I've got a new-to-me 1994 S10 (2.2, manual) that I picked up for cheap because it died & wouldn't re-start. I've had it home for about a month, but I finally had decent weather and enough time to get my hands dirty. The timing chain was broken into several pieces, all wrapped up around itself between the cam & crank gears. The tensioner is just...well, mostly gone. The timing chain was pretty much what I expected, actually. So I have ordered a new chain, tensioner, timing cover seal & gasket...and the replacement oil orifice (14033197, $0.65 + shipping from GM Parts Direct today). From what I've read, the early 2.2 had an oil orifice that was too small, if it gets crudded up the timing chain gets no oil and it eats the tensioner. Which is why, when people bust a timing chain, they often have trouble with it again in a few thousand miles. No fun!

So the TSB that talks about the oil orifice talks about replacing the cam & crank gears as a matter of course. I can't see anything wrong with those gears, but I haven't got them out of the truck yet. The cam gear is gonna come out so I can reach the orifice that's behind it, but I ran out of daylight and had to quit. Do I need new cam & crank timing gears every time? And don't bother inspecting? Or is this a situation of inspect and replace if there's visible damage? Are new aftermarket cam gears (Sealed Power, Melling, and Cloyes are available to me) better than old OEM?

 

Personally, I always replace them as a set, gears chain. I guess the reason I do replace the entire thing is the old set will have a wear pattern, go with new, IMO.