Pulling the pan with the engine still in the vehicle "can" be done... ...but it's more work and far more risk, than just pulling the engine out and doing the job right. I'm DONE pulling oil pans with the engine in the chassis, if I have to fight it around the crossmember and crank counterweights to get it out. RTV Silicone could conceivably work if you use "only" RTV Silicone and no gasket. I would not want to be the first to try it. When this is me, I use proper gaskets and proper gasket sealer/adhesive. Installed correctly, gaskets last years if not decades, and tens of thousands of miles. I have zero trouble getting RTV Silicone to "stick" to iron/steel. Permatex The Right Stuff sticks so well that it's difficult to pry the intake manifold back off when it's been sealed with that on the ends.
I see, good info, happy I didn't start loosing bolts. Then the pan stays on until whenever it is time for a full rebuild. Regarding using exclusively RTV and no conventional gasket to seal the oil pan. They do it in the Permatex infomercials and they wouldn't risk their reputation on this? I read about several people online who had good experiences with it. My own experiences with RTV are mixed. But reading up on it more I realized I always used incorrect methods and quantities. Guess I also got a bit disappointed with the Fel Pro cork valve cover gasket. It is too hard for the thin metal of the cover. And the cork gasket on the gearbox which is junk. A gasket should outlive mechanical components, shouldn't it. Got the timing gear kit today, but it seems to be incorrect. I got the information from the seller that it is Cloyes and it will fit. Now I see the large timing gear only has 1 bolt hole. It is a Cloyes C-3006K kit and that doesn't seem to be for Buick 455. Dang it, no assembly this weekend then. At least one more week with snow and degrees below freezing to wait for parts and fix it though. Are there any strong arguments against just buying a chain and not a whole kit in my case? Because no one seems to have a kit in stock in Sweden, and I can't wait another 4 weeks for this.
You know, you can easily save yourself a lot of wasted time, and frustration by looking the part up yourself. Go to www.rockauto.com
Very common. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Olds V-8 including Olds 455. Chain and gears wear together. If the chain is done, so are the gears.
RTV only is the way to go. I used Right Stuff 5 years ago and no leaks, although it made it more difficult to remove the timing cover. The key to not having leaks is cleanliness. After the old gasket is removed, dry fit the pan as many times as it takes to get it in without hitting the pickup or weights. It works well if the pan has been off for several days to allow the oil to stop dripping. After you think everything is clean, clean it again and spray brake clean on a clean rag and wipe the rods, weights, and pickup. That way, if you hit one with the pan, the RTV will still be ok. When you think you're ready, put on clean rubber gloves and reclean the pan and block and apply RTV to pan and install. Since everything should be clean, if you hit a rod, weight, or pickup, just make sure to redistribute the RTV. Also, clean oil from bolts and make sure all of the bolt holes are clean.
Hansen racing has 2 in stock here in Sweden. I dont know if it is a good brand. But is shall fit. https://www.hansenracing.se/product/kamdrevssats-1991419
Yes I usually do this, but they did not state the exact part name so couldn't do that =/ Tjenare! How about that, last week all Buick timing sets I could find there were on backorder, perfect they got something in.
The specs on this looks promising but it isn't sold in Europe it appears. The closest I have found is Loctite 577, any experiences on this? I suppose using regular Loctite threadlock should work too? Although it would feel better to use a compound explicitly said to be used for this...
Do not use locking compound when not needed. You can have problem removing them later. Bigger risk of breaking the screws. Any type of sealer would be better.
https://www.henkel-adhesives.com/us/en/product/thread-sealants/loctite_577.html Seems like another in the "PST" family. Likely a good product. Can't say I've heard of it before, but apparently it's very similar to the ones I do know about--565, 567, 592, and whatever they call the chapstick-like waxy-semi-solid thread sealer.
