V6 Timing chain installation

Grab a as this thread is a bit longer than what I normally post

Finally received my Edelbrock 7828 timing chain today (what a nightmare when they are back ordered) and made some progress tonight. I'll update this thread as I progress with the eventual intent of doing a write up for the main page.

Oil pump cover before (approx. 105000 miles, never apart)


Cover after lapping with 400 grit on a piece of glass. I'm happy with the outcome


Timing chain, fuel pump eccentric, dist. drive gear, and cam thrust button installed. Oil slinger is missing from these pics but I did install it





Timing mark alignment



Where I left off for the night



The only thing that I didn't do was put a bead of RTV around the harmonic balancer seal before pressing it in. I think it should be fine though.

I did have to move the cam and crank into alignment slightly when putting the new chain on. My old chain was stretched so much that when at TDC and 0* on the timing cover marks, the marks on the old gears were slightly mis-aligned. Hopefully this helps with some tuning issues I have been having and makes for an overall better running :v6:

Speaking of tuning, I pulled the #1 plug to have a look and this is what I found



Its not as white as the pics show because of the flash, but it is a grayish white. I think it may be running a bit lean or is it the wrong plug? Plugs are Autolite 85's gapped at .040" with an HEI distributor. Any opinions on this?

 

thats pretty much the color the plugs will be today because of the gas. if you want them tan then put some octane booster in the gas. at least thats what my plugs look like in a few of my engines and there burning fine. the old days the plugs used to be tan and white would be lean, now its light grey instead of tan. your sure doing a nice job on everything. with your chain being stretched that bad you should notice a big improvement on power.

 

Huh, never knew that and its good to know. I was always taught that tan was good. The guide in the back of my Chiltons manual also says that tan is how it should look. Thanks for the info.

 

Made a little bit of progress tonight



Also had a bit of a setback...mehh



Anyone ordered a rebuilt harmonic balancer from Damperdoctor.com? It list a rebuilt unit for a 64-67 225, which should work on my 71.

http://www.damperdoctor.com/Merchan...ode=DD&Product_Code=BUI2251&Category_Code=BUI

Edit: The damperdoctor.com unit looks to be different that what I have. I do have a spare back in Cincinnati....gonna call my brother and see if he can ship it out for me.

 

Lets just say my method of holding the harmonic balancer while torquing the bolt didn't work

 

More progress. Only tightened the harmonic balancer to 70 ft-lbs for now. I'll torque it on the rest of the way once I get the V6 timed and don't care as much about moving the timing mark around.





All I have to do is put the radiator back in, change the oil, and top off the coolant.

Its been quite some time since I've filled the entire cooling system. Do I fill thru the radiator and call it good? I noticed that the water pump has a threaded plug on top which I assume is to bleed air out?

 

Yep removed the grill and radiator for better access and to really get in and clean everything.
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Well I got it all buttoned up and went to fire it up only to have it crank twice before the battery died. Off to borrow a charger now...

 

I have good news....it runs!! Haven't driven it yet but I'm amazed at how much smoother and stable the idle is. I let it warm up, timed it to 8* initial timing, and then set the idle. She purrs like a champ!!

 

Yep, did mine a couple weeks ago. It's amazing what a new chain will do. Glad it came out good for you.

 

Good show. Love it when things turn out good in the end..

 

Went for a drive today and I'm impressed. The pinging I had when lugging the engine in 2nd and 3rd is now gone. I wouldn't say I really notice a power difference but it does idle much smoother.

My hot idle oil pressure before this project was about 10-15 psi. Cold idle oil pressure is now about 45-50 psi and hot idle oil pressure is about 35-40 psi. Driving down the road it holds around 40-45. I highly recommend the NAPA oil pump rebuild kit and lapping the cover when it is off. Very easy to do and the timing over does not need to be removed.