Don't give me too much credit. Remember, this was supposed to be just a main seal. Oh boy...

If one more thing turned up it might have been the start of another urban legend... (You know, like the Barth coach that sold cheap and messy "as is" because the owner shot himself in the coach...)

It will be good to have all this stuff done soon.

I got the new crankshaft in, all main and rod bearings torqued to spec, cam chain and sprockets are on and the timing chain front cover is on.





It is a bit of a dance to sneak the crank up between the rods. The crankshaft cradle I made makes the job easier. I used a small bottle jack to move the cradle (slowly!) as it raised the crank into position. It helps to rotate the crank a bit as it rises, to clear the rod bolts. I used heat shrink tubing to make sleeves to cover the rod bolt threads. Sorry, didn't stop for pics..

This is a huge milestone for me, all I have to do is install the new oil pump and the oil pan can go on.

Tomorrow I'll install flex plate and reconnect the trans. With luck I'll have engine/trans sitting on all the normal mounts and be done with the jacks.

On Monday I can get the radiator and the driveshafts back.

Maybe I should have Bill NY rename this thread "454 rear main seal/crankshaft," I have drifted a bit...

As usual I'll have more pics soon.

I looked up the High Perf stamping on your block and apparently it indicates the truck motor. A lot of posters commented on how strange that it states that, but it is the common 2 bolt main BB truck stamping. Likely indicates original motor.

Did you coat the bearings with break-in lube or Marvel Mystery Oil and are you doing a plasti-gage clearance check on bearings?

So "hi perf pass" is a truck??? This is so GM...

I did not plasti-gauge the bearings but I checked the new crank with a micrometer, seems to be right on for standard size. Assuming the bearings are standard (as marked) I'll be OK. (New crank, not reground to undersize)

Opinions vary for assembly lube. Back in the day, people swore by STP. I usually just use oil.

Today I used a very light coat of grease on the bearings. I oiled the cam chain and sprockets before I covered them.

Most important: even though I will pre fill the oil filter, the cooler and lines and galleries are empty. Before I start the engine I will pull the distributor. Using a drill motor and long extension, I will run the oil pump and pre-oil the engine. I will have oil pressure before I start the engine. I always do this if I can, the first few seconds without oil pressure can be very hard on the new parts. Assembly lube is almost a moot point then (except for cam and followers) So far, so good.

More tales from the dark side: My new oil pump had a shorter pickup tube than the one I removed. I was concerned until I noticed that the screen was actually rubbing on the bottom of the oil pan. The new one is about 3/4 inch shorter and won't bottom out. I'm still not sure when that pump was installed.

And the band plays on...

quote:

cam chain and sprockets are on and the timing chain front cover is on.

Instead of a chain & sprocket R&R, what are the advantages/disadvantages in replacing
it with a gear set?....And why are some gear sets advertised as "noisy", as if that's
a good thing? Seems like a gear set would be less wear & trouble prone, but I'm totally clueless here.

This winter I plan to R&R radiator...probably good time to do the same with water pump, fan clutch, fuel pump, up-size tranny cooler, etc.. At 95k miles, should I also consider a new timing chain & sprockets, even if it's been trouble-free this far?

quote:

I have drifted a bit

Bravo!!!

Some people work with blinders on - others work with eyes wide open. I believe we choose what we see in life.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve VW:
Before I start the engine I will pull the distributor. Using a drill motor and long extension, I will run the oil pump and pre-oil the engine. I will have oil pressure before I start the engine. I always do this if I can, the first few seconds without oil pressure can be very hard on the new parts.

I had an old 454 distributor that I used to pressurize my oil passageways.

not my tool/picture, but it explains why a regular tool isn't as effective.


Regular tool.



Be careful... Don't use a cutoff screwdriver, or the likes, for something like that. You have a very hard time keeping the screwdriver lined up straight as the pressure builds or the drill speed increases. Going that route, you have the potential to break off an ear at the oil pump shaft when it builds pressure.

I don't want to see any more pictures of you lifting the engine up to change your oil pump again.

Wow, a new improved thread name! Thanks Bill!

