Re Zeus et al: TDi Timing Gears

[Jon White]

Does anyone know if Zeus Engineering are still trading? Been trying to contact them all week now about some power steering box seals, and their phone rings and rings and eventually goes into a voice mailbox for "Mark Cartright" and thats it! Website etc is still there but there doesnt seem to be any other way to contact them other than by phone.

Anyone dealt with them lately?

Thanks

Jon

[Soren Frimodt]

You tried mailing them?

[milliejasper1111]

Im 99% sure that they have shut up shop (might be wrong)

[mickeyw]

I seem to recall that the 4x4 and the engineering sides parted company a few years back. I remember them as one company at Marsh Barton in Exeter. Not sure what happened after that. I shall make some enquiries with a mate who used to know them well.

[lrfarmer]

there web site says thay've moved

http://www.zeus.uk.com/index.php

have you got the right number

the web site has got copyright 2010 in the corner

[Jon White]

well I've been dialing the 01297 number thats shown on that website! Havnt bothered emailing them cos I find that 90% of companies that publish an email address never bother replying anyway!

Jon

[p76rangie]

I am surprised that they are still around. They were sued by everyone about their timing gears.

[adam300Tdi90]

I am surprised that they are still around. They were sued by everyone about their timing gears.

Why were they sued? Was it an unoriginal idea?

[p76rangie]

Why were they sued? Was it an unoriginal idea?

You might read these:

http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=14746

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/timing-gears-tdi-engine-51320.html

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/4wd-overland-tech/zeus-timing-gears-25501

[Happyoldgit]

Why were they sued? Was it an unoriginal idea?

Back in the days of the old LRE forum there was a HUGE thread about their timing gears which all got terribly involved and somewhat protracted - so much so that we mods had to step in every now and again.

That thread probably still exists - it, along with others, will provide all the answers. TBH we don't really want the hassle of dealing with the intricacies and possibly legal implications again so I do not think we need to backtrack along some very worn paths on here.

[Troddenmasses]

Interesting thread

[RichardAllen]

Following an earlier thread, I read most of a long debate in 2002 about replacing a TDi timing belt with Zeus gears to improve reliability.

Many years on, is Zeus or anyone else offering a timing gear kit for a TDi engine ?

If so, who ?

If not, do the intervening 8 years of experience settle the old arguments once and for all ?

Regards

Richard

PS If Miserableoldgit, the original moderator, feels that this might just stir up trouble, I would not at all mind if the thread were deleted

Edited February 12, 2010 by Miserableolgit
This thread merged with another active one on the same subject.

[Ex Member]

AFAIK, Zeus still sells them. I have not heard anything since those days about them. Certainly I would not purchase them without seeing a report on the quality by a knowledgeable. 3rd party.....

Beyond that, I think that most agree timing belts do not randomly fail. Replace them properly at the proper intervals and you will be fine.

[p76rangie]

Following an earlier thread, I read most of a long debate in 2002 about replacing a TDi timing belt with Zeus gears to improve reliability.

Many years on, is Zeus or anyone else offering a timing gear kit for a TDi engine ?

If so, who ?

If not, do the intervening 8 years of experience settle the old arguments once and for all ?

Regards

Richard

PS If Miserableoldgit, the original moderator, feels that this might just stir up trouble, I would not at all mind if the thread were deleted

They were marketed at a time when there was a known fault with the timing belt on the TDi motors. This fault caused the belts to shred well before their change over date. This caused considerable damage to the motor. Zeus gears were the only alternative at the time. Land Rover have since fixed the timing belt fault and put out a kit to fix any ones already out there. Once this was done there was simply little or no justification to go to the Zeus gears. You really need to look at why you want to fit them. Even forgetting about any faults with them, they are noisy and still wear.

[Happyoldgit]

Following an earlier thread, I read most of a long debate in 2002 about replacing a TDi timing belt with Zeus gears to improve reliability.

Many years on, is Zeus or anyone else offering a timing gear kit for a TDi engine ?

If so, who ?

If not, do the intervening 8 years of experience settle the old arguments once and for all ?

Regards

Richard

PS If Miserableoldgit, the original moderator, feels that this might just stir up trouble, I would not at all mind if the thread were deleted

Since there are now two active threads concerning virtually the same subject I have decided to merge them together.

Obviously there has been a lot of coverage of this issue in the past but if there is still more to say then, as long as we adhere to the facts, so be it.

[ajh]

So, just to throw something else in the mix... why gears instead of a chain drive conversion? Of course gear one gear is better short term like in a Britten V1000 but like everyone knows, they wear.

[western]

it was a alternative for those who didn't want a rubber timing belt in their engine, but at around 600 quid it wasn't a cheap alternative & the original first sets were for the 2.5n/a diesel that was also use in London Black Cabs Austin FX4.

[Norfolk-90]

Since I see that there is renewed interest in the Zeus timing gears, I thought it might be useful to post my long-term experience.

I had the Zeus kit fitted to a 1998 Discovery 300 TDI when I bought it in 2001. The mileage since fitting the kit is around 110,000 and it has not caused any problems.

However, the engine was much noisier with the kit fitted - the story was that it would get better as the gears bedded down, but this did not really happen and the Disco sounded as though it had got an old Perkins under the bonnet.

I have to say that I am not persuaded that the Zeus kit made any big improvement to the Disco engine's torque or flexibility - it still had the typical Disco hesitancy in pulling away from roundabouts etc. and you still needed to change down to get the turbo spinning.

The engine has now blown its head gasket, not an uncommon problem, but together with the poor condition of the chassis, rotting rear wheel arches etc. it is beyond economic repair and has gone to scrap.

On balance, fitting the Zeus kit was an expensive mistake for me. It delivered little apparent improvement but made the engine a lot noisier. My vehicle did not last long enough for the cost saved in not having to replace the timing belt to repay the cost of the kit and fitting.

[FridgeFreezer]

Good post, worthy of the tech archive I'd say.

[PeterW]

Anyone aware if this was just the 300TDi sets that were made from chocolate poor quality, or is it all of them..?

Just interested seeing as I've just bought an engine that I've found has them !! And its a relatively new set by the look of it !

Cheers

Pete

[western]

the kits were availablr for all the 4 cylinder LR diesels, not just the 300tdi.

[p76rangie]

Anyone aware if this was just the 300TDi sets that were made from chocolate poor quality, or is it all of them..?

Just interested seeing as I've just bought an engine that I've found has them !! And its a relatively new set by the look of it !

Cheers

Pete

I would be removing them

[will_warne]

I would be removing them

I would agree with that. I had a set that lasted less than 12 months and not a lot of miles.... They really were a pile of poo!