To get the crank gear off, I used a series of wedges, ranging from super thin, to thick. Just tapped the narrow ones behind it until there was more room. Moved up a size. Repeat. Moved up a size. Repeat. Until it slid off.

I don't know on the cam, since I didn't reuse my cam and just put a new one in. But, I've heard the thrust plate is easy to break, so you may want to get a new one for added insurance. They're not too expensive.

Ford 240 300 4.9 liter 6 cylinder engines Cylinder head bolts / fasteners

CAM-21, Thrust plate for Ford 240-300 inline six.


To put the new ones on, put them in the oven for half an hour at around 300°, lubricate the ends of the cam and crank with axle grease, and then take some hot pads and shove them on as hard as you can, and then tap them down the rest of the way.
The cam has a threaded end (at least mine did), that I could put a bolt into and tighten the cam gear the rest of the way down, but the crank needed tapping to get it the rest of the way.

Also, when you take the cam gear off, be sure to hang on to the spacer behind it. If you don't have one, you may want to get one. It's on that headbolts site in the "engine finishing kit". I think Ford put them on with a machine that was extremely precise (since if the gear is back too far, it'll rub), so the spacer makes it so you can't put the gear on too far.

 

Well got everything pulled this past weekend. Got the crank gear off easily with the traditional puller. The cam gear broke to pieces while trying to pull it off so I cut all of the fiber off of the center metal housing. Then I took a piece of square tubing that would slide over the housing and drilled 4 1/4-20 treaded holes on one end, welded a plate in the tubing about 2 inches away from that end, and welded a 3/8 nut in the center of that plate. Slid the tubing over the housing and locked the 4 bolts down and then started tightening the 3/8 bolt to pull the housing off. Worked well..... Lifted the engine and pulled the oil pan to remove all the small fiber gears..... Waiting on parts

 

Sounds like you've dived in and are moving right along! Nice work. Fortunately, it sounds like you got the hard part behind you.

For the timing cover gasket set, I'd recommend the more expensive of the two. The higher end one comes with a repair sleeve for the harmonic balancer, as well as some good sealant. The repair sleeve will help with any leaks.

Also, be sure the timing cover is on very straight. Best way I've found to do it is to bolt the cover down loosely, then fully press on the harmonic balancer. Tighten down the bolts on the timing cover until they're snug. Then, pull the harmonic balancer back off and properly torque down the bolts on the cover. There are alignment tools for the job, but this has worked very well for me.

Last but not least, (I'm sure you know, but just in case) always make sure the two timing marks on the cam and crank gear point at each other.

 

Installed the gears today after oil pump and pan yesterday. Timing cover on and ran out of time. Anyone have straight forward steps for setting the timing on this thing from here?

 

It's pretty straight forward.

Turn the engine until it's TDC on the #1 piston on the compression stroke. The timing mark should be on the 0° mark. Rotate the engine slightly until the timing mark is pointing at your desired timing (10° is a pretty good setting).

Note which direction the #1 spark plug post is on the distributor cap and then remove it and install the distributor with the rotor pointed towards the #1 post. It doesn't matter which direction the distributor sits, although some are easier than others (don't want the SPOUT connector hitting the block). If it doesn't fully seat, try a few different directions or rotate the engine slightly.

Once it's fully seated and the rotor is pointed towards the #1 spark plug post, remove the rotor and look down in the distributor and find the magnetic pickup (should be a black thing to one side) and locate the alignment marks on it. Rotate the distributor slightly until the closest arm on the stator (the six sided star) is RIGHT between the two alignment marks.

Once it is, tighten down the distributor, install the cap and rotor, put everything back together, and fire it up. If it bucks, pops, and sputters, you most likely got it put in 180° backwards.

Best of luck!

 

What timing mark are you referring to. Not sure on this one. Thanks in advance!

 

I know this is an old thread but I just thought I'd mention this. My special tool is a torx on the other end. Some models use a torx screw and I think the hex heads are actually metric. Can't remember for sure but 6mm or 7mm,

 

Just the standard timing mark on the harmonic balancer with the timing lines on the timing gear cover.

A lot of 300s have two timing marks on the balancer (mine does) with timing lines on the timing cover, and another set on the passenger side. I prefer the ones on the timing cover since they're 100x easier to see, especially while turning the distributor.

7mm is what I remember. I thought it was odd that it was metric.

 

Van is running! Thanks for all the help!

 

Awesome! Glad to hear it. Now you know your timing gears are good for another couple hundred thousand miles.

Job well done.

 

I had same problem and found that it was my timing gears...not fun!