B2600i Timing Chain Question ?

hey all i got a 01 ford courier and it has the same engine (G6) as the B2600I ....

Now it's due for a timing chain as mine as 230,XXX on it and is starting to rattle a little bit and the guides are all chewed out

any way my question is are you able to get metal backed guides for them as the ones in mine are plastic ..... i know for the Toyota 22R engine you can get metal backed guides from the U.S and while its apart should i do the timing gears too cause i have been told by my local parts store that i can get a kit with or with out gears .... but most of the guides are plastic .... whats a fair price to pay for a kit?

also whats a normal amount of k's to get outta a timing chain / guides ?

any information would be great and thanks in advance

I would say your at the upper end of the timing chain and gears lives.
I would change both, plus you will have a balance shaft chain and 3 gears for it as well.
The guides I have seen and used in my 1991 B2600i trucks have ALL been steel backed.......steel cored really, they look like they're plastic but they have a core of steel. Two of them.......left & right.
The balance shaft guides are steel backed as well.......three of those....left, right, & upper.

Thanks for the info ..... i thought they might of been steel cored but they looked like plastic ... i need to do it soon as its makes a bad noise when you hit about 80km and take you foot off the accelerator.... is it very hard to do ? from the pictures i have seen it looks like its not very hard..... how much is a timing kit with gears over there (U.S.A) ... i went to a few shops the other day and they want about $250 (AUD) for a kit with out gears ...

The worst part of it is that you HAVE to drop the oil pan in order to get the timing cover off. The oil pump IS the front timing cover and the oil pick-up tube is bolted to the oil pump, naturally, so even with all the front cover bolts removed, you still can't get the front cover off.
You can do this with the engine installed though (in a US market 1989-1993 Mazda truck) you just have to lower the steering drag link to allow the oil pan to lower enough for removal on a 2WD truck......not sure what is involved on the 4WD truck to do this.
Here's a few pics of the bottom end and front cover.

ok than thanks for all the pics ...... how much dose a kit with gears retail for over there ?

Looks like it is around $237.00 in USD.......I've used this brand before.....seemed to be fine, other than the fact that they sent a Toyota timing chain to me instead of the Mazda one......same exact chain except the Toyota chain only had 2 colored links, instead of three on the Mazda chain.....so I used it. I haven't had any problems with the gas pedal sticking neither!

Here's the link to a parts store near me.