Preventive Maintenance

[Stephen Pechenik]

Dear All, 

Does anyone know if the 1963 Cadillac was manufactured with nylon timing gears?  I checked the factory repair manual which is silent on that issue.

This morning I was speaking with a mechanic at a location where I store another vehicle ('48 Chrysler NY'er).  He had a 70 Deville convertible on his lift to dismantle it so that he could replace the timing chain and more importantly, the nylon timing gears.  He explained that the nylon gets brittle with age and might  cause an unexpected breakdown.  That made sense to me in light of the fact that I was planning on putting a few thousand miles on my '63 Sedan Deville Park Avenue (6359) this summer.  I do not want to tear off the front cover and oil pan unnecessarily as the motor seems to be very strong and in my mind is evidence that the odometer correctly states the mileage and 48,000+.  

I await your advice.  Thank you.

Stephen Pechenik