Timing Chain Inspection and Replacement

[Tynan918]

Is the fan, water pump, and harmonic balancer the only things I remove to get to the timing chain cover ?

 

[pagrunt]

One thing I thought about is there's a chance the timing cover isn't the issue but the balancer could have a wear groove from the front seal.

 

[Wageslave]

If I was in a "do or die" situation and I had to change it, I would either pull the oil pan out if you can get it loose and then do all the timing chain work, or I would buy (4) 1/4-20x1.5" bolts and swap 4 of the oil pan bolts out with the long bolts (one in each corner, and hand tighten only) and then remove all of the rest of the pan bolts. This will allow the pan to hang down about 1.5 inches from the block sealing surface and give you the clearance to change the timing stuff without damage to the oil pan or timing cover. A reasonable amount of gasket surface cleaning and black RTV would get everything back together without too much drama.

I will say that I would definitely use your familys shop to do it at, because having somebody that has done it before give you advice can make things go a lot smoother.

 

[Scoot-71]

I have never pulled a pan to do timing chain on a sbc, and in the late 80"s with plastic timing gears we did a ton of them, unless someone had installed a one piece oil pan gasket, I was taught by a chevy dealership tech on how to do it back when I was 16, I am 51 now, we always trimmed the corners off the back side of the rubber gasket support, used 2 small phillips screw drivers to "pry" down on cover untill it slipped into place, ya it takes a little work but thats how we always did it, it does take a skill set to do. Just my 2 cents.

 

[scoti]

I have never pulled a pan to do timing chain on a sbc, and in the late 80"s with plastic timing gears we did a ton of them, unless someone had installed a one piece oil pan gasket, I was taught by a chevy dealership tech on how to do it back when I was 16, I am 51 now, we always trimmed the corners off the back side of the rubber gasket support, used 2 small phillips screw drivers to "pry" down on cover untill it slipped into place, ya it takes a little work but thats how we always did it, it does take a skill set to do. Just my 2 cents.

Thats how my buddy did the sbc in my old Malibu..... With some extra sealant for the corner joints.

 

[Tynan918]

Gotcha. Interpreting the posted statements is hard sometimes. This is why as much info as can be input is beneficial when seeking help. The downside is trying to determine exactly what your situational abilities are.

If you haven't done this sort of thing & timing is important (gotta' have it running in x-amount of hours/days), I'd seek assistance from one of those family members if they're knowledgeable on the task. It helps to have someone that's been-there done-that for tips & tricks so you're hopefully successful on the 1st try.

Yea that's understandable, you can't always hear what they're saying by reading what they write.

Timing right now is OK, my main concern was my daughter being in NICU and having to drive 8x a day to feed and bond with her, and missing those times gets CPS involved. But now she is at home and don't have to worry about that and I have resources to get to where I need to be until my car is fixed.

I drove the car Wednesday to work, 22 mile round trip, no highways, just city streets and back roads.

Right now I'm working until today, then possibly taking the next couple of weeks off to work on the timing cover and steering column replacements, and majority of the money I made is going to parts I need... A new aftermarket keyed steering column and timing cover/timing chain set.

 

[Tynan918]

I have never pulled a pan to do timing chain on a sbc, and in the late 80"s with plastic timing gears we did a ton of them, unless someone had installed a one piece oil pan gasket, I was taught by a chevy dealership tech on how to do it back when I was 16, I am 51 now, we always trimmed the corners off the back side of the rubber gasket support, used 2 small phillips screw drivers to "pry" down on cover untill it slipped into place, ya it takes a little work but thats how we always did it, it does take a skill set to do. Just my 2 cents.

Gotcha, I will most definitely try this route. Thank you !

 

[Tynan918]

This evening I will be pulling of the front end engine assembly parts to get to the timing cover... Basically, the fan and water pump...

I will also try loosening the first 4 oil pan bolts from the front of the engine and trying what scoti said to do...

 

[pagrunt]

A new aftermarket keyed steering column

I would seriously encourage you to get a used original one cause those universals really do need extra work & parts to fit. Like I said before someone here should be able to hook you up with a good one to match the old one.

 

[Tynan918]

I'm seeing a lot of different brands of timing chain sets, and single and double roller timing chain sets.

How would I know exactly which one I will need if I need to replace the timing chain set ?

 

[Tynan918]

I would seriously encourage you to get a used original one cause those universals really do need extra work & parts to fit. Like I said before someone here should be able to hook you up with a good one to match the old one.

Yea, I see I'll need a rag joint on the steering box and a Borgeson coupler on the column shaft... Maybe a new steering shaft...don't know until I look under the hood this evening...

A new factory GM Monte Carlo steering column is damn near $1k online, vs $300-400 for the aftermarket and about $75 for the extra parts needed to fit it...I simply can't afford the factory at the moment and its cheaper going the aftermarket route.

Been watching videos of GM installs of these steering columns...