So I was thinking about how to go about tightening the timing chain cover down. Is there a specific tightening sequence? The manual says nothing about it. I guess a pattern similar to for the intake would make sense for this? The torque spec is 29 lbs-ft for the timing chain cover to the block which sounds quiet tight. Does this torque spec apply for the bolts that go through both timing chain cover and the water pump as well? I suppose it does, but wouldn't want to damage my new parts because I misunderstood the manual or the manual wasn't specific enough. https://www.teambuick.com/reference/library/70_chassis/files/60-b.php
All except the small water pump bolts. I like to do the timing cover bolts in 2 or 3 stages myself. Make sure to seal the bolt threads going into water holes
Do not use a torque wrench for this. The long bolts go into water. Use a thread sealant on the last 3 or 4 threads. Use anti seize on all the rest. Make them tight, use your common sense. Recheck them after a few heat cycles
A particular reason not to use a torque wrench when there is a torque spec? Remembering now, many screws below the water pump going into the block had quiet a bit of engine oil on them. Is this normal? I suppose the most probable explanation would be the old gasket seeping through some oil to the screws. But maybe should try to find out if someone modified the block in some way (e.g drilled out the blind holes) such that I would need thread sealer on those screws too.
Yes, I've seen more guys break bolts and/or strip threads like that. The factory may list a torque spec for every bolt in an engine, but a little common sense goes a long way. I once tried using a torque wrench when doing my timing cover, and 29 ft lbs for those bolts made me very nervous. It seemed too tight to me. Completely unnecessary IMO. I'll use a torque wrench on heads, intake manifolds, flex plates, and harmonic balancer bolts. I don't need them for anything else. Maybe the cover has been off once or more in the last 53 years. Maybe that PO used oil on the threads.
A 1/4” drive ratchet with a half inch socket is all you need, just snug, like Larry said use common sense
Stupid question. When you say “all the rest”, do you mean use anti seize on all the rest of the threads on the long bolts or on all the rest of the water pump bolts (the short ones)?
Just the short ones. The little ones are the ones that like to break off when they seize in the timing cover. The long ones thread into the block, and some of them go into water. The thread sealer is really all you need on them where they thread into the block. A little around the shank where it goes through the timing cover can't hurt. If you want.
For me one of the long bolts broke, was the most painful bolt ever to extract. Welded nuts and washers onto it but neither stick nor MIG weld had enough tensile strength. Then tried a bolt extractor. Previously only tried cheap bolt extractors with mixed results. But then I thought, maybe cheap bolt extractors are like cheap drills, i.e. toys in comparison. So bought expensive ones from Bosch. They snapped off flush inside the bolt with only 5-10 lbs-ft of torque or so. And the situation went from bad to terrible. Thank you Bosch And those screw extractors are hard as granite so could not drill it. Had to grind off the top and as it is not a blind hole I could punch it out. Don't even want to think what would have been had this been a blind hole. So to make it a bit easier on the next guy as well making these car live on a bit longer, should be a good thing to do what we can to prevent these bolts from seizing I drilled out my timing chain cover bolt holes clean to a slight oversize to reduce galvanic corrosion. It has guide pins, so it will align well anyway. Btw, this also happened for the long 3/8" bolt to the alternator which is in an always dry location. I did not snap off, but it was haaard to pull out. I guess I had rust from the bolt self oxidizing, and aluminium oxide from the bolt oxidizing the aluminium. I was proposing stainless bolts before. But reading up on material from bolt manufacturers, many can show experimental results on that stainless oxidize aluminium quiet aggressively. So I don't know anymore... Will use grade 8 with a good brand of aluminium based anti-seize on my bolts anyway. Another thing, I see that my timing chain cover is slightly warped. Both the coolant ports are bent inwards towards the engine, slightly. Seems like a sign of over tightening or perhaps uneven tightening. I personally will not skip the torque wrench for this, but it seems sensible to start with lower torques then what Buick specifies. Otherwise, what I thought would be an afternoon of a water pump gasket change ended up in new timing chain kit, new water pump, oil pump, powder coating most stuff that came off , possibly a new timing chain cover and lots of work in general. The good old car lottery I guess Mostly fun still though, and learning a lot everyday.
