lester Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 I have a 78 280 that just had a new head put in it. We are having trouble with the timing chain though. We have it up and somewhat on the collar, but the little hole on the sprocket is not high enough to go onto the pin. What can we do besides taking the front cover off to get us maybe an inch at the most to get my car back together? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zmanco Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 Did you put a spacer between the chain inside the timing cover to keep the tensioner from popping out before you took the cam gear off? If not, plan on removing the timing cover - not fun, I know. FWIW, some say they have been able to get the tensioner to go back in without removing the cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lester Posted August 6, 2010 Author Share Posted August 6, 2010 yeah we followed all the directions in the manual. we made a wood block and stuck in down in there before we took the head off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zmanco Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 If the block wasn't wide enough then it might not have pressed the tensioner all the way in, and hence there isn't enough slack in the chain. It should have been a tight fit pressing the block in. FWIW, with my old high mileage engine I never had any problems, but on my new one with essentially a new chain, guides and gears, I had to make a new wider block and it was pretty tough to push in. Even then, it was still difficult to fit the cam gear onto the dowel. You might try using a large screwdriver in place of the cam bolt to try to apply some leverage to pull the cam gear up. Obviously you don't want to get carried away and damage the threads. I used a large philips head as it had a round shaft without any edges. Other than that, I'm afraid I can't add anything further. Perhaps someone else has some suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lester Posted August 6, 2010 Author Share Posted August 6, 2010 Yeah weve been trying with the screwdriver to pry it up, but where just like maybe an inch off, if that. Maybe we will get lucky and it will wiggle on up on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zmanco Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 Yeah weve been trying with the screwdriver to pry it up, but where just like maybe an inch off, if that. Maybe we will get lucky and it will wiggle on up on. An inch off?!!!! That's an awful lot. I was imagining maybe 1/8" or less. Something else is wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lester Posted August 6, 2010 Author Share Posted August 6, 2010 yea i proly estiamted more than it really is. u can see about 3/4 of the pin in the hole when looking at it through the front of the sprocket Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lester Posted August 6, 2010 Author Share Posted August 6, 2010 we also dont have the head completly tight.. the bolt are just in holding it on...do u think tightening it all the way will give us enough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lester Posted August 7, 2010 Author Share Posted August 7, 2010 we got it on! just kept wiggling and got it on to the collar. we then tightened it until it stopped tightning, then hit it with a rubber mallet. this allowed us to tighten the bolt more until we got it completely on. Thanks zmanco for all the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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