have had very little to do with Chain kits,

I've sold a few FEBI over the years and can say we have never had a problem with any of them.

Despite what some have said, I personally haven't had a issue with any febi items i've retailed ever.

I rather think Febi are an OE manufacturer, so if you're asking whether you can find a better-than-OEM replacement, I doubt it.

Thanks guys.
I think for the sake of £200 I’ll stick with OEM for these critical parts to ensure correct fitment & also I am hoping MB have revised the parts.

 

[pcthrillrider]

I have bought a genuine MB timing chain kit for my OM651 at a cost of £400. This includes the chain, tensioner & 2 cam sprockets.

Febi do a kit with all of these parts for £200. Is it worth the saving? I’d normally only buy genuine but OEM chains on the 651 seem to be pretty shit as they all seem to stretch, could Febi be better perhaps?

cheers!

Only 2 sprockets? there's 3 i would use merc parts

 

[clk320x]

Only 2 sprockets? there's 3 i would use merc parts

Cam-sprockets there are 2.

 

[pcthrillrider]

Cam-sprockets there are 2.

if your going to change them you need to do all of them 3 2 cam and 1 from the gear drive

 

[pcthrillrider]

if your going to change them you need to do all of them 3 2 cam and 1 from the gear drive

 

[clk320x]

if your going to change them you need to do all of them 3 2 cam and 1 from the gear drive

You can’t do the bottom one with the engine in situ

 

[Gazwould]

And then coat it with tungsten disulfide.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Putting new chains on using only 2 new of the 3 sprockets is a false economy. Any wear - no matter how small - in the lower sprocket will wear the chain prematurely. If you are keeping the car best do it properly. It can obviously be done and you might be fine but if there is any wear in the lower sprocket it will fight the pitch of the new chain, and it's a fight neither will win, the chain will have its pitch altered at the same time the lower sprocket will wear to try accommodate the new chain.

First law of replacing chain on motorcycles . always do the chain and both sprockets as a set. Same here.

 

[Tonygw]

When I had mine done they checked the sprockets for wear and there was none found, mine was on 90K, perhaps there is no need to change them?? When I had chain trouble I did a lot of research and it didnt seem to be required in most cases is what I found unless the chain was REALLY bad.
I had the chain and tensioner only and used genuine merc parts. I think using genuine parts would mean you are guarenteed to get all the latest versions of the part so any updates to avoid future problems will be taken care of..

 

[wongl]

Using parts sourced from MB will also give you a two-year warranty and peace of mind. Should the problem return within two years, you will have the peace of mind that MB will cover the labour and the replacement parts.

 

[ChrisHGTV]

Putting new chains on using only 2 new of the 3 sprockets is a false economy. Any wear - no matter how small - in the lower sprocket will wear the chain prematurely. If you are keeping the car best do it properly. It can obviously be done and you might be fine but if there is any wear in the lower sprocket it will fight the pitch of the new chain, and it's a fight neither will win, the chain will have its pitch altered at the same time the lower sprocket will wear to try accommodate the new chain.

First law of replacing chain on motorcycles . always do the chain and both sprockets as a set. Same here.

It’s an interesting point because I always change the chain and sprockets on the motorbike at the same time.

but on the pushbikes i change the chains way more than the cassette and chainrings (sprockets). The main reason is the cost difference between a chain (£50) and sprockets (eg cassette on my “best” road bike is like £300 and chainrings £250) so I treat the chain as sacrificial to minimise wear on the more expensive parts of the drivetrain.

 

[merc85]

Using parts sourced from MB will also give you a two-year warranty and peace of mind. Should the problem return within two years, you will have the peace of mind that MB will cover the labour and the replacement parts.

Link
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[Petrol Pete]

It’s an interesting point because I always change the chain and sprockets on the motorbike at the same time.

but on the pushbikes i change the chains way more than the cassette and chainrings (sprockets). The main reason is the cost difference between a chain (£50) and sprockets (eg cassette on my “best” road bike is like £300 and chainrings £250) so I treat the chain as sacrificial to minimise wear on the more expensive parts of the drivetrain.

I have worked on production systems where the chain is indeed sacrificial because changing the drive and driven sprockets requires too much downtime. The chain 'takes one for the team' while the hardened sprockets live on. Not sure the OP has this option on his engine.

 

[Tonygw]

I Beleived the garage advised him to buy the sprockets a long with thechain kit. I didnt change the sprokets on mine as the garage advised there was no need as there was little or no wear on them. If changing just two of the three is deemed to be detrimental, its probably just best to change the chain and tension only. ??

 

[steveq]

Did I read somewhere that all that is needed to change is the tensioner?

 

[Tonygw]

A few have said this, how true it is I dont know. All I know is that when mine was done, the mechanic was convinced the chains had stretched in some places and not in others. So I had them replaced chain and tensioner for peace of mind as I plan on keeping the car for many years and many miles more..