The distributor tool is nice! A bit of overkill for me since I haven't done this in 20 years and don't plan to do it again. I have used a piece of 3/8 rod stock with a flat on the end. A rubber hose sleeve keeps it centered on the oil pump shaft. Also a cordless drill at low speed is easier to control, you can tell when the air is gone as the pump loads up, should be no problem.

You got that right... I ain't never gonna do the pan again, I hope!

Lee: The gear head guys like the roller chain setups and the gears for the high end race uses. The gear sets are very strong but noisy. For me they are both overkill for the generic engine.

Most people don't like the stock chain and plastic sprocket. They will last about 150k then start losing teeth, get so loose they slap the cover and eventually skip timing. As long as both sprockets are steel they will last long time. Mine were about 1/2 gone but new set is only $35 so I changed em.

quote:

So "high perf pass" is a truck??? This is so GM...

Yuh......huh?

Makes me wonder how the GM guys ever got the left hand and right hand to clap together. The engineers are usually talented and build the best they can, then the bean-counters get involved. Plastic timing sprockets? Since the 1960's?

"hi perf pass" engines on P30 truck frames? I wonder if there are a bunch of Corvette owners out there wondering why they have "hvy truk" motors in their cars... just a little mixup at the engine plant?

I think there is/was a tall deck 454 truck motor? Seems to me it had longer pistons and an extra piston ring. That would make sense for the 16,000 lb P3x chassis. But I like the sound of the "hi perf pass" even if Barth hardly passes at all!

I think the switch to nylon timing gears was just to quiet the engines down, they really don't break in normal applications. Your point is well taken that the bean counter's fingers were controlling engineering by the mid 70s, before that it was engineering that really had a hand on the rudder.

quote:

Originally posted by Moonbeam-Express:
I think the switch to nylon timing gears was just to quiet the engines down,

Yup. The suits wanted the engines to be as quiet as the older engines with fiber or Micarta timing gears.

quote:

they really don't break in normal applications.

The nylon is only a coating on an aluminum sprocket. The nylon does wear out or come off. The wear pattern is usually where the edges of the chain teeth contact the sprocket. The failure mode is chunks coming off the teeth. When it comes off the teeth, the cam can jump time and can even bend a valve or hole a piston. For that reason, I always put in a roller chain/sprocket set when the cover is off. There are also claims of more accurate timing, less spark scatter and longer life, but I dunno for sure on that. I have never noticed any more noise after putting in a roller chain.

I'm moving a little slow today. Got up to 86 degrees! The oil pump, oil pan and water pump are on.



Still need to clean the extra blue RTV off the back, hard to be tidy working upside down.



We were discussing oil pumps earlier. Here are the old and new pump. Notice the new one on the right has a steel coupling sleeve to retain the pump shaft. The old one is supposed to use a plastic bushing as shown...



This is what I found when I removed it. What the ??? There is an irregular blob of something remotely tubular and barely pliable holding the shaft.



Closeup view. Anyone got ANY idea why someone would use this? Another Barth mystery...



Yeehaw, tomorrow I'll hook up the trans and get it back on the mounts.

BTW Corey I think we are both right.

Even though the plastic gears don't USUALLY fail in normal service they are often the Achilles heel of the old beater Chevies. They get so old they finally jump time and die, not with a bang but a whimper. If Chevy wanted to improve this weak point they could have upgraded years ago, but then again the cars might last longer...

I had the geared cam drive installed when my engine was built. With a diesel, it's hard to tell if it's noisier than a chain.

I've used Pete Jackson gear drives as timing chain replacements on small blocks. Really loud, but I always liked the sound. Precise and last forever.

Pontiac 428, 1969, ~60,000 miles, plastic coated timing gear wears just enough to allow chain to jump a link. Try limping home by changing distributor timing! Got it done but no fun. Pretty common problem in the day at least for Poncho wagons with the big engine.

quote:

Originally posted by ccctimtation:
Pontiac 428, 1969, ~60,000 miles, plastic coated timing gear wears just enough to allow chain to jump a link. Try limping home by changing distributor timing! Got it done but no fun. Pretty common problem in the day at least for Poncho wagons with the big engine.

Yup

If you pushed a 389 GTO, it would do the same thing. Don't ask.........