I have what I believe is an early '70's Buick 350 engine in my C-10. The timing is jumping around, so I'm going to replace the timing chain. Can anyone give me some advice on doing this myself? Are there any special tools needed? Is there a simple way to do this work or can I expect to run into other problems too? Should I replace anything else while I'm at it? Any help will be appreciated. Never attempted this before! Michael
The Buick chassis manual is the best source for you. You can buy them used, in reprint, or even on CD ROM. They are also available online. No special tools required. You just need to verify you have oil pressure after you button things back up. The oil pump is in the timing chain cover, and you disturb it's prime when you remove the cover. http://boattail-riviera-by-buick.com/library/documents/documents.php There are other things that cause erratic timing. Worn/mis adjusted points, and or worn distributor shaft bushings can do it also.
The dist. is in the front. I'm sure it's a buick engine, but why the previous owner swapped it in the c10 I have no idea!
Yea, I suspected an ignition problem. Installed new coil, dist., plug wires, checked firing order. The engine ran great for several days after the new dist. but, yesterday, it suddenly began to miss badly and barely idle then stall. I checked the timing this a.m. and it had moved from the previous setting. The dist. was bolted down tight. I reset the timing, it idled for a few minutes then just quit.
You can confirm slop in the timing chain before tearing it apart. Remove distributor cap, rotate engine by hand a short amount in one direction, then watch the rotor as you rotate the engine in the oppositie direction. As soon as you start rotating the engine in opposite direction the distributor should begin moving as well. Slop will show up by the distributor not moving right away when you change directions. Based on your problem being relative to the timing chain/gears I'd expect you to be able to rotate the crank a decent amount before the distributor moves. The biggest thing on this job is not snapping bolts off in the timing cover for water pump and also ones that extend into the block. They can get seized in the aluminum. Go easy with plenty of heat and cool cycles with a propane torch especially if its never been off. Replace the water pump and front crank oil seal. Inspect the oil pump.
Sounds like good advice! BTW, I read that the fuel pump must be removed in order to remove the timing cover. My engine uses an electric fuel pump, and apparently the previous owner just disconnected the manual pump. Can I run it like this without damaging anything? Also, read that improperly priming the oil pump is to be avoided, but I'm not sure how that is done. Any suggestions?
If the mechanical pump is not being used I'd remove it and install a blank cover http://www.taperformance.com/search.asp?nobox=&scat=&stext=fuel+pump&stype=&sprice=&pg=3 You can buy them or make one simple enough but hardly worth it for $10. Yes remove the pump before the timing cover. Upon reassembly of the oil pump pack the gears full of vaseline and you're good to go. As initially mentioned by Larry70GS you should get a chassis service manual before starting. Best money you can spend.
There is some disagreement about using vaseline to ensure pump priming. That is what they recommend in the Chassis Manual, but that is probably to avoid a situation where a car owner doing his own work might start an engine that would not build oil pressure because the pump had lost it's prime. It is the safe thing to do. Anytime you disturb the timing cover seal, the potential is there to lose the pump prime. The important thing to remember is that you should verify that the engine will make oil pressure before you actually fire it up. That is easy to do by running the oil pump with an electric drill. Again, I recommend you look at a Buick Chassis Manual. Below is a thread about oil pump priming. You can find almost anything by just using the search function at the top of the page. I just searched "vaseline" and this was one of the results. http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?267834-455-oil-pump-priming&highlight=vaseline
My dread would be getting the cover off without breaking any bolts. Been there. Even on a Ford. It gets ugly really quick.
Consider yourself lucky! A SBB would be a great truck motor. Lighter and more torquey than a SBC. If it was 4wd you would really have me jealous.:grin: Post pics when you have a chance.
I'm going to first pull the dist. to make sure the gear didn't shear loose. Then I'll do the test you mentioned. If I have to replace the timing chain and gears, my worry is that I won't be able to order the correct replacement set since the engine's source vehicle is unknown. I usually order parts for a '71 Skylark and so far that has worked. But I don't feel confident about the timing gear set. Any suggestions? Are some Buick 350 engine parts interchangable or common to other engines?
TA performance sells stock timing gear and chain replacements. Northern Auto parts sells a 'cam kit' which includes the cam, lifters, timing gear and chain, all matched up to eliminate indexing errors and maintain proper valvetrain geometry. (and is CHEAP) I don't think there's any different between the stock timing chain and gear from '68-'80, so it wouldn't matter which ones you got, as long as they were OEM spec (assuming you have a stock camshaft).
Do you know any way to minimize breaking a bolt? I intend to go slowly with this thing because I've never done this before. A propane torch has been mentioned but what part should I heat up, the bolt or the surrounding part?
I suggest using PB blaster to loosen up the bolts. I give the bolts a tap with a hammer before I try to remove them. Do not worry too much about it, you can get a new cover if you have to or you can have broken bolts removed. Do your best and take your time but do not stress over it.
I got the timing cover off and only broke one bolt on the water pump cover...I feel lucky for sure. The oil pump assy. is sketchy, and I can't remove one of the bolts holding the unit together. So it'll have to be left as it is. How can I prime the oil pump with a drill motor before I try starting the engine?
You could put cover back on then pull oil sender out and put a fitting and hose in it and fill it with oil if you are lucky.I have done it before . Then prime with a drill.I had a old distributer with shaft for that .might not be best way but can work .
There are several options for priming the pump. Some guys use an old distributor shaft and turn it down so you can chuck it in a drill. You can also make your own with the right screwdriver and socket. TA also sells a pump primer. http://www.taperformance.com/proddetail.asp?prod=TA_1509 As far as those little bolts that hold the pump together, try using heat from a propane torch.
