Oh boy, changing timing cover

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Nov 15, 2006 | 06:59 PM

laneyboy6933

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Oh boy, changing timing cover

My 86 460 that i just recently posted with bed issues has a very bad coolant leak. I took it to the local mechanic to get it checked out and he said it was the timing cover witch the gasket was cracked. He said it's kind of a pain in the butt and it would cost me about $700 to $1000 for him to do it. Well at 17 yrs old, I have a pretty good understanding of engines, so i said i would do it myself. I've changed the head gaskets in an 94 ford 4.0, so i don't think this will be half as bad. Can anyone give me a vague run through on how to change timing gears and the gasket? About how long would it take? Cost? Anything I should be real careful about? Thank you

Nov 16, 2006 | 09:58 AM

Sport45

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From: Too close to Houston

It's not too hard if you take your time. Here's a guide on how to do it from Autozone.

Here

Dec 21, 2006 | 04:38 PM

laneyboy6933

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Behind the damper is a another piece on the crankshaft, i belive it's part of the vibration damper device. How do u get it off? There are no bolt holes on it. Does that whole timing cover slide over the crankshaft? Do i have to drop the oil pan at all?

Dec 21, 2006 | 07:18 PM

big hoss 29

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From: Billings Montana

That other piece is the external balancer for the engine. IIRC, once you get the vibration damper off, the balancer just slides right off.

Dec 21, 2006 | 08:06 PM

Sycostang67

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From: Kuna ID

I had to change the same gasket last year on my truck. That balancer slides off, but there is a woodruff key in it. Took me a while to find it because it was on the bottom side when I was looking down at it. Once you get the balancer off, the cover does slide over the crank and no you dont have to drop the pan, but you do have to remove the few bolts that secure the pan to the timing cover. The gasket set should come with some new corners for the pan though.

Last edited by Sycostang67; Dec 21, 2006 at 08:08 PM.

Dec 21, 2006 | 11:23 PM

big hoss 29

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Yeah, I remember when I took out the woodruff key on Hoss. It drove me nuts! I took an awl and drove it out and it shot across the carport and right smack dab into a pile of dirt and leaves. Took me 30 minutes to find the little %$#&(!.

Dec 27, 2006 | 11:19 AM

laneyboy6933

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Yeah i got it all off with no problem really. It wasn't bad at all, kinda easy actually. One question, there's a thin small plate that slides on the crank, does that piece slide all the way back to the block when i reassemble the gears? FYI- The guy who had this before me did some engine work, and did a bad job. There's a good inch of oil on the cross memeber, and oil all over the valve covers and the heads. I figured i should change the cover gaskets, and as i was taking off the bolts, i noticed all of them were fingure tight, which brings me to my next question. There are tibes that run from the exhaust manifold that run toegether into hoses for emission purposes. Does exhaust run through those? Can i just cut them off and crimp them? The emissions hasn't been hooked up. What al can i take off that i really don't need, and yet have the motor run right? I live in wisconsin so i'm not worried about getting checked for this stuff. Thanks.