Looking to tear down the front of the 400 on my Truck to replace the chain and gears.

I remember someone saying there was a bolt in the water pump housing that needed removal,but right in front of that bolt,in the way,is a heater hose nipple.

I looked and ...Sure enough...there is.

Ive never done a timing chain on one of these. Whats the best way to work around the issue of that nipple being in front of the bolt that needs removal?

Anthing else to aid in this entire procedure would be helpful.Anything else I need to watch out for?

Can this timing chain and gears replacement be done WITHOUT removing the water pump housing or this an absolute necessary step?

You CAN fiddle with that bolt ... but what I would say to do is to REMOVE that nipple. It makes the job EZier to put back together.

Another thing to watch-out-for is the oil pan gasket. LOOSEN the pan bolts so you can get the timing-chain-cover off.

I had to scratch my head at that one the first time too. I've bought a few big blocks where the owner cut that nipple as short as possible to get a socket around the bolt, and i still have one like that on at least one ov my cars, but its pretty short and i'm not feeling terribly confident about it staying tight. I check it occasionally.

But the best way i think is just to use the bolt against the nipple to cinch the pump off the block (unstick the old gasket) bit by bit, using a wrench. I was able to change one in my 72 Newport without hassle.

Leave the pipe nipple alone. If it's been in there for any appreciable time, you will spend way more time and aggravation trying to get it out then you would just running a wrench behind the nipple and backing it out.

It's just not that hard.

MB

Thats the way I do them.It takes a little time to get the bolt out.If you cruch or snap off the heater nipple it becomes a major job.Rocky

Ok,so I have torn everything down. Have the crank pullies off,and the large bolt holding the Harmonic Balancer on. It Was rather easy to remove,just whacked a ratchet & a 1-1/4 socket attached with a mallet and it loosened right up.

So now I gotta get the Harmonic Balancer off,so I can work on getting the timing cover off.

Is there a "Do it yourself makeshift" way of getting the Balancer off,or would it be more adviseable to go rent a harmonic balancer puller?

This job has been rather easy,compared to how it actually looks prior to jumping in.

You need a damper puller. They are pressed on pretty tight. As mentioned earlier while you have the water pump houseing off get the torch and remove that nipple. It makes life so much easier to reinstall the water pump houseing. A little heat and they come right out.

A damper puller kit is not very expensive and good for other things like pulling steering wheels.

Ive priced them and I agree they are dirt cheap.

Haven't tried it yet but recommended to heat the nipple threads at the bottom and melt in some beeswax (household candle?) into the threads and it'll come right out which will save your gas

Ok so I have the Puller an am ready to remove the harmonic balancer(damper)

Does the engine have to be on TDC on #1 prior to removal of the damper?

How s this achieved?

you want it on TDC #6 compression so put the harmonic dampener timing marks at TDC with the dist rotor at the #6 plug wire. This'll put the dots at 12 o'clock on the small bottom crank gear and 6 o'clock on the top large can gear & you're ready

I used PB Blaster and a pair of vice grips to remove the heater hose nipple. I thought it was going to be a terrible job and would surely break off but it came right out. One of the easier things on the whole thing and I thought for sure it was going to be a terrible mess. 440 Source sells the nipples and they aren't that expensive and if you break one off in the water pump housing an aluminum housing isn't all that much either.

Did as suggested and your experience paid off.The dots are totally lined up...Awesome,Thanks for the tips!!

I have taken some pics of the chain as its currently installed. According to the pics,is this chain in need of replacement? Looks to have alot of slack in it.

Regardless,im in there,have the replacement parts,the truck has 93k miles...Might as well do the job.

Im doing this job because the truck has no power,and it backfires,"sounds" like its backfiring in the crankcase.I was told the Timing Chain may be suspect,so thats why im doing this.

And lastly,YES that Fram filter will be coming off once I get it running again.

Change it.

Yep, change it.
After you get the gears and chain off, stuff a rag down into the front of the oil pan to keep ann the junk out when scraping the gaskets off.
Make sure the front cover is flat and clean.
Remove the rag before installing parts!
If you are going to change the oil before starting, you can rinse any slime down into the pan. No chunks or stuff that will clog the pickup though!
It's a good time to install a front seal too.

Start all the front cover bolts, then the oil pan bolts. Then tighten.
The harmonic balancer will not slide on, so you will need a hammer, chunk of wood and be careful of the radiator (shade tree style) or a balancer installer (rent?)

If you are doing an engine cleanup at the same time, paint the front cover and the back of the water pump housing before putting the housing on.
Clean and paint the timing marks too.

The balancer and pulley should align only one way, it might help to figure this out and have an alignment mark before it's way down in that engine bay...

rent a harmonic balancer installer to draw it back onto the crank smoothly and w the cover loosely back on, tighten the pan bolts to draw the cover/gasket downward to help line up the TC to block bolt holes in the front on the block if need be, then snug everything down evenly keeping an eye on the gasket at the bottom.

Ive got the Radiator out,just for clearance sake. Im not sure it was necessary to remove it but I did anyway...It was easy enough and reinstalling it will be easy as well.

The new timing gasket set comes with a new seal,so I might as well replace it.

Will I need a seal puller to remove the old one,or is there an "At Home" way of getting it out? What about installation? Do I need to get a special tool,or can I just use a 2x4 and tap it on evenly?