Is it possible to do with the engine still in the car? Can I lower the pan enough to get the timing chain cover off? Looks like I probably have room between the pan and crossmember just wondering if I have to completely remove all the pan bolts, etc. Any tips or tricks for this job?? thanks-
Dan done it more times than I can count. You need to drain your oil or some of it then loosen the pan bolts until you can remove the timming cover. Take some rags and cover the hole at the front of the pan before you scrape the gasket. The timming chain should come off pretty easy. Sometimes its a bugger to pull the balancer and lower sprocket. But if you got room to get the balancer off your golden. Go for it you'll see that its cake once you get started.
also depends on the year of the engine, the timing cover was redesigned around 1974 with a wider seal, to make it easier to get off without removing the pan. I think that redesign had something to do with the flat cam problem Chevy experienced in the early 70s
Did so many cam swaps in the past, just be careful you don't get any crud in the pan... Like beaner said!
and remember to rotate the engine to line up the timeing marks before you remove the chain or back off the rockers to prevent bent valves
Another thing to keep in mind is the oil pump. You can only go so far down because of the crossmember, then you would have to move the pan back or to the side to get more clearence, but the oil pump will limit travel. Are you replacing the sprockets or.........?
All I would add is what porknbeaner said is right. It's usually pretty tight getting the balancer off but remember that to do it right you need to use an installation tool to put it back on and for some reason the installation tool is about 2 inches longer than the removal tool. I had a real problem with that and wound up pulling it back on with the crank bolt, which isn't a good idea but I got lucky and the threads are good.
Oldschool, I completely forgot about the tool to put the ballancer back on. You are absolutely right. I have tapped the center of the balancer with a brass punch and a hammer before, actually I have also used a chunk of wood and a hammer, then finished up the job with the bolt, but like you said its not the recommended way to do it. When you are stranded on the road sometimes you use what you got at hand.
we have the proper tools for balancer removal and installation and in fact the front clip is off the vehicle so we have all the room in the world up there... was thinking we might degree the balancer while we have it off, is it possible to do that with the heads on and not finding exact TDC with a dial indicator?? we are replacing the timing chain with a new one as we were having a hell of time getting this thing timed and running right, we checked the slack in the chain and I bet we had an easy 20 degrees of movement at the balancer before the rotor moved...
I don't loosen the pan, just manhandle the cover off. Reassemble without the rubber seal, just lots of "Gorilla Snot" and smooth it with a finger. Never had a leak doing it that way. The rubber seals are a real pain, drive ya nuts! Some guys cut the rear flange off the timing cover so it slips in and out easy. Never tried that.There once was a two-piece changeover that had a piece with the pan seal on it and a full front cover that was flat on the back side, with extra bolts that held them together. Not available any more, though.
Unless you have a real tight fit to the crossmember you should be able to lift the engine high enough to slip the pan off and if the timing chain is worn that much you probably want to look into replacing the rear seal and checking the bearings anyhow. The Felpro one piece pan gaskets make things a lot easier and more leak free when going back together.
Back in the 60s I built a stout 301 and changed the cam several times. I took two timing covers and cut the raised part out of one and the pan lip out of the other and sandwiched them together. After that all you had to do was remove the front cover, the pan stayed on. Somebody made an Aluminum two piece set up but I was way to cheap for that.
Wow, that problem must have gone on for way longer than I thought - I used to make good money changing cams in late 70's early 80's SBC's - a LOT of them. The cam companies must have sold millions of RV cams back then! (and felpro a lot of gasket sets).
pulled the cover off without removing the pan no problem... trimmed alittle bit off the flange so now the cover slides on and off alot easier... had the kids make a piston stop on the lathe, turned the engine on direction and marked the balancer and turned it the other way and marked the balancer - measured between those two lines to establish a new 0 or TDC mark... Did the math and marked the balancer at 90, 180 and 270 degrees, also went out to 40 for helping set intital timing... my original goal was to get the 90, 180, 270 because isnt there a method of setting the valves where when you #1 at TDC you set it but there is also a couple other cylinders you can do, and then rotate the crank 180 and do the others and so on?
Dan You got it under control. I'm a little late with this but I have used timming tape on a balancer more than once. Its cheap from your local catalog speed shop. it is good that you did the math so the kids know that it can be done and how. The timming tape is easier but everyone needs to know how to think. You're doing good with the kids my friend.
WHAT IS YOUR DEAL?????????????????????????????????????????? I gave a fellow member the answer to the question of " degreeing " his balancer. You gave him a $5.00 temporary solution to a jury rig waste of money. THINK Before you type, this is not Saturday Night Live. The O/P can make his own decision without you nit-picking a engineer who didn't have to share his knowledge with anyone including you and your childish remarks. Smart assess have so destroyed the HAMB, it's not funny.
Amen brother!!! The smartasses are all around us, not only here. I did not respond to this thread because I don't know. Thank you for helping me learn. My Dad (RIP) always said " it is better to keep your mouth shut and let everyone wonder if you're stupid, then to open it and remove all doubt".
TR I have read through the post because I was having trouble understanding what the problem was. I think that this fella is referring to adjusting the marks on the balancer itself as opposed adjusting the pointer on the timing cover. Of course this is just a guess based on your post and his as he was not real articulate. Either method would work equally well the end result is the same you end up with TDC being true TDC. Smart asses have been around here for a very long time, most of us are planning on staying. I don't consider the fellas that nit pic good tech to be smart asses just asses. You should probably get used to it. Put the information out there that you see fit to share and let the reader determin if it is good info or not. No need to defend yourself those of us that have just a little bit on the ball can figure out if you know what you are talking about or not. BTW sorry you lost your Dad its a big loss now its time for you to step up and carry the torch.
I think this is the method you are referring too. It works on all V-8's with the 18436572 firing order.Mopar Parts makes this sticker you can put on your firewall.
I am suprised Dan that no one mentioned (other than you) cutting the corners of the cover to make it easier to install (and remove later on)......Don't use too much RTV as it will fall into the pan and clog the pickup screen!!!! I only use GMSC (brown goo) on gaskets and seals, stays pliable.
xracer40- that is what I was looking for, thanks! that is the exact reason I wanted to degree my balancer at 90 degree increments...
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